She Owns It

Celebrating, Connecting, and Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

Why female olderpreneurs are valuable for tech startups by Megan McLatchie of @WeAreNovaUK

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by Megan McLatchie

Very often it’s too easily assumed that the only successful tech startups are only created by teenage boys living by laptop light in their bedrooms. What doesn’t help is that the idea has been reinforced by the likes of Mark Zuckerburg, who launched the first version of Facebook from his Harvard dorm room in his early 20s. Arguably, young founders have some advantages. Their generation has lead them to be early adopters of technology and have no big commitments such as marriage, mortgages or children.

Sure, students are in a good position to start something of their own after graduation and before the reality of life kicks in. But does this determine a successful founder? Various research studies have shown the average age of a UK entrepreneur to be in their forties, and ‘olderpreneurs’ are more likely to achieve top growth. So really, do good things come to those who wait?

Respect your elders
An obvious reason age is a benefiting factor for startups is experience. Startups are notorious for being risky, and the frequent unexpected surprise and challenge doesn’t go amiss. It could be argued that young people may have the edge by being in the know of fad trends, but older entrepreneurs will be bringing years of valuable insight and experience from work and everyday life, valuable experience that can be drawn on to solve a problem worth solving (precious knowledge that you can’t learn from a quick google online!).

Passionate for Problem Solving
You’ve identified a widespread need, and have an idea that is commercially viable. Good ideas are good ideas irrespective of what age you are! What matters is that you’re passionate about the solution needed to drive the idea forward. Years of experience also means you have a greater understanding of who your audience is and the passion to find the solution when you identify what would/would not work. Believe in yourself and your idea, Sheownsit.com suggests five ways to overcome doubt and start your own business.

Are you really Middle-aged?
You’re only as old as you feel. People are now living longer and healthier lives than ever before, so there is no rush to begin your tech startup in your younger years. The average life expectancy for women in the UK is 82.9 years and according to an article from Forbes, a 50-year-old founder is about twice as likely to achieve success compared to a 30-year-old. If we associate youth with a more carefree approach to life, it could be argued that with age we take greater care to think things through. Startups are risky business, so maybe caution could help. Nova’s lean approach means we’re constantly testing a startup’s success in order to foresee potential pitfalls and make appropriate changes to MVP.

Multi-tasking Queens
Broadly speaking, when we get older we tend to have more responsibilities: family, mortgage, secure day job, and marriage being the biggies! We women are known for our multi-tasking. “Women bring a different life experience to business,” says Lynne Cadenhead, chairman of Women’s Enterprise Scotland.“[They] always have multiple roles in society: they’ll be wives, carers, mothers. They’re much more used to [juggling things] and more comfortable doing it.” Alongside this, technology has really broken down the barriers to starting a business alongside your day job, one of the reasons why ‘side-hustles’ are increasingly popular. Nova’s own process for starting a startup requires just one day a week from founders and actively encourages founders to stay in their full-time jobs.

Golden oldies
Let’s finish with some famous examples of female entrepreneurs that started later in life.

  • Vera Wang, (goes without saying) is well known for her global fashion brand but she didn’t open her high-end label until the age of 40. A long career working for Vogue meant she had the skills and life experience needed for her business to grow (and still continues to do so!).
  • Martha Stewart is now a familiar household name, beginning a successful career as a chef and writer of cookbooks. At the age of 56, she created the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia media conglomerate. Branching out into TV, radio and even wine, it has continued to go from strength to strength.
  • Robin Chase, the founder of car-sharing service Zipcar (the transportation service which allows customers to rent cars by the hour), only made the decision to set up her own company at 41. In 2013 it was sold for $500 million, making Chase one of the richest women in the world overnight!

So, maybe good things come to those who wait?

 

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Megan McLatchie is a Marketing Executive for Nova, a tech startup co-foundry based in Liverpool. Nova provides free mentorship, support and guidance team, and resource investment to turn a good idea into a great startup. They have cofounded over 40 tech startups in the last 5 years, with a success rate far above the industry average.

What I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Business by Jackie Burke of #tiniluxjewelry

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by Jackie Burke | Featured Contributor 

When I started my business in 2017 I didn’t know anything about running a business.  I did as much research as I could before I launched, but that is no substitute for real-life experience.

My business is Tini Lux, a digitally native, direct to consumer jewelry brand that specializes in jewelry that is compatible with the human body.  Before launching my business, I studied engineering and worked as an engineer.  I had never launched a business, worked at a startup, or studied jewelry design or the jewelry industry.  Additionally, I went to a college where the majority of the students studied in a STEM field, so most of my friends and my network also work in engineering and tech.

