Women are entrepreneurs by nature

‘Connect me to your boss.’
‘I AM the boss.’

How do you feel about these powerful words? Do they make you feel confident?
If so, ask yourself:
Do you wish to be financially independent?
Are you trying to create a niche in unconventional business?
Are you tired of the on-going struggle to prove your worth in the market?
Are your fears not letting you face the male-dominated market with confidence?
Are you struggling to make your business highly profitable?
Do you wish to have exponential growth?

Whether it’s on the home front, in the corporate world or in running a business, women have always handled everything in the most organised manner, multi-tasking frequently and artfully.  Are all of them educated in this area?  Nope. So, how do they accomplish so much without training – making people work, structuring and organising, planning and implementing, all while working around everyone’s busy schedule and providing comfort and convenience?

It’s because of one simple reason which many women are not even aware of.  Women are entrepreneurial by nature.

Observe the people around you for a few minutes. You will find that the women are making others work and helping others to understand the way they want them to perform tasks. When it comes to facing challenges, no one is stronger than the person who quietly handles everything in public and introspects in private moments. 

No matter how difficult the challenge, women have always bounced back stronger. History shows us that no amount of suppression or oppression or torture could ever break a determined woman. She has always proven to be unstoppable. Then why to start now?

In today’s world, where women have equal rights and there are no limitations on the basis of gender, many women have been able to explore their talent and skill in the market and have been successful. But even after accomplishing so much, they face many challenges when it comes to entrepreneurship. Despite the changing times which led to over 252 million women entrepreneurs around the world, female leaders are still struggling to overcome the challenges that they face on a daily basis.

Challenges faced by women entrepreneurs

With one-third of entrepreneurs across the globe being women, it looks like the world has finally changed and has started to honour the talents and skills of women.  Unfortunately, this is a story that’s told with men are still taking the lead and running the majority of businesses. In most sectors of the world today, gender norms are greatly affecting the ecosystem of entrepreneurship and creating major challenges for women all around.

Here are a few areas that point out various disparities faced by women entrepreneurs all over the world.

• Male-dominated world
• One of the biggest challenges that every woman faces when she enters a male-dominated zone is to be taken seriously. Qualified or not, experienced or inexperienced, women are always judged even before they start.  Additionally, if it is a male-dominated industry, they have to keep struggling every single day, not only with their colleagues but also with superiors and sometimes with subordinates as well.  As a result, it achieves nothing more than discouragement by imposing wrong ideas and limiting beliefs.
• Technical know-how
• Every entrepreneur has to hire a team of specialists and skilled labour. Although it works well in the case of male executives, many women entrepreneurs have to struggle with employing experts and bringing a competent team onboard. There are people who are still biased about working under a female boss.
• Business networks: According to recent surveys, many women are not part of business networks that help to build and grow their business, find customers, partners, suppliers, build connections, and more which comes very naturally to male entrepreneurs.  Even if some women are a part of this type of circle, they are not significantly active because they find an unwelcoming environment. Hence, to avoid another struggle, they find it better to concentrate on their work instead of networking.
• Lack of confidence: A lot of women struggle with confidence and need help recognizing their skills, seeing their true value, and understanding what they bring to the table in businesses and organizations. Very often, women tend to underestimate their capabilities and need a lot of support in gaining confidence and understanding the value that they possess. Most of the time, this is a result of the lack of support that should come to them naturally. That’s why, struggling alone with so much to handle proves difficult beyond measure.
• Work-life balance: No matter how successful a woman becomes, there is an unwritten rule that she is expected to take care of her home while also excelling in her career or business. Finding the right balance is essential and can be done easily with adequate support. Unfortunately, our society requires women to give more importance to their families rather than their careers.
• Social expectations: In a society where women are stereotyped as the ones who are meant to stay at home and put all of their attention on family, it is commonly looked down upon for them to venture out and establish a career for themselves. Not to mention, even after establishing their business they often need more time than their male counterparts to gain trust and recognition from the public.
• Lack of capital:  Money is the first and foremost requirement of any business no matter how big or small.  Regrettably, even in our modern times, people still find it hard to believe in andtreat women as equals.  Individuals hesitate to invest in business ventures established by women.

Have a positive mindset for empowerment 

If you wish to achieve your dreams and to accomplish your short and long-term goals, the first thing required is a positive mindset. Only a positive mindset will give you enough confidence to move forward and face challenges.  How do we cultivate this positive way of thinking? It has to be practised and worked upon on a regular basis.  Continuous effort is required. The results will help you keep a positive outlook for further plans thus helping you soar high.

Let’s look at it this way. Our hands do the action but they follow the thoughts and commands coming from our mind. Our mind is the one that takes command. So, it’s the mind that needs to be disciplined. If we work on our mind and regulate our thoughts, it will help to empower us and eventually become unstoppable.

Social conditioning has a tremendous effect on the mind and guides us for life.  Women are conditioned from a very young age to second-guess themselves, ask for approval, undermine their own capabilities, display perfectionism, and deflect praise. In school, these qualities are reinforced and encouraged and in the workplace, they are certainly preferred by male counterparts.  But when it comes to what it really takes to be a high-performing and self-sustaining team member, especially in leadership, these attributes are anything but attractive.

So, how do we effectively rewire our minds to rise to new heights and reach our full potential?

It all narrows down to our mindset and we can easily achieve it through Conscious Communication.

Conclusion

Words have all the power. Not only on others but on ourselves too. Whatever we speak, is first created in our minds. Therefore, our communication needs to be healthy, positive and empowering. Only then can we have a clarity of purpose and only then can we create a plan or strategy strong enough to help us achieve our goals.

The Indian start-up ecosystem for female entrepreneurs is currently thriving. It’s time to unleash the passion in you, but not without becoming self-aware, clear and conscious, with so many opportunities lined up in the market.  

It all narrows down to our mindset and we can easily achieve our compelling goals by cultivating our Growth & Entrepreneurial Mindset...