Women Entrepreneurs - Do You Have What It Takes? Articles | Entrepreneur

By: Matthew Hick

There are nearly 7 million female entrepreneurs in America. For some, the road to success is bumpy and hard. But, for others, the entrepreneurial life is both financially and emotionally rewarding. There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as taking a simple idea, and turning it into a successful business venture!

For most of these women, the draw of working from home was all the push they needed to leave the daily grind behind and step out on their own.. Why are home-based businesses so popular among today’s working women? The #1 reason, according to statistics, is the flexibility is affords the family as a whole. Women will almost always choose spending more time with their kids over more time in the workplace -- even if it means little ones underfoot in the office.

But, working from home can be difficult if you aren’t mentally and physically prepared for its demands. Couple that with the stress of starting a new business, and you may quickly find the pitfalls of a home-based business far surpassing its benefits. How can you be sure that you have what it takes to run a business, a family and a home? Those who’ve done it successfully recommend asking these five important questions before investing a lot of time or money in any new venture:

Do I Have Strong Leadership Qualities? Women are natural leaders. They’re good at figuring out what tasks need to get done – and doing it! Where some women fall short
is the ability to delegate responsibility to others to ensure that everything gets done in a timely and professional manner. Those who aren’t able to easily hand over important tasks to ensure the best possible person does them may find running a small business difficult.

Can I Make Decisions Easily? No one can be expected to take a new business venture seriously if the owner doesn’t exude confidence and knowledge about the product or service. Having the confidence to make hard decisions quickly is essential to growth and success in the business world.

Am I Good At Multi-Tasking? Women who rattle easily, find the stress of everyday difficult and can’t manage constant distraction, will find running a business out of your home excruciatingly difficult.

Am I Good At Negotiations? Women who are experts at handling a whining child, and fighting siblings shouldn’t find it difficult to handle employees’ disputes and grievances. Negotiation is a part of every mom’s daily routine – the trick is learning to sue those skills effectively in the office.

Do I Really Believe In This Product and/or Service? Want to succeed? Then get cocky! If you don’t think what you’re selling is the best thing out there, why should anyone else? Have confidence in yourself and your business, then go out there and get everyone else to believe in you too!

Have what it takes to succeed in the business world? Then take that million-dollar idea and get to work!