Since my experience and my network is so concentrated in STEM fields, I did not know or have any connections in the field that I started my business in. I also didn’t know anyone that had recently started an e-commerce or fashion business. For all these reasons, I really did not know what I was getting into when I launched my business and I did not have anyone to lean on for advice.

Looking back now, it is easy to see what would have been useful to know when I first started down this path.  Just to scratch the surface, I wish I had a better understanding of marketing, advertising, SEO, SEM, inventory management, and taxes.  All of those subject areas are tangible and mostly well defined though.  Once I recognized that I needed to understand those business areas, I was able to find a plethora of information about them.

What I want to talk about here is not the tangible subject areas that can be easily researched online. What I want to talk about are the intangible things that I wish I had known before starting a business. I want to talk about the feelings and stresses and anxieties that I didn’t know I would have to deal with everyday. Here they are:

Uncertainty Is A Constant…

Uncertainty is constant as an entrepreneur.  When I started my business I believed in my idea so much and had no doubt that it would be successful. I thought that belief in the product and the idea would be enough to carry me through the day to day of running a business. What I did not realize, is that there are hundreds of other things that make me uncertain on a day-to-day basis. I have constant uncertainty about things like where and how to invest my advertising dollars, which product categories to focus on, which influencers and media outlets to work with, whether to hire outside help or do things in house. There is no right answer for any of these things, so the uncertainty can be crippling.

…So Is Anxiety

If you are already prone to anxiety, entrepreneurship may not be for you.  I have constant anxiety that a customer may be unhappy, or that sales will dry up, or that my business will fail.  In my years working as an engineer I have never had anxiety like I do as a business owner. When you are in charge, you can’t make excuses and you can’t push the blame on some outside force. It is your sole responsibility to make things happen, and that pressure is intense.  Anxiety can really take a toll on a founder and a business. I try to acknowledge my anxiety as it comes and recognize what caused it.  From there I try to understand what it is I am worrying about and come up with a plan in case it happens. It makes me feel better to know that I can face any challenges that pop up.

Patience Is A Virtue

About a year into my entrepreneurial journey I was feeling like my business wasn’t growing as fast as it should be. One day I met a woman who recently sold her successful e-commerce business that she founded and ran for 10 years. I explained to her that my SEO and marketing efforts seemed like they were growing too slowly. She said “Keep going, it takes a long time to show up on the internet.” Her response made me feel much better about my slow growth and realize that my experience was normal. I now am seeing the fruits of my labor show up in terms of organic traffic and conversions, I just wish I had known when I started how long it would take to see results.

Budget? What’s that?

When I founded my company I had a budget in mind.  I knew that I wanted to self fund my business and certainly did not have unlimited funds to work with. I knew how much my initial inventory and packaging would cost, and I though those would be my main expenses. It’s almost laughable now that I thought I wouldn’t need to spend any more money after my startup costs. From the first month expenses popped up constantly. First, there was the monthly advertising spend, then I decided to work with influencers, attend a trade show, get professional photography,  and improve my website.  All of these things cost wayyy more money than I initially thought I would spend. Many businesses fail because they don’t anticipate these types of costs and run out of money. I continued to work as I grew my business so that I would still have money to put into my business. If I had known in the beginning all the costs that would come with starting a business I may have reconsidered.

IRL Networking Is Important

As I mentioned above, my business is digitally native (meaning it was born online and the majority of my sales are done online). Despite the fact that it was, and is, meant to be an internet-based company, IRL networking is still extremely important.  There are SO many brands and people on the internet, but when you meet someone face-to-face they will have a personal connection with you and your business. That experience cannot be replaced by interacting with someone on Instagram or Facebook.  If you want to be an entrepreneur you need to meet as many people as possible and tell EVERYONE about your business. You never know who is a potential customer or who can help you with your business or career.

I know as my business progresses I will learn even more things that haven’t even occurred to me yet.  Let me know in the comments if there is anything you have learned on your journey that you wish you had known when you started!

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.

