Tough Lessons To Be Learnt By Women Entrepreneurs

 Source: The Kickstarter


When things go wrong as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all uphill, remember, it is going to be tough but it will be WORTH IT. 

                               

There are bright chances that the owner of a big company or a successful startup turns out to be a woman. We live in an era where it will indeed be a moment of pride and not surprise when the next CEO will be a she and the next congressman will be a congresswoman.


After thousands of years of oppression, women worldwide occupy key positions in all spheres of society. So, those who tell you- “Leave it. It is not your cup of tea”, be wise enough to ignore them but those who try to actually put some light on- “What it would take to become a businesswoman or an entrepreneur in C-suite ?”, pay heed to their words. 


Hence, identifying those in the crowd who actually want to see you grow is the first and foremost task. The lessons are endless but let’s focus on the toughest ones, to begin with. 


Welcome to the World of Unfair Competition


Though many of you would say that the world’s not fair for men but the harsh truth is women have to face more. The reason being very straight up, people have never seen women leading all by themselves in the past, therefore the seed of doubt of trusting their idea always comes in the way because society thinks of women as people who have had a history of managing homes and not corporations. Therefore, to get to a platform the same as men you will have to be better and go the extra mile. 


Source: Kabbage


Have Strong Backs to Handle Unshared Responsibility


I was a little surprised when the richest woman in the world said that her mom always tells her that at home she is not the CEO of PepsiCo but a mother and a wife. The fact that a human being plays different roles is absolutely acceptable but the same is never told to the males. 


As a woman, one is expected to manage the house and the business i.e. whatever you do outside, you should know how to be a housewife because unfortunately the concept of househusband and shared responsibility is still not digested by society. Yes, the concept is highly condemnable but the reality differs, unfortunately.  


If today you decide to start your own company, the first thing you will be expected to do is either get settled and if already married then make sure that your house runs well while you are working whereas the same doesn’t go for men. Men are always given the liberty to focus just on their work but sadly the same doesn’t go for women. 


No matter how successful you become, people will always measure your success with the way how well a woman can handle her house and work which is lame. However, this doesn’t mean that you measure your success in the same way. It’s you who has to decide if society’s defined success will become your success or you are yourself going to define it.


Time for Mental Roughness and Toughness 


Mental strength is the key. You can’t take a step forward in the world of business which is generalized to belong to men unless and until your heart and mind are strong. There are no ifs and buts, you have to be logical, practical, decisive, confident, and very much clear as far as the whats and whys are concerned. The corporate culture around is indeed biased towards the male way of doing things and you can’t change that in a click, you have to fight that. 


Deciding to take up business not a job, deciding to form a company instead of getting married or having kids, putting your business above everything will always make you stand in the witness box, not of the courtroom but a society where thousands of questions, allegations and taunts will be smashed straight on your face but in the midst of all of this to firmly stand by what you want, believe in will make all the difference which will only happen if you are bold enough. 


 

Source: The Economic Times


Apart from it, being a good decision maker is extremely important for women. In the corporate world, major decision-makers are men with whom you are going to cross paths with. Therefore, make sure you are as good or far better than them in business. Be ready to face all the senseless discriminations- be it funding, lack of family support in some cases, societal pressure of getting married or having kids or girls should know it all attitude, etc. Just IGNORE and FOCUS. 


Written By - Devika Thapar