Top Entrepreneurial Lessons from Female Founders

Top Entrepreneurial Lessons from Female Founders

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  Top Entrepreneurial Lessonsfrom Female Founders EnrichHER Asks: What's your biggest entrepreneurial lesson to date? ?
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  We asked femalefounders to share their biggest entrepreneurial lessons with other aspiring female founders. Top Entrepreneurial Lessons from Female Founders
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  "As an entrepreneur,you must have strong faith, conviction, and tenacity towards your purpose in work. Allow that purpose to be the source of everything you do." Alanna Loren Cooke Founder of Loren Investments www.loreninvestments.com "Although, it is vital to do everything from a place of passion & purpose, don't forget to set-up a financial model that will sustain your vision and your team. " Cierra FLY Bobo Founder of FLY Life Inc. www.theflylife.org "Trust your team - I have a tendency to micro-manage which leads to 80 hour work weeks. I've learned that my team is made up of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and they just need a little nudge. That's it. I learned to delegate and its kept me from burning out." Barbara Jones Founder of Freeing Returns www.freeingreturns.com
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  "It’s important tounderstand that what you’re building actually brings value to the customers and makes a difference. Many entrepreneurs fall in love with their ideas. They refuse to see if their product is actually useful or not. I was also one of them at one point. But instead of sticking to that one idea, I decided to move on to something that is more meaningful." Shahzeen Rehman Founder of SeatCheck App www.seatcheckapp.com "Continue to be creative." Robbie Walker, Ph.Dc Founder of Reklaw Clothing www.reklawclothing.com "Market Research is never a waste of time. In fact, it is the most essential part of your startup process. It may take a while, but it will not come back to haunt you if done correctly. You will learn more about yourself and your goals, and you will gain so much clarity. I would go as far as to say market research is the runway to success. It's the wind beneath the wings of your dream." Kiara Thomas Founder of Konnectic Energy www.instagram.com/konnecticenergy
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  "Entrepreneurship (specifically inthe beginning) can be very uncomfortable. The sooner you embrace and lean into the discomfort, the unknown of the journey the easier the early days will pass on your road to growth." Ashlee Ammons Founder of Mixtroz www.mixtroz.com "Don't let anyone, not even you, talk you out of accomplishing your goals and dreams" Shawntel Asemota White Founder of Dose of Om www.doseofom.com "My number one entrepreneurial lesson is to always be open to criticism. My entire career is based on this application, since most of my work is in the creative field. We take our work seriously and it becomes our child, and we become defensive if someone doesn't like it the first time they see it. So, learning how to accept criticism and grow from it is a valuable asset to any business owner." Lynsey Weatherspoon Founder of Lynsey Weatherspoon Photography www.lynseyweatherspoon.com
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  "That feeling likean imposter is normal" Casey Stewart Upton Founder of The Emotional Labor Union www.theelu.com "You can't do it alone! Find and cultivate your networks of other bosses who can support you along the way." Maggie Germano Founder of Maggie Germano www.maggiegermano.com "Trust yourself and your vision, always. Listen to advice and be open, but if you have a clear vision that you know is the right path for you, do not let others cloud it with their agendas or their own definition of what is needed to be successful. There are many ways to be successful in this world." Julie Yoder Founder of The English Teacher Collective www.englishteachercollective.com
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  "So many peoplewill give you advice about your business. Always stay true to what you are doing and trust your gut." Veronica Berry Founder of Tru Diary www.trudiary.com "START - I've spent the past years thinking and dreaming about the businesses I want to create and the change I want to see in the world, but it took me a while to realize no one else is going to make my dreams come true. Even if there is competition, there is something unique about myself and everyone else that no one has. Start. Stop if you must, but start again. Once I started actually putting my notes and thoughts into action, I quickly began seeing results and validating my ideas (or learning not to waste more time on certain ones). Even if you already have a business or project, there are some big ideas you have that will probably make a huge impact on your business, but seem like a lot of work or something you can't do. Just start." Shanelle Roberson Founder of FreeTruth Financial Solutions www.freetruthmvmt.com "My biggest lesson to date has been understanding that no matter how saturated the market might seem there is always room for your gift." Sharnikya Howard Founder of Life Abundantly Coaching www.lifeabundantlycoaching.com