How to Finally Decide on a Business Idea & Why Choosing the Wrong One is OK

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by Tara Eggenspiller

For several years, I’ve had tons of business ideas but struggled with committing to one. I felt any one of them could be a success but wasn’t sold on any enough to invest my time and money into building the actual product. Many books geared toward entrepreneurs assume the reader has already decided on a business idea and reading these often led me into frustration because I wasn’t sure where to direct the information. In college I was briefly set on ‘Trends on Treads’, a fashion truck selling the wares of local designers. I shopped for trucks and met with potential suppliers but ultimately dropped the ball. “What if I buy this truck but realize I really want to develop an app? What if i learn a programming language but later realize I’d rather pursue a service based business?”

After begrudgingly listening to the new idea of the week one friend said “I don’t understand why you aren’t out driving your fashion truck and selling your wares as we speak. Anyone with web hosting and some moxie can be an entrepreneur in 2017.”

Did I not have enough moxie? Maybe not, but I believe the problem centered around my commitment issues and some serious fears. After endlessly Googling what to do if you can’t decide on a business idea to commit to I realized my only hope was to move forward with one and see what happened. I needed to finally take SOMETHING from idea to execution whether I was 100% passionate about it or not. I looked through my list of ideas and chose the one that required the least investment and overhead and hoped I would learn something along the way.

If you aren’t embarrassed by things you tried a year ago you’re not trying enough new things.”

My business was to be a “nutrition workshop and fitness tee” company, (CHIC) Community Health Initiatives of Chicago (now that I’m reflecting it doesn’t sound so bad..) Was I a nutritionist? No. Was I a particularly gifted tee shirt or graphics designer? No. Was I super in-shape and into fitness more than most? Absolutely no. But I wanted my very own business baby that I could make banners and advocate for. I wanted to negotiate, sell things I created, and attend industry events. I wrote out a few nutrition class templates, designed a silly fitness tee, and got to work.

What I Learned

Choosing the Idea With the Least Investment Was a Good Idea
My tee shirt/nutrition workshop business was less than $500 to execute. Smarter people than me can get the experience for a lot less. I learned the same range of skills I would have learned if i had invested $10,000.

What I’m Good At
I was suddenly in charge of making it happen and being resourceful. I was researching material for workshop templates and making flyers to get people in the community interested, and negotiating with fitness events for vendor space. I learned I was good at writing and sticking to a budget and that I was bolder than I thought when it came to sales. By putting myself in a situation where it was 100% up to me to make something happen, I learned where I thrived and where I struggled.

What Should Be Outsourced
You’ll be skilled at a few things, conversational at others, and still others you should not attempt. I learned there were certain tasks that would hold me up for hours or even days. These things i either did not have the skill set for or lacked the interest in developing it. For example I learned I should outsource logo creation, photo editing, and really anything to do with graphic design. I think I once had the delusion that the entrepreneur must do ALL things 100% by themselves. I learned asking for help is one of the most important skills they can have.

To Build an Audience
Did I ever ask non-profit organizations if they would host my nutrition workshops BEFORE i spent hours creating templates? No. Did i ever ask anyone in my target market what they thought of my tee-shirt design? I did not. I had two fatal attitudes for an aspiring entrepreneur: that “it has to be perfect before I can show you” and that “if I like it and think it’s a good idea, so will you.”

‘Irrelevant to the Grand Scheme’ Skills are Not Wasted Skills
“Ugh. Did I really have to learn how web hosting and WordPress worked? Did I really have to learn about google ads? I didn’t want to be a designer or a marketer after all.”

Around a year after my tee shirt business I finally decided to start a handbag line, an idea I felt 100% committed to. Because I had chosen the ‘wrong’ idea a year prior I had an arsenal of directly transferable skills I would have never learned at my corporate job. This made for much smoother sailing when it came to setting up all the basics, such as a landing page, branding, and facebook ads. I feel more comfortable delegating tasks to others and trying new approaches.

Starting a Business Will GIVE You Something to Be Passionate About
The book So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport argues that experience and expertise are the real source of passion; that a naturally ingrained passion is a modern day hoax. I agree and also believe passion is REVEALED through trial and error. During my CHIC days, I became passionate about what I was doing even though I first chose it because it required the least investment. Wouldn’t it be great to find out that the only missing factor in an uninspired idea was a lack of commitment?

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Tara Eggenspiller is an accountant who decided to pursue her long time passion of launching a fashion line. She designs Angela Mariah handbags for artistic and adventurous professional women.

My Biggest Startup Mistake by @CorpNetNellie

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by Nellie Akalp

All small business owners make mistakes—and that’s a good thing. It means we’re taking risks, and that’s how we grow our businesses. But making too many mistakes during the startup phase could lead to business failure. The key to small business survival is to learn from your mistakes as well as those you see other businesses making. 

