During Day 2 of the Essence + New Voices Voices Entrepreneur Summit and Target Holiday Market held in mid-December in Atlanta, ESSENCE UnBossed ESSENCE Podcast host Marquita Harris moderated a panel discussion with several successful women entrepreneurs. During the discussion, these women shared accomplishments and lessons learned. Click here to read the article.
In response to the incredible demand for the 12-week online certificate program offered through the Institute, Bank of America has increased its commitment to support a total program enrollment of 20,000 entrepreneurs over the next few years. Read more about the program and the partnership here.
Recently, we put a question** out to the Institute participants and got dozens of interesting answers. Using the analogy of an acorn, we asked who or what has provided you with “nourishment, water and sunlight” and how have you dealt with competition.
Part 1: Nourishment, Water and Sunlight
Constant support and encouragement is especially important for entrepreneurs because, as one woman put it, “to be honest, it is quite a lonely road”. When writing about their core source of encouragement, family was mentioned more than any other source. Some talked about spouses, others mentioned children, grandchildren and grandparents. As one woman put it “they are my motivational engine.” In addition to inspiration, family also provided practical help, helping with childcare and other responsibilities in response to what one respondent called the “unorthodox schedule” associated with running your own business. Another woman mentioned that her sister helped her with “education and wardrobe.”
Friends also figured heavily in the responses, especially those who are also entrepreneurs, which one woman called her “business besties.” Previous bosses and co-workers were mentioned as sources of “water and sunlight.” Many of the business friendships grew out of participation in programs like “Tide Risers” and other networking groups. Finding support in the voices and actions of other women was commonly mentioned. As one woman put it, “there is so much beauty and power in women coming together to uplift and inspire one another,” as a means to deal with self-doubt and discouragement.
Although most mentioned some source of inspiration as an ongoing “pull” to entrepreneurship, others felt pushed into it. For example, one woman mentioned the “abject reality” that her previous job would not continue, and others mentioned the paucity of other job opportunities. In these cases, it was the economic reality that provided the push. Still, once they “made the choice to go forward believing” in themselves, there were still forces that helped them grow and survive.
There were sources mentioned that may help you think about additional places to find support for your entrepreneurial “acorn” to grow and thrive: business coaches and mentors, non-profit groups supporting women, personal boards of directors, incubator programs (Chobani Food Incubator was mentioned specifically), social media influencers, role models (e.g., Oprah), Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), SCORE. Another woman mentioned the work of Barbara Stewart Smith and her work on “rich thinking.”
Help can also be found in unexpected places from people who are strangers. One particular impactful story was relayed about an entrepreneur who was roaming the Internet to find help and stumbled across a website for a similar product. When she reached out to the (female) founder, she ended up getting an 8-hour training session which “literally recharged my battery.”
Finally it is worth mentioning that many individuals found that, like an acorn, they carried some “nutrition” from within, citing their individual motivation, belief in the mission of the business, their personal faith, and their self-care and healing activities, providing the “vigor” needed to push forward. Many mentioned the need for ongoing self awareness, noting things like vision boards and other activities to help stay focused to meet the “fiercest winds of adversity” and to “keep check on ego and emotions.” Personal savings provided help, as did a well of self-confidence and “knowing you can push through any challenge or endeavor.” Also mentioned was the need to be honest when you see things are not working and you need the courage to pull the plug. One woman wrote “facing the truth was my water.” Echoing this thought another said, “Not all of your ‘acorns’ are going to make it, but they’ll all make you stronger and wiser, if you allow it.”
What did these sources of sunshine and nourishment provide? Of course, financial resources were mentioned many times. But equally important was moral support, especially from those who can see the best in the person and help to “stop the negative chatter” and encourage a positive mindset. Valuable information and knowledge from mentors, was also mentioned, along with the advice that helped protect the entrepreneurs from bad choices, bad partnerships or from pursuing the wrong customers.
Part 2: Handling Competition
When it came to competition, it was often mentioned that there is “room enough for everyone to eat” so competitive forces were not too worrisome. More than one respondent mentioned that they were not in a “scarcity market” and that they prefer to focus on their own unique offerings. “Nobody can be me,” as one woman put it. Others felt more pressure from the competitive landscape and used a variety of tactics to differentiate themselves and their business, such as: focusing on a specific niche, finding a powerful partner, thinking like a “specialist vs. a generalist,” creating a high level of service, offering customization and staying focused on the mission. One interesting example of niche marketing came from someone who is actually in the “water and sunlight business,” working on solar water pumping systems for purification, with a specific outreach focus on women, who are the first adversely affected in a crisis involving water shortage. She mentioned that her competitive advantage was doing customer discovery to understand “what works and doesn’t work specifically for women in the marketplace.”
