She Owns It

Celebrating, Connecting, and Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

Debunking the Myth of Overnight Success [Infographic]

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Entrepreneurial achievement is a hot topic for many business publications. In fact, it can sometimes seem like the business world is obsessed with the extraordinary stories of overnight success. That’s why it’s important to remember that these stories are indeed unlikely and that we often don’t hear about the preparation work or even the multiple failures that successful entrepreneurs face before making it big.

Things change quickly in small business, as many founders will tell you. While startups offer opportunities for accelerated success, they also come with a high chance of failure. Though the emphasis is often put on the quality of the idea, the reality is that sudden success is usually the result of years of hard work—and failures.

The team at Credit.com retraced the journies of some of the most high profile entrepreneurs in the world. They found that many successful businesses began as humble ideas and went  through multiple iterations before becoming profitable. This might come as an ecouraging reminder to entrepreneurs to keep working, create realistic timelines, be flexible, and learn from each failure.

 

Overnight Success

Infographic courtesy of https://www.credit.com/

The One Thing All Start-Up Founders Must Master by Vanessa Youshaei of @petite_ave

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by Vanessa Youshaei 

So much of life comes down to talking to others and convincing them to see things your way, but this is especially true for successful start-up founders. Whether you’re hiring employees, raising money, or onboarding strategic partners, negotiation is always at play. This is even more true at the beginning when you don’t usually have the funds to pay for things or the traction to easily convince people of your vision. Can’t afford an employee? You’ll have to convince him or her to join for equity. Need money to get things going? You’ll have to convince investors of your vision. Need a critical business partner but don’t have any customers? You’ll have to convince them of how your company stands out from the rest.

So what’s the secret to doing this effectively? How do you get busy, talented people to pay attention to you especially when you’re just starting out?

Build FOMO
People are always more interested if they know others are interested. Selene Cruz, the founder of Re:store, raised her seed round by meeting with 60 investors and implementing this exact strategy. She let lukewarm investors know that they would need to make a decision quickly otherwise she would pass the opportunity to other interested investors. This allowed her to raise $1M in two weeks.

Make sure you’re talking with the decision maker – at the right time
When negotiating, knowledge is king; the more information you have, the more likely you are to achieve your desired outcome. Instead of talking with the decision maker right away, start by talking with junior level employees to gather as much information as possible to build your case. For example, try and understand the priorities and objectives of the senior leadership team. Once you have that information, you’re in a much stronger position to create a pitch that will captivate the decision maker. More often than not, it’s hard to re-pitch decision makers once they’ve made up their mind, so make sure you’re ready when the time comes.

Let them know what’s in it for them
Always emphasize what’s in it for them (not you) and what they’ll be missing out on if they don’t make the deal with you. This process always begins with understanding their goals and then aligning your message and offerings accordingly. When I was first building partnerships with the large brands on our site, I let them know that at the very least, they’d be receiving free brand exposure and introducing themselves to a market that wouldn’t normally think to buy from them. The best part? They had absolutely nothing to lose.

Don’t Oversell
When you’re trying to close a deal, you’re likely very excited and probably a little nervous. Keep in mind that the people you’re talking with are probably seasoned professionals who have been around the block a few times. If you come across as overly eager, you also seem desperate which gives people a reason to question the opportunity. Approach the conversation confidently and in a way that lets the other party know they’ll be sorry if they walk away.

Leverage Past Accomplishments to Build Credibility
Establishing yourself as an authority from the getgo gives you more credibility and ultimately more bargaining power. Often the best way to do this as a start-up founder is by leveraging your past accomplishments. As someone who is building a fashion start-up, I was always wary that people would question my credibility because I didn’t come from the fashion world. Even though I wasn’t an expert in clothing and fashion, I had previously worked at Google in sales and marketing, two areas that are critical to building any company. Whenever I met with someone for the first time, I made sure to start the conversation with my professional background which helped build automatic rapport and gave me a lot more leverage in our conversations.

Have other tactics you’d recommend or need help with a deal you’re putting together? Comment below to get the conversation started.