After selling my first business, my entrepreneurial synapses were firing a mile a minute with new ideas, and I was eager to start another business. My biggest startup mistake in starting my second company was thinking that if I approached the new business in the same manner I did my first company, I would hit the jackpot again. After all, I had been successful once, so I figured I could make it happen again by taking the same steps. 

Boy, was I wrong.

I quickly learned that in the years between my two startups, times had changed and the business landscape was different. The way I started my first company wouldn’t work for the second. For one thing, consumers were much more experienced about online purchases. Expectations for what you could achieve online were higher; you couldn’t just create a website and watch the business flow in. I had so much to learn about website development, SEO and more. Plus, clients were more knowledgeable about what they needed, so I had to step up our game.

The competition had changed, too. More and more companies were pulling in traffic using bait-and-switch techniques such as offering free services and then upselling. I knew I needed to change my business model immediately. I started from the ground up, improved the product, and marketed both digitally and face-to-face. By taking a different approach, I found success once again—but it required a new road map. 

Common Startup Mistakes

Here are a few more startup mistakes that other entrepreneurs I know have made and learned from:

  • Pricing: When it comes to pricing, service businesses have it a little tougher. They don’t have a clear-cut cost of goods sold, and it’s easy to underestimate the time a job will take. Your industry association can help you determine average prices for your type of business, clientele and location. 
  • Contracts: Contracts or letters of agreement (LOAs) are there to protect you. Never start work for a customer before you spell out each side’s expectations, establish deadlines and payment schedules, decide how you’ll handle disputes and more. 
  • Social media: Are you checking all your social networking platforms to establish relationships and answer customers’ questions? According to Social Media Today, 84 percent of consumers expect companies to respond to their posts on social media within 24 hours, while 72 percent of Twitter complainants expect a response within an hour. (One hour!)
  • Business entity: Choosing the wrong business structure for your company can affect the amount of taxes you pay, how much paperwork you need to deal with, and whether your personal assets are protected in case of a lawsuit. The three most common types of business structures are the sole proprietorship, the LLC (Limited Liability Company), and the C corporation. 
  • Hiring: Are you waiting to hire until business picks up, or do you have issues delegating? Either way, waiting too long to hire can prevent your startup from growing. Try outsourcing to a freelancer/independent contractor when starting, or investigate internship programs in your community. If you can use a virtual worker, check out resources like Upwork and Internships.com to get started finding good candidates.

As always, starting a second business was quite the learning experience and one of the crucial lessons I learned was how to be flexible. When the market changed, my old business plan had to be thrown out the window and rewritten to reflect the new landscape. I might be on Plan B (or C) but I’m still running my business—and it’s successful.

What are some startup mistakes you’ve had to overcome? I’d love to hear about them. Please share below.

Do I Have What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur? By @JamieCheng

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Do I Have What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur?

“Fear leads to self-doubt which is the worst enemy of creativity.”

David Ogilvy

 

Has the thought of “am I truly made for this entrepreneurial journey” ever visited your mind?

 

Or maybe, you’re like me — you’re more optimistic, and your gut assures you that things will turn out well in the end.

 

You just know it. But…

 

Somehow, things seem to go awry… People whom you trusted to find support from, say things that snuff out your already flickering flame. Inside, you feel like you’ve been stabbed with their words that were blunt enough to cut like a sharp knife.

 

stressed face of a women

 

But here you are, my fellow survivor.

 

“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (not Kanye West)

 

This piece is written with my heart in my hands. If you’re reading this, I promise that you this will change the trajectory that you’re heading for the better.

 

I’m just like you — you’d give up safety for adventure; you’d take risks for things that you see potential in. No matter what phase of an entrepreneur’s journey you’re at right now… Just keep on keeping on. And if need be, take a step back. Trust me, that step could be the very thing you had to do to propel you 10 steps forward.

 

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

 

Listed below are 3 golden keys that successful WOMEN have.

 

1. Being Optimistic

Be Optimistic

Being optimistic might seem “ignorant” or “delusional” to a realist. But studies have shown that optimism is an essential trait to find success. What you believe in, or let yourself believe becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Hoping to get a confidence boost? Try being a little more optimistic.

 

Sometimes you really just got to let go and jump into the deep.

 

You planned it all out, you’ve done your due diligence and researched what you could… You’re ready to take action!

