Now, more than ever, women are starting their own businesses. Today women make up 40% of new entrepreneurs. There are a number of reasons for this, such as flexibility, more control, and being able to advance more quickly.
Women are still considered primary caregivers, whether for aging parents or children. Being your own boss can give you the flexibility to balance work and life on your terms. Furthermore, while the gender pay gap still exists and impacts women everywhere, entrepreneurship can offer a unique freedom in that you can set your own rates and charge what you know you’re worth.
It’s definitely a great time for women in business. Entrepreneurship can be a challenge, especially for someone who others can count on. However, working for yourself can also give you more control over your future. It’s powerful to be able to decide who you work with, including partners and clients. There is actually stability in being the boss.
Overall, entrepreneurship is a great career path for anyone interested in leaving a job where they’re feeling stagnant and start a business based on their passion. The only way to find success doing so though, is to find work that you feel strongly about and to have a great plan in place. There are always going to be obstacles but any entrepreneur will tell you that how you handle a problem is going to dictate if you can be successful as your own boss.
There will be difficult times and you’ll have to push through. Here are a few tips on overcoming obstacles as an entrepreneur.
Acknowledge the problem and process your thoughts
The first thing we must do when faced with an issue is to acknowledge the problem and slow the way we process the information mentally. Often times when dealing with an obstacle our thoughts begin to spiral and we focus on what we can’t control about the situation.
Instead, take a few minutes to be frustrated and then put all of your attention on the things you can and need to do to solve the issue. Don’t forget to express gratitude every day, even when it feels hard to do so.
By focusing on what can be fixed you’ll be able to readjust and find ways to solve or work around obstacles. Entrepreneurship is difficult so it’s crucial that you’re being practical about what your actionable plan is. When things veer away from your plan, take it in stride, and identify what aspects of the issue you can do something about. There are always a plethora of tasks that will lead you to successful results.
Use your support network
You should have a support system in place when starting any business. There should be people on your team that have a completely different skill-set than you. When faced with a problem you must make decisions that will help you recover. This is where it’s valuable to talk to someone in your support network that can help you form an actionable plan to continue pushing the business forward.
Use your team to take action on everything that you can control and there will be definite progress. It’s never the actual problem, but your response to problems that will determine your success. Consistently taking action when dealing with a crisis will put you closer to your goals.
Delegate accordingly
There are certain things it’s important for the one in charge to deal with and there are instances where the boss must delegate. When there are obstacles know how to decide if it’s actually something that you should be giving a large amount of your time to. Every entrepreneur should know their team’s strengths and weaknesses.
Delegation is a key factor in success as an entrepreneur. If there is someone on your team that can handle the situation then let them and focus on other pertinent tasks. It’s easy to want to be involved in everything involving your business but by spreading yourself too thin you can lose sight of your goals and end up missing other important tasks.