We all know the stories of the women who’ve come before us.
They were your mothers, your grandmothers, your great-grandmothers. The trail-blazers, the seekers of truth, the ones who wanted more for the generations to come. The ones who were told their contributions to the home were more important than their ability to contribute to the patriarchal workforce.
There were women entrepreneurs who built their own empire anyway.
- Madame C. J. Walker: recorded as the first female self-made millionaire as well as one of the first African American millionaires.
- Olive Ann Beech: co-founded a company that provided aircrafts to the U.S. military during World War II.
- Pauline Trigere: built a high-end fashion house from a tailoring business with her rise in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
- The push for female rights in the 1970’s creating top names including Martha Stewart and Barbara Bradley.
These women made a name for themselves even when it was seemingly impossible to make their voices heard.
Even though women entrepreneurs are doubling in numbers today, they’re still struggling in a male-dominated economy. However, there is a bright side: the number of women-owned businesses have grown 114% from 20 years ago.
Frost & Sullivan reported that in the next five years, the woman economy is expected to grow past some of the economies of the largest nations. In fact, before the start of the pandemic, it proposed more than 40% of registered businesses would be women-owned by the end of 2020. While growth can’t be denied, it’s important to remember in the midst of the pandemic, women entrepreneurs are impacted and need more support now than ever.
So, with all this in mind: how can we support the continued evolution of the woman entrepreneur?
Create Scalable Products That Attract Investors
Women founders are struggling to find access to venture capital (VC). Businesses powered by women gathered less than 3% of VC in venture-backed U.S. startups last year. Big deal considering what VC can do for a business starting out. Most of the capital is going to male and mixed gender founding startups. This so-called “funding gap” is extreme, with women-founded companies taking the hit.
The key is to make your products and services something investors can hang their hats on.
Meaning: make them scalable.
Scalability is the ability to earn more than you spend to make the magic happen in your business. You’re growing exponentially, therefore you’re scaling.
This scalability attracts investors. And it starts with strategy and long-term planning. Everything from zeroing in your ideal customer to solid market research helps you scale your business.
Build a Team that Supports Growth
Building a team is just as important as the products you’re offering. At the end of the day, you’re only as good as your weakest team member.
A team set for growth includes gathering those with different skill sets, personality types, and diverse backgrounds. You then couple this with a shared vision for your company’s future.
The growth happens when you highlight each person’s unique strengths to create unified formation. Don’t focus on fitting the “looks good on paper” team together. See how each person can meld to create one strong voice.
Invest in the Woman Economy
Did you know that 70-80% of all consumer purchases are women-driven? Even if the purchases aren’t all by women, they’re still the ones influencing the market through their primary caregiver status. Therefore, it’s vital for them to have a say in what comes off the production lines.
Women are highly underrepresented in the consumer market and rarely have a voice when it comes to diversifying their needs. They shouldn’t be seen as a one-size-fits-all consumer base. The key is catering to the individual woman in your offerings. What can you bring to the table that no one else can for that specialized customer? Start there and work your way to investing in projects and groups that cater to the individual woman and steer clear of gender stereotyping.
Create a Strong Personal Brand
Your personal brand should be the epicenter of everything you create and frame you as an authority to be taken seriously in every single endeavor as a creator or as an investor, and ultimately throughout your entire career.
It starts with strategy. Having something perceived as valuable gives you leverage. This then gives you investors, giving you liquid assets. You can then invest in what you care about and the woman economy as a whole.
Start your personal branding journey with our free 30 minute masterclass. In this masterclass, we give you the basic strategies for success so you can start attracting investors and building on long-term wealth. Access it here.
