5 Ways Women CEO's are investing in their business
Becoming the CEO
40% of businesses in the United States are owned by women, generating $1.8 trillion a year.
Are you a woman ready to breakthrough your mental limits and step into your role as a true CEO?
With approximately 1,800 new business being registered by women every day in 2019, you are not alone.
It was March 2015, and I was suddenly thrust into a CEO position (by my own doing), with no clue, what being an online business owner, actually meant.
Despite being super excited, I was also terrified. But, I told myself, I MUST make this business work, I need to, I WILL. I’m not going to quit. My goal, was to bring in enough monthly revenue to support myself and my daughter. Embarking on this entrepreneurship journey, felt like I was preparing to jump out of a plane without a parachute!!! I had a few issues after I jumped and I had to come up with some solid solutions to stay airborne.
Problem #1
No one in my family was able to guide me on this entrepreneurship journey. And all of my friends were 9-5ers with jobs and careers.
Problem #2
I suddenly had to learn 10 new positions, that I didn’t go to school for. This is a list of all the areas I now had to learn, from branding to billing and everything in between. Accountant, Administrator, Attorney, Author, Coach, Outreach, Marketing, Receptionist ,Therapist and Sales.
Problem # 3
I felt overwhelmed, anxious and surprisingly very alone. I felt like there was no one who understood, like I had no support...this made me frequently consider quitting.
“Why do CEO’s need to invest in their business”
If you want to manifest more money, you have to invest more money.
You would think the answer is obvious. Your return on investment, is having more courage, more knowledge, better contacts, more money and MORE! lol
But this is not always a “no brainer”. When it comes to our subconscious thoughts, our negative self-talk, doubt and fear. Many people talk themselves out of the investing their career, because they secretly FEAR it won’t work.
Has that ever happened to you?
The real problem, is that you fear you won’t do the work. You lack self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is our belief in our ability to do something. Kind of like on January 1st, more than half of new members in the gym, will be no shows by March. It doesn’t hurt so much if investment is only $10 a month. What does hurt is investing $1,000 a month in your business and NOT showing up or doing the work.
Not only do you have to invest money, you also have to invest TIME.
Think about it, you want clients to invest in your services, but you won’t even invest in yourself. You don’t put the money into your personal and business growth and you don’t show up consistently. The underlying message, will be not to take you seriously.
A scarcity mindset, tells you that you will never have enough money, an abundance mindset tells you that money is always flowing $1.8 trillion to be exact.
What is your money mindset? What kind of energy do you bring to your business is it positive or negative?
“How do new Entrepreneurs invest like a CEO?
Running a business, is 50% mindset and 50% action. If your thoughts and actions are not completely aligned, you won’t get results and you’ll eventually give up.
Personal Development
Have you recently started a business or want to start? But what you need to do, to become a CEO scares you?
First things first, mindset, I adopted a personal development lifestyle, which contributes to a growth mindset. Upgrading your business, requires a growth mindset. Let me repeat. Getting to that next level requires you to grow your mind.
Developing a growth mindset and managing your emotions, takes time, requires practice and consistency.
You can spend all your money, your ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS, on the best business coach, the most expensive mastermind group or coaching program, but if you feel scared, anxious, sad, have low self esteem, fear failure, then it doesn't matter who you work with or how much you spend.
If you don't get your mind right, you will live and die in your comfort zone, because nothing grows there. You’ll make excuses and blame everyone and everything for your downfall. You need support to develop your business, but it’s critical that you have consistent support for your mindset and your mood.
Create a personal development lifestyle it will make your business development a lot easier and you’ll sustain your success.
Individual Therapy - You can deal with deep rooted anxiety, depression or grief. Things in your subconscious holding you back.
Women’s Retreats - An opportunity to relax and recharge in the company of supportive peers to improve overall well-being.
Life & Wellness Coaching - This can help you if you have a hard time with living healthy, staying organized or focused.
Business Networking
If you struggle with anxiety… or you’re a self-proclaimed introvert, you need to learn how to build relationships that can grow your business. Networking is very important, the return on investment can be invaluable. I help entrepreneurs break through their anxiety networking.
These are professional relationships. Some of these relationships will help you to build your business and if you learn how to build quality networking relationships, it makes entrepreneurship much more rewarding.
“Your network equals your net worth.”
