Entrepreneurship is on the rise, especially for women. According to inc.com, there are 114% more woman entrepreneurs than 20 years ago. I think that’s amazing since I love entrepreneurship and I’ve been one for a while. Unfortunately, I’m not a millionaire…yet. But, I have been doing research on the topic by reading articles, books, and listening to podcasts, so I do have some knowledge. Today I am going to give some of those tips to my fellow female entrepreneurs.
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Dream. My first advice is to dream. If you have an idea- dream. Write down your dream. Don’t be realistic at first. If you want to make a makeup brand that is a million dollar company, write it down. Who cares if the market is saturated? You never know the doors God can open for you. I would even go to as far to say don’t even share your dream with everyone. Once you write it down, pray over it and submit it to God.
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Do some research. Once you’ve picked your product or service, do some research about it. What does research look like? Google, YouTube, and Pinterest are your best friends. Type your product or service in all three search bars and read and watch videos. Learn about the market, learn about marketing, learn the ins and outs of the business, learn from others in the industry, and learn literally anything that is importanyouro you dream.
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Turn your dream into a goal and develop a plan. Dreams are great. I always tell people to dream, but dreams mean nothing if you don’t have a plan. Once you have your dream, write down how you will achieve it. And when I say write it down, I mean it. Write everything down. When you write your dreams and plans down they are more likely to happen.
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Start following business entrepreneur accounts on Instagram. I follow so many business accounts that give good advice and are motivational. Sure, Instagram can be really toxic and sometimes I hate it. But it can also be a good tool. My 3 top favorite accounts are @bossbabe.inc, @ronnebrown, and @girlceoinc. They give great advice and are super encouraging. There are so many more out there, you just have to find them.
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Join Facebook groups in your niche. I am a part of so many small business Facebook groups. Why is it important? Because you can learn from others. People post advice, questions, their products, and you can even make friends and build a community. Its also a great way to make other business friends because entrepreneurship can be pretty lonely.
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Just do it. I know a lot of people wait for things to be absolutely perfect before they even think about launching, but nothing will ever be perfect. Just go out there with something. Now we should do everything in excellence, so don’t half do something, but even if it’s not 100% perfect, you put yourself out there. Entrepreneurship is about taking risks and if you don’t take a risk and just believe in yourself, you’re not during it right.
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Get all the free resources. There are a lot of free resources out there for entrepreneurs to help their business and brand. My absolute favorite is Square. Square is a website and that little card swiper that every entrepreneur should have because no one carries cash anymore. Square also send invoices for you and has software to help you keep up with all of your sales. It works with numerous sites, but I know for sure it works with Wix. I use Wix for my site and love it. To get a domain and be able to connect Square you have to pay $25 a month, but I believe it’s worth it. If you go to fairs or even sell to someone at your church you want to have all the best possible (free!) ways to get that sale.
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Make sure you’re enjoying yourself. Will the ride be fun and carefree the entire time? Absolutely not. It’s hard, lonely, and sometimes discouraging. You will work really hard and yield no results. Friends and family may not support you. You may not even make a lot of money at first, but if you still want to keep doing it and your eyes light up when you talk about it, then this road is for you. If you find yourself hating your life then maybe think of something else. It’s hard, but can also be so rewarding.
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Don’t give up. Like I previously mentioned, it could be hard for various reasons, but you can’t give up. If this is your dream and something you are passionate about, cry, but get right back to it. You owe it to yourself and your future to keep going.
Well, this incredibly long post is basically over. I love entrepreneurship and can talk about it and my business for hours and hours. Also, I do want to point out entrepreneurship is not for everyone. If you don’t feel passionate about it don’t force it. Those “I don’t see how you’re still doing a 9-5” posts are so annoying and dumb. If you like that lifestyle there is nothing wrong with that. Keep it up. All that matters is that at the end of the day, you make sure you are walking in God’s will for your life.