Women who start their own business often enter pursuits that are male dominated – and being a business owner in general has traditionally been the realm of men.
Some of us have felt (or still do feel) like we have to adopt male traits in order to make an impact and find success. This is often because many of our role models or predecessors in our chosen field are male. But while you might feel pressure to do this, in the long run it is not going to work if you try to be someone you’re not. Your customers will know you are not being authentic and you are unlikely to see success in your business because you are not able to use your strengths and abilities.
For example, if you are naturally friendly and like to put people at ease, but the ‘traditional’ way of interacting with customers is purely to ‘talk business’, don’t be afraid to be yourself. Of course there is always a balance – spending half a consultation making light conversation is not the best use of yours or their time!
Stereotypically, women tend to include emotional factors when making decisions. This can be really valuable – I have written recently about listening to your gut instinct, and that is definitely important! But if you find that many or all of your decisions are based on how you feel, you may find yourself making poor decisions. For example, we can all feel anxious, scared or apprehensive about a change in direction. But if we listened solely to those emotions, we would never achieve anything!
Finally, despite what we (or others) might be thinking, it is OK to fail. So many women that I know in business place enormous pressure to get everything ‘right’ and ‘perfect’. But I think most of us know, it is from our mistakes and failures that we learn the most. So be brave, surround yourself with other brave women, curb your perfectionism and rise to the challenge!
Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender