Do you love the idea of owning your own business, but feel like its unattainable? In reality, more women than ever before are embracing their entrepreneurial side and launching their own companies. This month, Drexel Entrepreneurship Association and Drexel Women in Business co-sponsored a discussion panel to explore what it’s really like to be your own boss. This event, called Success Stories and Secrets of Women Entrepreneurs, brought together a panel of successful women business owners to share their stories and unique perspectives.
The panel included four women with truly unique business ventures: Rachel Zeldin, TJ Henderson, Dr. Michele Marcolongo, and Jamila Payne. Rachel is a Drexel alum and the founder of Funerals360, a website designed to make the difficult task of planning a funeral less stressful. TJ is the CEO and founder of Surrogate Services International, a fertility recruiting and matching agency. Michele is a Senior Associate Vice Provost for Translational Research at Drexel, and she has launched a number of successful companies to commercialize her research discoveries. Jamila is an author, speaker and the founder of Soul Purpose Company, an online resource for women business owners.
If you missed this great event, don’t worry! We have the best lessons we learned from the discussion.
Do What You Love
The four panelists came from varied industries and backgrounds, but they all shared a similar passion for their projects. They each have a unique mission and purpose behind their work that drives them to put in the long hours. Founding a successful business takes persistence, patience and a lot of hard work, so you should have objectives besides making money. TJ summarized this advice perfectly: “Do what you believe in and the money and the success will follow.”
Be Confident!
I know, this is much easier said than done, but as a business owner it is important to have faith in yourself and your abilities. Entrepreneurship is all about taking risks, so insecurity can hold you back from fulfilling your potential. Rachel took a leap of faith when she quit her comfortable job in corporate finance to launch her site. TJ spent years studying law in hopes of becoming an attorney when she finally switched gears and followed her dream. If these two women never stepped out of their comfort zone, their achievements would not have been possible. To be a successful business owner, it’s important to exude self-confidence, because at the end of the day, if you don’t believe in your own project no one else will.
Ask for Help
You may think that you can do it all alone, but effective delegation is the key to running a company. Surround yourself with people who are passionate about your project and recognize the ways they can add value to your business. All of the panelists admitted that they could not have started their companies without the help of mentors and business partners along the way. Rachel leaned on her family for emotional and financial support during her first year in business, and Jamila consults with her mentors weekly to brainstorm ideas. Having a support system of outstanding people is an invaluable resource for any business leader.
It’s Totally Worth It!
Each of these women faced setbacks along the way, but they made it very clear that they have no regrets about their careers. They all truly love what they do and find an enormous amount of fulfillment in seeing their ventures succeed. Michele recently made the difficult decision to sell her small start-up company to a larger more established firm. After the negotiations were over, Michele felt like she had “sold her first born.” After putting years of work into the project, it was very difficult for her to give up control of the company. To these four women, their business is their pride and joy, and listening to them talk about their projects was really incredible. By the end of the discussion, it was clear that a career in entrepreneurship is no easy task, but the payoff is totally worth it.