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Vanessa Youshaei is the founder and CEO of Petite Ave, a one-stop shopping destination for women under 5’5’’. They currently have partnerships with 20+ national brands including Ann Taylor, Bloomingdale’s, and Express with many others joining later this year. In addition to making the shopping experience more convenient for petite women, they hope to become a champion for the petite community and help shorter women achieve greater representation in the fashion industry. Prior to Petite Ave, Vanessa spent 3.5 years at Google working in sales, marketing, and program management. She’s a graduate of Emory University with majors in marketing and finance.

The 4 Best Cities for Women-Owned Businesses

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by Haley Kieser

While raw employment numbers have fluctuated wildly over the last ten years, the number of women who own their own businesses has continued to rise. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of female entrepreneurs in the United States grew from 5.4 million to 7.8 million. It’s now 2017, and today that number is estimated to be closer to 11 million. In other words, since 1997, the number of women-owned businesses in the US has more than doubled.

Furthermore, women-owned businesses are also growing faster than the national average. Since the great recession, the US job market has grown by a measly 1%, while women-owned businesses have grown by a whopping 18%. That said, opportunities for women differ greatly from city to city. If you’re looking for new opportunities for yourself or your business, consider these four stellar cities for women-owned businesses.

Gold — The Best City in the North East
The first city on our list should come as a surprise to no one. As the largest and wealthiest city in the country, New York is officially the best city for female entrepreneurs. In 2012, female entrepreneurs in New York received more than 140 loans from the US Small Business Administration. These loans totaled $42,281,500 and exceeded the amount given to every other state in the country. Many first-time entrepreneurs struggle to amass the necessary capital for manufacturing, inventory, and marketing. As such, these small business loans represent the tremendous opportunities available to female business owners in New York City. That said, a business loan is only the first step toward success.

Thankfully, New York’s female entrepreneurs know how to carry out their business plans. During the same time period, New York’s women-owned businesses brought in more than $104 million in revenue. If you’re thinking about doing business in New York, consider visiting one of the many resources available to female entrepreneurs and business owners, including the New York SBDC and the Women’s Business Center of New York.

Silver — The Best City in the South
Without further adieu, the best city in the south for female entrepreneurs is… actually a tie. Until very recently, Houston was without a doubt the best city for women-owned businesses. At a state level, Texas had the highest growth rate for women-owned businesses, and at a city level, Houston received a large number of SBA-backed loans. However, this legacy has been up in the air since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August of 2017. This massive storm dumped nearly 52 inches of rain on the Houston metro area and is expected to cost more than $190 billion to repair.

That said, the runner up for best city in the South is Atlanta, Georgia. Like Houston, Atlanta also has a high growth rate for women-owned businesses, and in 2012 the Small Business Administration granted more than $18 million to 19 female entrepreneurs. Last, but not least, Atlanta’s women-owned businesses also reported nearly $30 million in revenue during the same time period. Atlanta’s top five industries are agriculture, film, energy, automotive, and tourism. Resources include the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative of Atlanta.

Bronze — The Best City in the Midwest
While the first spot was a relative no-brainer, the midwest isn’t quite as predictable. Step aside Chicago—the best city in the midwest for female entrepreneurs is actually Columbus, Ohio. In 2012, women-led firms were granted more than $4 million in SBA-backed loans and made more than $42 million in revenue. Columbus has also been called the best city in the country for working mothers. This is all thanks to a low cost of living, a low unemployment rate (4.2%), a great school system, and short commutes. That’s not all, though.

Columbus even has a growing tech industry. One of the driving forces behind this trend is the Battelle Memorial Institute, a massive research center that works with several government organizations, including the United States Department of Energy. This influx of federal dollars also supports a variety of private women-led tech businesses. Popular resources for female entrepreneurs include the Women’s Small Business Accelerator of Central Ohio and Tech Columbus.

Honorable Mention — The Best City in the Southwest
Now, let’s turn our sights west of the Mississippi River. In the southwest, Denver, Colorado takes the title of “best place for female entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses.” Boulder, one of Denver’s largest suburbs, actually contains the highest concentration (4.2%) of women-owned small businesses in the entire country. It also receives more SBA-backed loans per 100,000 residents than any other city. As a whole, the Denver metro area isn’t far behind. 3.22% of Denver-based businesses are owned by women. In addition, the female to male earning ratio is also higher than average at 87%. Resources include LifeCrafters Consulting and the Women’s Business Development Center.

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I’m Haley. I love the hustle. GSD is my motto. It is important to me that women strive to inspire each other.