Other things that were mentioned as helpful in dealing with competition included: a willingness to learn and grow from others, understanding strategic marketing, maintaining an attitude of gratefulness, positivity and patience, keeping a focus on people (especially the customer), remaining nimble and flexible. One response that interested us was an entrepreneur who said she has a “bless-and-release mantra” when it came to losing a customer. She felt that when she lost out to a competitor, perhaps that meant it was not the right customer after all. Using a “bless and release” approach she avoids wasting time on regrets and stays focused on future opportunities. This was echoed in a comment that you must “know what you control and what you don’t.” Similar advice was to “stop paying attention to others and focus on differentiation.”
There were two very interesting extensions of the acorn metaphor. One said “too few people focus on the acorn, a lot of people are focused on the tree.” She sees the tree as the business model, investment and brand, while the seed is the “inner leadership and capabilities of the individual.” If you can figure out what kind of seed you have, she argues, you’ll be able to find the right conditions under which you will flourish. “People first need to know what seed they are.”
Another woman shared some wisdom she heard from a fellow mother: “Shed yourself like a maple tree in autumn, in the colors of your life to rival the colors of the rainbow. Share your time, talent and treasure to bring meaning to lives, knowing that you have brought to bear so many positive fruits that will nourish mind, body and soul.”
Thanks to everyone for shedding your wisdom on our community!
** Question: As many of you know, Cornell University is located in Upstate New York. Fall is a stunning time here with all the leaves changing color – but it is also the time when thousands and thousands of acorns fall out of the oak trees and litter the ground. Only a very few of those thousands of acorns will ever grow into mature oak trees. To become a tree, the acorn has to escape being eaten, be buried deep in the ground by an animal, and then get enough water and fertile soil to grow above the ground to sunlight. Even then, the tree will face competition from other plants and many threats of nature to its survival. Only a few will make the full journey. What do acorns have to do with entrepreneurship? Well, millions of people have ideas, but only some (like you!!!) actually take the steps to launch a business. The questions that we would like to know more about are: 1) Who or what has provided you with the metaphorical nourishment, water and sunlight to push through and start your venture? (or begin the work needed to start your venture) 2) How have you survived the competitive threats? (or how do you hope to survive them?)
In this CNBC video, Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake discusses her company’s new “Shop Your Looks” feature that responds to the demand for a more individualized online shopping experience. This technique may be something that we begin to see more of the online marketplace.
Six entrepreneurs and business owners share advice that they found critical to their career success. Tips range from learning to accept help to learning what is non-negotiable for you. Read the Forbes piece here.
In this November 19, 2019 article in Fast Company, Natasa Djukanovic of Domain.me discusses four common ways women fail when it comes to personal branding and reputation building. Often, the biggest misses come from women not doing the wrong thing but rather doing nothing. Take a minute to read through the piece and see if you are honoring your own personal brand!
We asked students enrolled in the Institute a question** about your experiences with sponsors, those individuals who take actions to “pull you along,” helping you in specific ways to reach your entrepreneurial goals, as distinct from mentors, who help guide you and advise you about your business. The most common answer (30%) was either “I didn’t know about sponsors” or “I haven’t been able to attract sponsors. To help those who have not yet benefited from sponsorship, we share here the ideas from the rest of the respondents about 1) how they found a sponsor, 2) how they positioned themselves for sponsorship, and 3) benefits they received from their sponsors.
The person seeking a sponsor is called a protégé. Many women wrote about the important factors in becoming a protégé who is useful to the sponsor. It is critical to think about the needs and issues facing the prospective sponsor, so that you can highlight the ways in which the relationship can be beneficial to both parties. A sponsor seeks credible, talented protégés whose accomplishments will shine light on him/her. One respondent described this as “being value-creating.” Respondents said that to be identified as a promising protégé, you must ask the right questions, which will lead you to better understand the context and needs of the other individual. As one respondent put it, “your path and the potential sponsor’s path must be able to align.” Another woman wrote about the importance of being intentional about building relationships before you need it, or as she said “make deposits before withdrawals.”