After you start your business, you need customers and connections! How do you connect with other entrepreneurs? How do you interact with potential clients? How do you actually network like a business owner? And ...BUILD!
In 2018, I participated in business networking community, Millennial Empire Builders. It was a great way to learn, while networking with other professionals. In 2019, I volunteered with a non-profit organization called How We See It? both communities have allowed me to learn, grow and broaden my network. You can pretty much network anywhere but there are multiple formal means of networking.
Business Networks- Paid Memberships (i.e. Chamber of Commerce)
Professional Associations- Paid memberships in your field of expertise (i.e. National Career Development Association)
Networking Meetup Groups- Low fee, Informal business networking.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Networking Like a Pro, Ivan Misner and Brian Hilliard (Yes CEO’s invest in good books)
Business Systems
Having systems in your business and for your business, make you a more effective entrepreneur. You can be more efficient, when you find ways to streamline your work. Learn to work smarter and not harder. Think of what procedures, software and apps can make your business run smoother, so you can focus working on the stuff you love.
I used to feel like I was spending HOURS, endlessly doing administrative work, things a receptionist or secretary would do for me. I had to think of how to make this easier, so I would not burn out. For my therapy practice, I use an online office management site to see my clients, they can schedule themselves, pay their invoices, the online office practically can be set up to run itself.
Example:
Automated schedulers- To post to social media. You can upload all your content for a whole month, set it and forget it. Hootesuite and Planoly have free options.
Automated calendars- Clients can set up consultation calls, so you don’t have to go back and forth with them, which takes up time. Check out Calendly or Acuity.
Automated emailing- You can send multiple emails to your entire mailing list. Sites like Constant Contact and Mailchimp are great for this.
What business systems do you need to invest in?
Business Branding
Think about the distinction between these two brands, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, they both sell coffee and pastries, but if you think about it, they are very different and attract different clientele. You may think business branding is just about the colors you use, although that is a big part of it, because Starbucks is green and Dunkin is orange and pink. You can hire someone to make sure your brand reflects your personal style, appeals to your niche market and conveys a consistent message online and offline.
Website - A professional website will attract customers and invite them to speak with you.
Social Media - Branded posts with your original content is a game changer. But you have to have a consistent look and message.
Printed Content - Will you be creating books, brochures or business cards, make sure everything is aligned with your brand.
Business Coaching
You don’t have to study business in school, get a certification or have an MBA degree, to be successful in business.
I took an online business course a few years ago, that helped me to fast tracked my business launch in just three months. Some business coaches help you with business start-up, some help you with business growth and then there are specific coaches that specialize in areas that you may need help with in your business. I have worked with a coach for the following, business launch, business growth, branding, content creation, public speaking and publicity.
Make sure before you hire a business coach, you find out exactly how they can help you for example, what is their specialization.
Sales Coach - If you are uncomfortable selling (this is me) a sales coach, helps you to learn sales strategies.
Marketing Coach - Learn how to get your message out to the public in a way that brings in more customers.
Business Start-Up Coach- You don’t know where to start, you can get support with everything from registering to launching.
Business Mindset Coach - Transitioning from thinking like an employee to thinking like an entrepreneur is a learned skill.
One of my greatest investments to date was investing in a “story telling coach” (public speaking coach) because it helped me build build skills in public speaking and copy writing.
One month after working with my coach, I was able to push past my social anxiety and speak on stage, when she spontaneously called on me to do a live testimonial at a women’s business conference in New Orleans.
I still manage my social anxiety, I wouldn’t consider myself a “master public speaker”, but I get the message across, lol.
I have had numerous invitations to speak at workshops, events, conferences and corporate trainings. Although, I have spoken at unpaid gigs, I have also had paid speaking engagements. My most recent speaking engagement was at Florida Atlantic University.
With my “story telling coach”. Women’s Conference, New Orleans.
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About The Author:
Seneca Williams, LMHC, CPC, therapist and coach, is the Founder of the premiere membership network for women, to address entrepreneurship and emotional wellness. The Conquer Network was birthed, when she realized the distinct connection between an entrepreneurs success to her emotional wellness and mindset, which is not addressed in traditional business coaching. She helps women entrepreneurs, build confidence and improve their emotions, to improve their productivity as an entrepreneur. In the network, entrepreneurs gain strategies on personal growth and entrepreneurship from industry experts.
Source:
https://www.fundera.com/resources/women-owned-business-statistics