She Biz
The following is the first in a series of articles called "She-Biz" I'm writing for an online Magazine group on MySpace. Let me know what you think.
If there's something you'd like me to cover with regard to Women in Business, just send me a comment.
Capital Steps: Getting your great idea off the ground floor.
Think you’ve got a recipe to rival Mrs. Fields? Or perhaps you’ve created a beauty product that’s better than Estee Lauder’s? Maybe you want to use your years of expertise to “hang your own shingle” like New York real-estate maven Barbara Corcoran did? Now that you’ve got the “big idea”, what do you do next?
Many people are surprised to find that discovering that “big idea” is nary half the battle. Some people learn by doing, and more than a few successful women in business can share at least a tale or two about the times they learned from their mistakes. It comes with the territory. Beautiful crooner Sade once sang “it’s never as good as the first time.” Well, that may be true but any time you do something for the first time the chances are you aren’t very good at it. Anything, especially something so ambitious as creating and running a successful business, can be difficult and the road can be harrowing when you are just starting out.
Women seem to understand these pitfalls much more acutely than men. Traditionally, we are less aggressive when asking for raises or benefits. Consider that in 2005, the average female worker made only 77cents for every dollar that the average male in the same position earned. You can imagine how much more conservative we might be when thinking about going out on the limb of small business start-ups. But start-up we do. And it turns out that our conservative nature may actually be a benefit rather than a flaw.
Many women who start businesses follow a very deliberate plan of action. While there are so many unknowns when starting a new business, women tend to work and research until they’ve accounted for as many possibilities as is, well, possible. Following are a few steps that every She-Biz girl follows to insure that their “big idea” becomes a very real “big thing”.
RESEARCH: Research is a key to almost everything in business. Whether it be staking out a proposed site for a new storefront, polling people at the mall to find out what they think of your product, or investigating opportunities for special small business loans, a She-Biz girl does her research. At every step, she backs up her ideas and visions as much as possible. Research lessens risk.
WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN: A business plan is so much more than that thing you have to do to qualify for a loan or gain an investor. It’s the magna carta of your business. It puts all of that research you’ve been doing into clear cut, easy to read pros and cons. If you can’t make your big idea fly in a business plan, than the chances are slim that it will actually work in real life. A business plan makes the She-Biz entrepreneur prove to herself first and foremost that her idea will work. This is a living, breathing document and should be revisited and updated from time to time.
WRITE A MARKETING PLAN: Similar to a business plan, the marketing plan is dedicated to how you are going to get your product to the masses. Will you sell exclusively online or in a storefront? How will you let the consumer know your product exists? How will you keep track of your customers? A good marketing plan means the She-Biz CEO will never have to answer that age old question, “If a good idea is sold in a remote forest; will anybody actually know it exists?”
UNDERSTAND YOUR BUSINESS STRUCTURE: Decide what’s best for you and your business. Are you a Limited Liability Company, an S-Corporation or is running your business as a sole-proprietor the best solution? Once you decide on a structure, make sure you understand all of the tax and financial implications of your business at the local, state, and national levels. If you have partners, ALWAYS have an operating agreement. The biggest mistake a new entrepreneur can make is to get into partnerships without a solid understanding of what that partnership is. This is especially true if getting involved with family and friends. A detailed agreement in writing is the only way to insure that everyone understands what their responsibilities are. A She-Biz girl is never afraid of the details.
REACH OUT: There are many outlets and established groups aimed at helping the Small Business person. Women have the advantage here as there are many wonderful organizations specifically interested in helping women achieve their small business dreams. A well-known Broadway producer once told me that the key to being a producer is all about relationships. (Remember, a Broadway Producer’s principle job is to convince people to give money to a project that will most likely never be financially successful. If anybody understands the need for Relationships, it’s her.) I think this is true for any business. And while women can sometimes have a reputation for cattiness, and competition, this behavior can be detrimental to starting a fledgling business. Leave the drama to "Desperate Housewives"; a She-Biz Business Woman creates relationships with respect.
Great places to start for support and encouragement are: The Small Business Administration (SBA), The SBA’s Online Women’s Business Center, Women-21.gov and right here at Soy Latte.
BE RESILIENT: No man or woman can negate all of the risks of starting a business. The best research, business plan, marketing plans, or “best laid plans” can hit a snag. When the going gets rough, the tough She-Biz girls roll up their sleeves and figure out a way to turn those lemons into lemonade.
BE FEARLESS: When starting a small business, there are many moments where you are faced with that roller-coaster moment, that “uh-oh, what have I got myself into” realization. These gut-checks are an integral and necessary part of creating a successful business venture. They can be a warning that something is awry with your business plan or your partnership agreement or some other facet of your plans. When faced with these moments of fear and indecision it’s important to face them head-on so that you’ll know if you need to tweak your plans or call your friends for a dose of “attagirl” and “you can do it”.
As you plot your course for turning your “big idea” into a successful small business and then turning that successful small business into an empire, these integral steps will help navigate your way through some of the most hazardous and stormy waters. They are the foundation of achieving your entrepreneurial dreams. And one day, in the not too distant future, we may be seeing YOUR name at the top of a business article extolling the virtues and habits of successful businesswomen.