 

At this moment, I guarantee you that flashes of what’s on the line, doubts on whether it’ll work or not, and a hundred more “what-ifs” are coming. But, just give yourself a second to be a child and let go of all the things that can’t be controlled.

 

2. Being Persistent

be persistent

As much as stepping the path less traveled forces you to grow exponentially, and learn things through painful and unforgettable trial-and-errors, remember to still have faith like a child.

 

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.”

Winston Churchill

 

Know that the lows of life or business are never forever as long as there’s action being taken. Life is that b*tch who is indifferent to how badly hurt you’re going to get from what she throws at you. You have to get up!

 

What does getting back up means?

 

It means having control over your emotions and reminding yourself to establish a growth mindset.

 

NEWS FLASH! Successful women do feel sad, get angry, and probably got lost more times than you and I have. No matter, they still find this drive to just try one more time. They let themselves learn from mistakes and failures instead of staying down on the ground, therefore they have this substance and grit that we all admire.

 

These successful women were persistent.

 

3. Being Confident

Being Confident

You know how we, as ladies, would appreciate a second opinion on whether our shoes match the outfit we’re wearing. Or if this particular top makes us look fat.

 

80% of the time as an entrepreneur, you’re not going to have this privilege. It is not the easiest thing to find someone who truly understands, or who is able to elevate you. Finding assurance within yourself is the key to being confident.

 

If you find that confidence is one thing that you’d like to get better at, I’ve got good news for you! It can be practiced. You don’t have to be naturally confident to be a confident person…

 

Confidence can be practiced.

 

Here are 3 confidence-boosting habits I make myself do:

 

#1: Talk to Yourself Aloud

Talk To Your Self Aloud - Self-talk

A form of introspection… When you become more self-aware and when you focus on your strengths, you’ll become someone whom you never thought you could be (in a good way).

Use a mirror, a spoon, or take a video recording of yourself. Speak out loud what’s troubling you and then, lay out the solutions you think could work. Choose your action plan and tell yourself what you’d tell someone else who’s facing the same situation as you.

Practicing speaking out loud in confidence solidifies positive thinking about yourself.

 

#2: Present to Others Like You Know What You’re Doing

Present to Others Like You Know What You're Doing

People trust confidence. It’s a given.

When you practice talking to your family, friends, or prospects, you’ll only get better and more comfortable at it. Whatever doubts that you have in mind, understand that only you are aware of it.

You don’t have to know everything, you just need to know what’s needed (for now).

Start presenting like you know what you’re doing.

 

#3: Let Your Yes be Yes and No be No

Aim to not be so easily swayed by someone else’s opinion. It might be from someone close and important to you, however, confidence comes from liberation from these fragments of several people’s opinions.

Ultimately, it comes back to what you think and what you’re going to do about it.

 

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

With these 3 golden keys, as well as the 3 habits to grow your confidence…

I’ll give you my vote — I say yes, you do!

 

To be insanely honest, strategies that you’re seeking to find success are useless until you’ve mustered enough courage to JUST TRY.

Startup Advice: The Speed of Determination by @CharlyndaJean

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by Charlynda Jean

As a new entrepreneur, I have found that I only work at one speed: the speed of determination. It’s faster than a speeding bullet, light, sound, radio waves. No ruler or metric exists to measure this speed. If I tried to do so, I’d imagine the flapping of angels wings…the rhythm of your heart when you think of someone you love..the invisible sense of urgency to execute a vision that keeps you awake at night. My grandfather’s recipe for Mutt’s Sauce has been in our family since 1956. I learned that I inherited the recipe in July 2013. The company, Mutt’s Sauce, LLC, launched in December 2013. That’s right. I launched a food company in five months.

The speed of determination to share this blessing my grandfather gave me with the world is faster than I could ever imagine. At our first Production Day, I had to remind myself…”This is real. You’re not dreaming.” My Uncle Dewayne, Mutt’s youngest son, accompanied me for the experience. We watched as the bottles came off the production line, jaws to the floor. Needless to say, we were both very emotional. It takes some food businesses a year or more to get from concept to launch.

What have I learned on this journey? Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart! You read alot of articles about following your passion, but I’d emphasize that whatever you’re imagining as ‘hard work’.. multiply that by 2000. When you’re chasing your dream, the physical and mental exhaustion is overridden by the excitement and determination to succeed.

