Tips from a Seasoned Business Woman

How do you describe an evening filled with supportive, inspiring, charismatic local business women attentively embracing the words of wisdom from a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader?  One of our attendees summed it up perfectly on our Facebook page after our October event …“It felt like a real sisterhood. Perfect atmosphere for mentoring, encouraging, advising and building a strong army of confident business women” (Colleen Cole, owner of Perma-Dry®).

Margaret Armour, owner of Aerobics First in Halifax, truly inspired the intimacy of the evening and immediately engaged her audience through her relaxed manner and honest tales of business development.  Margaret began her business story by offering to share ten pieces of advice she had received from local business people who have truly inspired her somewhere along her journey.

If you were fortunate enough to join us last week and hear the words directly from Margaret, here they are again. If you are reading them for the first time, enjoy! Hopefully you will take away one statement that perhaps you really needed to read at this moment in your life as a business person. Life is funny that way- sometimes when you need it the most, the words are right there in front of you to ignite change, passion, courage or inspiration.

Margaret's Top Ten Tips:

1.      Work like you love it.

2.      Focus on getting to profitable as quickly as possible - you need to be sustainable.

3.      Pay attention to details, even when you delegate.

4.      Find a mentor(s) and build a team to advise you.

5.      Before you jump into entrepreneurship, do you know how hard you will have to work?  Do your loved ones know?

6.      How much are you prepared to risk (not only money is at stake - health, family, etc.)?

7.      Always face reality, including the hard things.  You really need to understand your current reality in your business.

8.      Be proactive - face your daily challenges and opportunities as they arise.

9.      Others make your success possible - get the right people on board and focus on growing them.  Create an environment that magnetizes people to your business and then help them soar in their role.

10.  Have a life plan (not just a business plan!). You're not just a business owner but also a wife, mother, daughter, friend, etc.

Whether you are on the eve of embarking on your own entrepreneurship journey or you are already a seasoned entrepreneur needing validation or a reminder of what one may endure in business, we think 'reflecting' on Margaret's collection of tips will be of interest.

Business Women Connect (BWC) is a sisterhood, it is a place where you can share your good news - new client, award win, etc.  It is also a kind of safe haven you can escape to after a bad day, week, month or even year. The engagement in the room is transforming both personally and professionally and I will be forever grateful for the relationships I have made throughout this journey. Someone always inspires or encourages me to walk a little taller, or gives me the courage to overcome the next obstacle I may encounter.

There is something about a room filled with women who can be raw, honest, supportive, encouraging and inspirational all at the same time.  This is the leadership that our future generation of business women need to observe: women supporting, celebrating, embracing, leading and encouraging one another.

by Melita Scott

 

Choosing your networking events

As business owners, everyone tells us we need to network.  In the busy months of fall, if we listened to everyone's advice, we'd probably be out of the office at least twice a week at luncheons and two to three nights a week at a variety of evening networking events.  So how do we choose the "right" events to be at?

First of all, you need to ascertain your own reasons for networking.  Are you looking for clients?  Do you wish to learn something new that can perhaps help you change the way you do business?  Or are you looking for inspiration for one of those days when you can't get over a business hurdle?  There are events aimed at all of these so, before you commit, ask the host or hostess of the event, or others who have attended previously, what kind of event is this?  What will you walk away with?  Who normally attends?

Second, if you are looking for clients, you must know who your ideal client is.  Just like running a print ad - you wouldn't target women consumers by advertising in Sports Illustrated!  It is the same with networking - different businesses or consumers go to different events and you can't plan where you should be until you have figured out where your ideal clients are going to be! 

Finally, set a realistic networking schedule for yourself.  If you are a mother with children at home, trying to get out three nights a week is not going to work.  Perhaps one or two evenings a month, with one focused on meeting potential clients and the other focused on inspiration or learning for yourself would be realistic.  Maybe add one luncheon a month to that and join the local Chamber of Commerce or an industry or business association.  While you may meet some of the same people at these events, you are likely to reach a more diverse audience this way which will ultimately broaden your contact list and strengthen your business acumen.