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  "Time and healthis limited so need to be choosey of who and when to spend time with. Always take care of yourself (mental and physical) no matter what is happening." Jessica Tunon Founder of Netwalk Global www.netwalkglobal.com "My biggest entrepreneurial lesson to date has been the importance of team. So much of entrepreneurship is depicted as a one (wo)man show. Long hours, 24/7 hustle and celebrating team no sleep. Although there is some truth to this I have learned that I can't build a empire alone. I understand that if I am the only person in the company doing every the company will not grow and I can not do what I most desire to do which is create jobs and opportunities for others." CherDon Reynolds Founder of She Prints It www.sheprintsit.com "You're always selling something. Every day you're selling your product/service to customers or media contacts or startup accelerators or competitions or bloggers or seed investors. You should be micro-pitching all day every day. You should bring an excitement to the conversation every time, because initially you are the entire marketing and sales team. You're also selling yourself every day--to investors, to pitch competitions, to startup accelerators, to your landlord, to your friends/family who will put in sweat for love or equity. If you don't want to sell, if you don't embrace the excitement and love for what you do, yourself and your customers, reset your mindset. Learn to love talking about what you do and telling that story and how it changes customer lives for the better. I do this in every phase of my career--whether I'm starting a business, selling a product, helming operations for a big company, or practicing corporate law. Learning to love what you're doing and enjoy telling that story, and seeing how what you're doing ties into solving the problems of everyone around you, that is how you will win in your current business, and every other venture or career step you make. Bring that lesson with you from now until the end of your days." Juliana Neelbauer Senior Associate at Drew, Eckl, Farnham Law Firm www.deflaw.com
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  "As a newbieentrepreneur my biggest lesson to date is to ensure that prior to the official launch of a new business, business insurance is a necessity despite very little equipment an entrepreneur has acquired during its start-up phase, and/or the little risk that your business may or may not have. Business insurance is a must as it is a means to ensure that entrepreneur's earliest business investments are protected, as well as their clients/customers are covered should anything unfortunate happens while in the entrepreneur’s service or care." Kelli Mumphrey Founder of MilkSpace www.milkspaceusa.com " The conversation you've been putting off, for whatever reason, is the one you most need to have! I had a client who had wrapped up an engagement with me and we had talked about doing additional work together. When it came time to nailing down the details, she was evasive and not as responsive as she had previously been. Rather than assign my own reasons as to why that might be (my pricing was too high, she didn't see the value, etc.) I simply called her and found that she had some personal tragedies in the previous weeks that prevented her from focusing. Not only did we continue to work together, but she appreciated that I reached out with compassion and patience. Nurturing your relationships takes many forms but there is no substitute for genuine conversation and connection." Liz Whitehead Founder of 12PointFive www.12pointfive.com "That it's a team effort. It requires people with diverse skill sets and backgrounds." Miracle Olatunji Founder of OPPORTUNIME www.opportunime.co
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  "Don’t sell yourselfshort. Throughout the entrepreneurial journey, there will be times that you will second guess yourself, your abilities, and allow the thoughts of others to cloud your thinking. Don't allow that...always believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, how will others have confidence that you are right for the job. When you know what you are worth and the knowledge that you possess, you will not be fearful to charge exactly what you and your services are worth." TaRhonda Harvey Founder of TaRhonda Harvey www.tarhondaharvey.com "Other entrepreneurs are your best resource." Sanna Gaspard Founder of Rubitection www.rubitection.com "It takes a lot of organization and focus to jump into being an entrepreneur. Especially since I came from the agency world where processes are already in place. I am still learning to set aside time to focus on something specific and not steer from that plan." Stephanie Smith Founder of Digital Insomnia www.digitalinsomnia.com
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  "My biggest lessonis that you need to make sure you have a product market fit and that you're not trying to do too much. wiseHer started out looking very differently but after doing lots of research both in-person, through online channels and dedicated to the audience, we created something our market told us they wanted in the way they wanted. I'm sure we'll be tweaking as we go but we did as much pre-work as possible." Kathryn Rose Founder of WiseHER www.wiseher.com "Be Patient. All overnight successes take years. As entrepreneurs, we are in this for the long haul. Enjoy the journey." Jean Ginzburg Founder of Jean Ginzburg www.jeanginzburg.com
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  EnrichHER unites Foundersand Funders who share a vision for sustainable women-led ventures. To learn more about the EnrichHER platform, visit our website at www.iEnrichHER.com