I remember one night, I had been working my ‘Launch Checklist’ after meeting with my new mentor, John, at SCORE.org in Dayton, Ohio. They provide guidance to business owners. It looked similar to this:

Uncle Dewayne and I at the first Mutt’s Sauce production

1. File for business license.
2. Research food process authorities. (Google what one is)
3. Review all financial accounts for possible capital. (avoid a loan!)
4. Research co-packing facilities.
5. Read the guide on uspto.gov (Trademark)
6. Google a marketing/branding company.
7. Start your business plan.

There were at least 75 items that I needed to do. One night, around 3a.m., I was working in my living room and I realized I was on the floor, and every square inch was covered in paperwork, applications, books, sketches, and guides. It doesn’t slow down, but thank God, with each new piece of acquired knowledge, it gets easier (that’s what I tell myself anyway).

Advice: Here is what has helped me so far

  1. Stay humble. Besides my faith, I’m humbled by the simple fact that the genius behind Mutt’s Sauce came from my grandfather’s mind, not mine. I’m just the messenger.
  2. Embrace mentorship. I LOVE mentors and mentoring. I’ve been blessed with some great ones in this short time.
  3. Be gracious and take care of your people. Thank people when they help you, especially your team.
  4. If you’re not good with finances (or organized) find someone who is. Quickly.
  5. Know your job. I used to love celebrity gossip sites/magazines. (I still do) Now, I find myself reading mostly INC, Entrepreneur, Black Enterprise, Fortune, Money… I go to Barnes & Noble and get a stack of business books and read them on Saturday afternoons instead of mani-pedis. It’s funny, but you need to feed your brain with information that will feed into the success of your business.
  6. Embrace failure and rejection. Not everyone likes Mutt’s Sauce (hard to believe, right?) but with every no.. there are 3 yes’s. Take the lessons learned and keep pushing.
  7. Don’t forget to ‘get a life’. In your pursuit, don’t forget to take care of yourself. Date night, hang with the kids, an occasional mani-pedi…don’t neglect the things that keep you going in the long run!

If you’re reading this and you’re an entrepreneur, or aspire to be one, I’d love your feedback, questions, or experiences. Respond here or shoot me a line at charlynda@muttssauce.com.

Big country hug,
Charlynda

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How did a chronic pain condition turn Tara Langdale-Schmidt into a startup business woman?

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Tara Langdale-Schmidtby Tara Langdale-Schmidt

My problems started at age 11 with my first surgery. Doctors did not know what was causing my abdomen pain so they the scheduled exploratory surgery. They found a huge cyst which had cut off the blood supply to ovary and removed that ovary and tube. This was the first of many surgeries for cysts and endometriosis over the next 20 years. Endometriosis caused a pain during sex, it was an uncomfortable feeling deep inside that I became used to it. My sex life was normal besides this. Penetration was never painful until I started to experience a different kind of pain, a very sharp pain I had never felt before.

My nightmare experience with sexual pain began mildly and I started going downhill in 2010. It began as mild pain during intercourse in my vulva. As time when on, the pain became worse, it felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife and burning me at the same time. Intercourse would trigger the pain and it would still burn after having sex. Nothing helped the pain or made it go away. I only told my best friends, and they had never heard of anything like what I was experiencing. Neither had my fiancé, Jason.

I didn’t know it then, but I was suffering from the excruciating pain of Vulvodynia. The pain, both physical, emotional and mental, was agonizing, made it impossible to enjoy sexual intimacy with my future husband and impacted my quality of life for four long years.

The burning and stabbing escalated and I would not have sex at all with Jason. We were getting married and probably not going to be able to have intercourse on our wedding night. I was becoming depressed over the thought of never being able to have enjoyable sex again.

My primary gynecologist told me if sex hurt to drink some wine and take Advil. That was in the beginning stages before the pain became worse. Then he realized it was serious, I still didn’t have a diagnosis and I was confused and worried about what was causing the pain. I actually asked my doctor if I had something called Vulvodynia because I found it on the internet. He agreed it probably was Vulvodynia. He stated doctors did not know what caused it and he was sorry he couldn’t help me.

I was given a prescription for Gabapentin cream and Ketamine creams. Both of these creams cost over $125 each and did not help at all. Also, I tried lidocaine injections which only lasted an hour and left me hurting from the needle. After no relief with numbing creams, I decided to go to a pelvic pain specialist. He told me that I could take an antidepressant because it can help with nerve pain, do an injection or have a surgery to remove part of the vestibule that was hurting. I did not like these options. After suffering for so long and getting no answers or solutions, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I had to take action.

