Having written about tech and ICT for almost eight years, whilst starting and running a couple of businesses along the way, ICT Pulse Editor and Publisher, Michele Marius, shares a few of the things she has learned, so far, about being an entrepreneur and a woman in business.

 

This past Wednesday, 5 December, and as a mentor of the Founder Institute, I was invited to speak at a roundtable held in Kingston, Jamaica. The event was a Female Founder Roundtable, on the theme, “How to get ahead in entrepreneurship”, and the space was packed to capacity with female entrepreneurs and those who still mulling over business ideas.

To give some context, Founder Institute is a pre-seed start-up accelerator, which essentially means it focuses on helping start-ups in the period before they might be looking for funding. As a result, it has programmes designed to help entrepreneurs rigorously examine all of the main elements of a business, and to do the work that could increase its chances of longer term success. Hence, in addition to bringing visibility to the organisation and its programmes, the roundtable was convened to bring women together to share their entrepreneurship experiences and some learnings to date.

Perhaps surprisingly, I had never been asked before to speak about my entrepreneurship journey. However, I also had never given much thought to it before – my schedule was always so full that I really didn’t have the time to think about the blood, sweat and tears I’ve shed along the way. However, once I did sit to prepare for the roundtable, I realised that I’ve learned a thing or two over the years. Here are just five of them.

1. There no quick fixes

Owning a start-up is hard work. In. They demand your attention and effort, and it usually take a while for you develop traction in your market. So, be patient.

Further, in the beginning, you may be the only person working on your venture, and so the buck stops with you. Although you might be able to get family and friend to pitch in occasionally, which might give you a moment’s reprieve, you may still not be able to ‘relax and take it easy’ for a very long time. The days can be long, with (long) holidays becoming rare, to virtually non-existent.

2. Women tend to be the one holding themselves back

Coupled with the hard work of just getting a business off the ground, I have found that as a woman, I am also fighting a whole host of internal battles, which I believe are rooted in how girls have been socialised in most western societies. Generally, we are expected to be quiet, cautious, not to take risks, not to be bold, and so on.

However, in having those traits in the business world can result in us lacking confidence, being thin-skinned, and having relatively small professional networks – all of which can be liability as an entrepreneur. As a result, there may need to be some conscious unlearning and reconditioning, in order to break that limiting mindset, and our ability to better take charge of our entrepreneurial pursuits.

3.  Women tend to be risk averse, which can also stifle their businesses

Following from the character traits highlighted in the previous point, women also tend to be highly risk averse. Hence, although many women might start a venture, most are unwilling give up their 9 to 5 and go into their own venture fully time.

Frequently, the uncertainty scares them, especially in light of the financial commitments they (and their families) might have. As a result, the venture remains as a side hustle, which may find itself on the back burner, or completely abandoned, when the full time job, or life, demands more attention.

That lack of attention and inconsistent management can result in several missed opportunities. However, more importantly, it means mean that business rarely gets what it needs on a sustained basis for it to grow, and consequently, for the female owner to be in a position to leave her full-time job to run her own business.

4.  There is a huge difference having a side hustle versus and when there is no safety net

Having run my business part-time for a few years, I have come to realise that there is a huge difference between how you run a business when it is your side hustle, and when you fully expect it pay the bills. Typically, if something is your side hustle, it means that there is something else that is your ‘main hustle’. When the main hustle demands attention, the side hustle tends to suffer. If you do not make a consistent income from your side hustle, that’s okay, because that is what the main hustle is for.

However, when the side hustle becomes your main hustle, it’s a totally different ballgame. You cannot afford to be as laid back. Hence, the issues you were prepared to overlook, the opportunities you were prepared to miss for a side hustle, can be crucial to your main business.

5.  Pay attention to your market

Over the past 10—20 years, the pace of business has sped up. More importantly, customers –their behaviour, preferences and needs – are continually changing. It therefore means that business owners need to pay even greater attention to what is happening in their market. What may have worked a year, or even six months ago, may be outdated today.

It is thus important to find ways and means to measure and assess what is going on in your market, and also how customer behaviour is changing. It also means that you many need to revisit your business model or plan on a far more regular basis, to ensure that what you are offering is still relevant to your market, and to your customers.

 

 

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