On the topic of credibility, several wrote about the need for the entrepreneur to express with clarity their vision, mission, outcomes and needs/goals. As one put it, you need to speak “in clear, concise, and simple language with authority and enthusiasm in a manner that carries conviction.” Many also focused on being oneself to convey authenticity so that you as a protégé come across as genuine. Sponsors look for signs that a prospective protégé has a strong work ethic, exhibits loyalty, has useful expertise and can be of reciprocal value. Reputation matters – as one person put it: “attitude will always impact your altitude.”
Finally, several emphasized the importance of going out of your comfort zone and asking someone. This can be difficult for women, if they have been socialized with the idea that asking for something for oneself is selfish, pushy, or as one woman called it “being a gold-digger.” To make the ask more justifiable, one woman wrote: “one way to ensure I am attracting what I need is to make sure I am aware of what my top three needs are in the first place.” Other entrepreneurs mentioned the gender issues as well, saying that, “when women are seeking help from men, there is this subtle attitude that women should be giving up something in return.” The same respondent went on to say that in her experience, women in leadership roles were not as inclined to help her as a woman. Another comment came from someone who thinks sponsorship is “an edge men have over women in the business space.” She attributed this to the idea that women “see ourselves as competitors instead of collaborators.”
The women who responded suggested a wide variety of options for finding a sponsor. One said “start with a mentor,” as a sort of building block of support. Another suggested joining business forums and networking events as the first step in identifying someone who one might develop as a sponsor. Regional business incubators, small business/entrepreneurship organizations and business owner groups are other places to network for prospective sponsors.
Another option is to look among your customers. For example, one woman said that her success at providing high level service to her clients led to them opening doors to another set of clients that she otherwise could not access from a position external to their companies.
If you conquer your hesitation, find the mutual alignment of goals and project credibility and capability, the rewards of sponsorship are many. Benefits that were mentioned included:
In conclusion, here are some references to other resources that can be helpful. Dr. Streeter recommends the book Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor by Sylvia Ann Hewlett. Although the book focuses more on corporate life, the concepts and strategies are equally applicable to entrepreneurs. If you don’t have time to read, here’s quick video of Sylvia.
One respondent, Stacy Cassio, Founder and CEO of Pink Mentor, also shared a podcast called “Work-It, Girl!” where Stacy was interviewed on networking and sponsorship. You can hear it here.
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**Question sent to Institute Participants: Does your network as an entrepreneur include both mentors and sponsors? The distinction is important. Mentors can help guide you and advise you about your business but sponsors are those individuals who take actions to “pull you along,” helping you in specific ways to reach your entrepreneurial goals.
In a recent article, Alison Koplar Wyatt, president of Girlboss was quoted saying “Women have a tendency to collect mentors….Men go after sponsors.” In many entrepreneurial ecosystems, potential sponsors (those with the power to take action to help) are male (and white), so it can be challenging for female entrepreneurs to build a network with the right sponsorship power.
Our questions to you:
On November 11, 2019, NPR posted an article about a question posed to 100 female chefs and food writers by author Charlotte Druckman in her new book Women on Food. Druckman asked if there were any words or phrases that should no longer be used to describe women in the culinary field. While many words made the list, one word sparked a lot of discussion: “badass”.
As Druckman shared with NPR, “Badass is a detonated way to describe a kind of cultural male whiteness — an aggressive, swaggering one…and then it gets put onto women, as what feels like a tarnished ‘badge of honor,’ or backhanded compliment. Calling a woman — chef or otherwise — ‘badass’ is a way to signify that she’s cool or relevant because she’s acting like a man (specifically, an aggressive, swaggering one); that she is only of interest or worth consideration because she’s going against whatever ‘type’ it is she’d otherwise be categorized as because she’s a woman.”
This article in Harvard Business Review states that while the traditional focus on helping female entrepreneurs has centered on improving access to financial capital or providing training to help women build new skills, another pivotal factor for success is often overlooked: access to networks. The article stresses the importance of building out networks that will support women and encourages networks to be built on the principles of intent, inclusion, and interaction.
Most entrepreneurs don’t begin their professional life that way. Most people who launch their own business have actually spent some time working in a professional setting for someone else. How do you know if you are ready to take the leap and start your own endeavor? This 2017 article from Forbes has some good tips to consider.