International Women's Day 2018 - Words of Wisdom from 12 female entrepreneurs

3/7/2018

As a mentor to creative and food businesses, I’m contacted on pretty much a weekly basis by women, usually at a time of great change in their lives - on maternity leave and thinking about the prospect of return to work, illness and no longer being able to do a 9-5 as before or facing redundancy and being unsure about the road ahead.

Being the amazing, creative and resourceful beings that they are, they usually have a seed of an idea for a business they’d like to set up. Or, like me, be looking to turn a hobby into a profitable business, so they can support their families while doing something they love.

Quite often, faced with the prospect of giving up stable employment and the comfort of a regular monthly wage, they are understandably fearful of taking a leap into the unknown. I know when I found myself in this situation 6 years ago, this is exactly how I felt. Like them, I turned to entrepreneurship as a way of navigating this challenging inflection point in my life.

I’ve been privileged to share my business journey with some pretty amazing, inspiring female entrepreneurs, many of whom, like me, started their businesses from home, as a side hustle, and have grown their start ups into into established, creative brands. They do a stirling job every day of juggling entrepreneurship with childcare, families, single parenthood, voluntary work, caring for elderly relatives - some of them with proper day jobs too, with such creativity, courage & determination.

A few weeks ago I asked some of them what piece of advise they would give to someone setting up their business now. Their responses were as varied & diverse as these lovely ladies themselves.

I’m sharing their advice here in celebration of female entrepreneurship on International Women’s Day 2018:

I would say be prepared to work harder on this than you ever thought you would. Most of the self employed creatives I know, started out part-time to see if the idea worked before quitting the safety of the employed world! But even those "part-time" hours ended up being more than full-time hours in any normal job! It will suck the hours out of you at times, but the bonus is, it's all for you! All for your business baby. Oh, and it will ruin you forever in terms of being employed by anyone else ever again. Once you do your own thing, it's kinda addictive!

Betsy Benn

Believe in yourself (and your products & services), and others will believe in you.

Michelle Lancaster Wink Design

I would say, take care that you know what you stand for at the beginning and that you hold true to that essence while you grow. That is the super power, the DNA of your business and it is easy to lose it when you are trying to expand.

Jane Lindsey Snapdragon

Get into good habits with your accounts from day one. I'm still to yet to do this and it always causes me stress.

Jennifer Hackett Jennifer Giles

Have faith in yourself and your product and try not to compare yourself unfavourably with others.

Nicky Hemming Nickynackynoo

Think carefully about the business name you want to use before you launch. When you are keen to get started it can be tempting to make do with the first idea that seems okay. After 6 months I realised I needed to change mine and although it is of course possible to do this it can be very frustrating. I spent a lot longer deliberating and ensuring I was happy with the new choice than I had when I started.

Charlotte White The Forgotten Library

One thing I wish I'd done was to separate out my personal and business finances from the beginning. Getting a business account was great, and even better was becoming a limited company (which you can set up before you even start). I like that with a Limited Company everything to do with the business is completely separate from your own personal finances.

Gemma Hutchinson Newton & the Apple

Have a trusted circle of friends & other business owners who would give you sound advice as outsiders. Tthe view from outside the bubble is totally different.

Swati Biwal Cheeky Food Co

Ooo what a great question. Mine would be to always remember to not compare the beginning of your journey to someone else's middle. It's so easy to compare and get discouraged, thinking you'll never be able to get where you want to go, but everyone started from somewhere.

Amanda Appiagyei Kindred Creatives

I would say defend your niche! Ideas will come and go, but be true to yourself and create what feels right in your heart. You can't sell with passion unless the passion is there for what you're creating.

Kyleigh Orlebar Kyleigh's Papercuts

Things will go wrong from time to time and that’s okay. When you’re starting, you’ll think you know which direction you want to go in but its quite normal to end up somewhere completely different. It’s often for a very good reason but it won’t become clear why, until you look back on your journey.

Amanda Perry

I always felt like I was playing at running a business.. and that I wasn’t good enough. Looking back now, it was because I fell into it rather than decided to run a business. I was good enough, I just needed to believe in myself.

Su Lawrence Suzy Q Designs

So there you have it. Twelve pieces of incredibly invaluable & insightful advice for anyone starting a food or creative business today.

So tell me, if you are thinking of starting up, what's holding you back? Or if you're already on the start up journey, what piece of advice would you have?

Let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear your story.

Nila x

If you're a food or creative entrepreneur starting or scaling your business or looking to turn your hobby into a business then do come over and join my members only facebook group Kitchen Table Entrepreneur where I regularly offer support, tips/tricks and training to help you grow and become profitable.

I look forward to meeting you over there!