From my previous positive experience using magnets to reduce back and neck nerve pain after a car accident, I had a “lightbulb moment” idea to incorporate neodymium magnets into a dilator set for pelvic pain.

I had just starting using the dilator for the first time about three weeks prior to my wedding and I was actually able to enjoy my wedding night. I didn’t think that was going to happen. My husband, who was so supportive, was as thrilled. I was able to have sex without pain.

Due to my reduction in pain and positive feedback after speaking to doctors about my magnetic dilator treatment and pain reduction, I knew I had no option but to create a startup company dedicated to helping other women with pelvic pain.

With my personal pain issues resolved, and working with my good friend and business partner Robert Smithson, we together founded VuVatech, a company based in Sarasota, Fl. dedicated to helping the estimated one-in-seven women in the US who suffer from pelvic, vulvar pain. With the help of medical experts, we invented a medical device, the VuVa Magnetic Vaginal Dilator that has proven to relieve pelvic pain and sexual discomfort and has improved the lives of women seeking sexual normalcy.

VuVa Magnetic Vaginal Dilators are a new, non-surgical approach to helping millions of women suffering from multiple pelvic pain conditions and sexual comfort. The dilator therapy can also be incorporated into treatment plans for other conditions such as Vaginismus, Vulvar Vestibulitis, Dyspareunia, Menopause, Vaginal Stenosis, Vaginal Atrophy and Vaginal Dryness. Clinical trials have provided beyond positive results by reducing nerve pain in subjects, so much so, that each subject purchased a set of VuVa dilators at the conclusion of the study.

Today, sex life with my husband is great. If I use the dilator twenty minutes before we have sex, I can have close to pain free intercourse. I used to feel broken and now I am hopeful and thankful I have a device that allows me to have intercourse with less pain.

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Tara Langdale-Schmidt is the inventor of the VuVa Neodymium Dilator set. Prior to inventing the VuVa Dilators, Tara suffered with Vulvodynia for 4 years. After countless hours of searching for treatments, Tara found vaginal dilators a successful treatment for pelvic pain. From Tara’s previous positive experience using magnets to reduce back and neck nerve pain after a car accident, she had the idea to incorporate neodymium magnets into a dilator set for pelvic pain. Due to her reduction in pain and positive feedback from doctors, Tara created VuVatech, a company dedicated to helping women with pelvic pain.

What’s the difference between an S-Corporation and a C-Corporation? by @DeborahSweeney

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What's the difference between an S-Corporation and a C-Corporation?

by Deborah Sweeney  | Featured Contributor

For all the new small business owners out there deciding which entity to file their business as, and the already-formed corporations thinking about tacking on a different election, this is the post for you. Choosing the right entity for your business is a huge enough deal, weighing the pros and cons of all the different elections is another entirely different ball game. Basically, there’s a lot to research when you start a business.

First of all, how exactly does one define a regular Corporation?

A corporation is an independent legal and tax entity, that’s legally separate from the people who own, control and manage it. Because of this separation, the owners of a corporation don’t use their personal tax returns to pay tax on corporate profits—the corporation itself pays these taxes.

Owners pay personal income tax only on money they draw from the corporation in the form of salaries, bonuses, and the like.

The C-Corporation

A C-Corporation is the most general type of corporation you can have. The owners of a C-Corporation are mostly protected from personal liability for business debts, although, if the corporation doesn’t follow the formalities of a corporation, there can be problems with personal liability. As a result, the formalities such as filing annual reports, maintaining separate bank accounts, keeping track of meeting minutes, and holding shareholders meetings are very important.

A huge benefit of owning a C-Corporation is that the owners can share corporate profits with the corporation, lowering the overall tax rate. A C-Corporation can also have an unlimited number of shareholders. Plus, if you wish to take your company public (selling shares over a public trade), you will definitely need to be in a C-Corporation, so starting out as one saves you some time and trouble down the road.

The S-Corporation 

An S-Corporation is a C-Corporation that has elected to be treated as an S-Corporation. It has the same personal liability protection and potential issues as a C-Corp, but it also comes along with some very precise formalities. An S-Corporation can only have a certain amount of shareholders and the shareholders must meet specific requirements. An S-Corporation also allows for corporate profit sharing, but the allocations must be done in accordance with the shares each owner owns. A benefit to this is that owners can use any losses of the corporation on their personal income tax returns, reducing personal tax liability in many instances.

In an S-Corporation, all business profits “pass through” to the owners, who report them on their personal tax returns. The S-Corporation itself does not pay any income tax.

Therefore, an S-Corporation elects not to be taxed as a corporation. After the corporation has been formed, it may elect “S-Corporation Status” by submitting IRS form 2553 to the Internal Revenue Service (in some cases a state filing is required as well).

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Deborah Sweeney – Legal Expert, CEO, MyCorporation.com – Calabasas, CA

Deborah Sweeney HeadshotAs CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc. (MyCorporation.com), Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With her experience in the fields of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah has evolved from lawyer to business owner. She has extensive experience in the start-up and entrepreneurial industry as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of businesses for MyCorporation.com’s customers.

Ms. Sweeney received her JD & MBA degrees from Pepperdine University. She is active in the community and loves working with students and aspiring entrepreneurs. She serves on the Board of Regents at California Lutheran University and is a founding member of Partners of Pepperdine. Deborah has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in the areas of corporate and intellectual property law. Ms. Sweeney is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites.  She is a regular contributor on Forbes, American Express, Social Media Today, and BlogHer among many others.

In her ‘free’ time, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin (8) and Christopher (6). Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Follow her on Twitter @deborahsweeney and @mycorporation.

Everything You Need to Know about Registered Agents by @deborahsweeney

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Everything You Need to Know about Registered Agents

by Deborah Sweeney | Featured Contributor

Starting a business involves making a lot of choices, and with those choices comes the opportunity to do plenty of research. You have to choose the right entity to file your business as, you need to become an expert on small business taxes, and you need to weigh your options when it comes to hiring a registered agent service or being your own registered agent. Consider this your registered agent (or RA) research.

First of all, what is a Registered Agent?

A registered agent is an “agent” of your corporation or LLC.  You’re supposed to officially designate this agent at the time of your incorporation or LLC registration in accordance with state requirements. The main role of a registered agent is to act as the representative for accepting Service of Process, and to forward any and all official legal and tax correspondence from the state to you, the business owner. They receive business and legal documents from county, state, and U.S. agencies. These documents include such things as notice of litigation (as mentioned above) franchise tax forms and annual report forms. Basically, a registered agent is an individual or entity who receives documents relating to the corporation.  In most cases, having a registered agent, whether you act as your own or hire a service, is mandatory.

Why exactly do you need one?

Once a business is formed on the state level, most jurisdictions require corporations or Limited Liability Companies to designate a registered agent to receive documentation on behalf of the company.  You also need one to remain in compliance with state law. If you don’t register and designate an agent your company: can’t legally enter into contracts and gain access to the state court system, is subject to monetary, civil, and possible criminal sanctions, and/or cause your jurisdiction to revoke a business’s corporate or LLC legal status.

Registered Agent Conditions

Your RA must have a physical street address in the state your company is formed.  This means no P.O. Boxes.  Additionally, the RA must be available during regular business hours to receive service of process. Their name and address needs to be listed on the formation documents of the business and that information is kept on record as the official contact for the company.  In fact, registered agent information is considered a matter of public record.

Your Options

A small business owner can definitely act as their own registered agent, just be sure to understand all that that entails, like needing to stay open during standard business hours. You get to save some money and not deal with a third party service, but make sure you’re keeping everything compliant or you stand the risk of falling out of good standing.

You can also hire an outside service to act as your registered agent. Many business owners like this option because it gives them a sense of privacy. Were they to ever be served, the mail wouldn’t be delivered directly to them; it would be delivered to their registered agent. This way, if a document must be served to your company, it will be served to the independent third party, as opposed to serving you with legal and/or personal business documents in the presence of customers, clients, vendors, employees, and neighbors.

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Deborah Sweeney – Legal Expert, CEO, MyCorporation.com – Calabasas, CA

Deborah Sweeney HeadshotAs CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc. (MyCorporation.com), Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With her experience in the fields of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah has evolved from lawyer to business owner. She has extensive experience in the start-up and entrepreneurial industry as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of businesses for MyCorporation.com’s customers.

Ms. Sweeney received her JD & MBA degrees from Pepperdine University. She is active in the community and loves working with students and aspiring entrepreneurs. She serves on the Board of Regents at California Lutheran University and is a founding member of Partners of Pepperdine. Deborah has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in the areas of corporate and intellectual property law. Ms. Sweeney is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites.  She is a regular contributor on Forbes, American Express, Social Media Today, and BlogHer among many others.

In her ‘free’ time, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin (8) and Christopher (6). Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Follow her on Twitter @deborahsweeney and @mycorporation.