Being a female entrepreneur is full of many different emotions like empowerment, anxiety, excitement, uncertainty, perseverance, and stress. You’ve got to be not only the boss but the worker bee, customer service rep, financial advisor, and more to succeed when you’re a one-woman shop. Being a female entrepreneur in business is not for the faint of heart!
In 2017 I went through two amazing training programs, Make It Work Online and Sales School. Those along with staying current with online mentors helped me learn three business lessons that you and I can take into 2018 to maximize our businesses this year.
Only spend time on services, platforms, products, and programs that serve my client
You should spend your time focusing on client getting activities that will most benefit your business and your client (Jenny Shih taught me that). If your client is using Instagram for their business but doesn’t have the time or the energy to regularly look through their newsfeed then the time you’re spending creating content for the platform is a waste of your time and doesn’t serve your client. Female entrepreneurs are busy y’all!
You might have a great idea for a product or program that you think your client wants, but unless your client actually knows that they need it you’ll be hard pressed to sell it to them. Instead of creating content about what you need, create content around what your client needs and wants to achieve their goals and dreams.
Apply this to your business by asking yourself the following questions: Where is my client spending her time? What does my client really need to realize their dreams? How can I meet a need that my client has?
If you’re stuck wondering where your female entrepreneur clients hang out, what her dreams are, or what needs she has, put together a simple survey or poll to find out!
It’s all about my client, not me
You have to dedicate all of your energy to showing your client the benefits of what you are providing them. This means you need to use their words to describe their hangups and pitfalls and paint a picture for them about how working with you or using your product will create the business they want to have.
Instead of writing your “Services” page focused on what you’re selling, write it focused on how your client feels now and how they’ll feel after completing the program.
Apply this to your business by making note of the following: What words do my clients use to describe their problems right now? What does my client want their life and business to look like after working with me?
You can use the information you got in the survey I mentioned before to gather all of this information. Or scroll through your Facebook page, group, or other groups that you’re in to find the language that your ideal client uses.
Set your own pace, but plan it out
Your business isn’t going to look like anyone else’s. You are a female entrepreneur with a unique set of circumstances, strengths, and traits that influence what your business looks like and how fast or slow it grows.
This year I found freedom in recognizing and accepting that I can set the pace that my business grows. You can do that too.
Jenny Shih taught me that in order to grow at the pace you want, you have to plan your growth. This means setting goals that are realistic and creating a routine that will help you achieve them. If you simply sit down at your computer whenever you have a free moment and tackle any tasks that have come up since you last sat down you’ll never move your business forward. By creating a plan for your time that includes time devoted to client getting activities, business maintenance, as well as the daily tasks that arise you’ll be able to actually move forward at the steady pace that you’ve determined instead of ending up at the end of 2018 at the same place you are currently.
Apply this to your business by: Identifying the time that you have available to devote to your business. Specify how much time on how many days you’ll work on business growth activities versus business reaction/upkeep activities. Set realistic goals and track them monthly to hold yourself accountable and recognize what needs to change in order to grow your business at the rate you want.
If you don’t know what all you have to do so don’t know how much time you need to allocate for each type of activity, keep a blank piece of paper next to your computer for a week or two and write down everything that you do. That will tell you how much time you’re spending on each type of task and you can plan your time according to that.
Want to learn more business lessons for the female entrepreneur for FREE?
My coach Jenny Shih is hosting a free online workshop in January as part of the leadup to her Make It Work Online program. She’ll give you a step-by-step plan to fill your roster with perfect clients and earn a full-time income from your online business.
Some of what you’ll learn:
- Get booked solid in just a few months (even if you have no paying clients right now)
- End your battle with overwhelm once and for all
- Package your skills, create “can’t resist” offers, and sell your services at premium prices
- Earn a full-time income from your online business (multiple streams of income NOT required!)
Register now for this FREE workshop!
