How has being a female entrepreneur impacted other elements of your life?
Here in GTeX we have a rich array of female entrepreneurs, from successful seasoned business owners to those just embarking on the journey, in a great variety of businesses.
Interestingly, according to an article in ‘Frontiers in Psychology’, female entrepreneurs represent the fastest-growing category of entrepreneurship worldwide, and in an article in ‘Tech Support’ they state that 43% of the total number of entrepreneurs worldwide is made of women.
But what isn’t talked about, or known, is the behind-the-scenes journey that these female entrepreneurs have travelled or continue to travel on a daily basis to make their businesses become thriving success. This journey is one of a complex interplay of ambition, resilience, and growth – from relationships and personal well-being to societal expectations and work-life balance.
In this article, we invite you to join us as we embark on a journey of exploring the multifaceted impact of being a female entrepreneur on various aspects of life; a journey of discovery, growth, and collective empowerment.
So let’s hear from our GTeX members what being a female entrepreneur has meant for them.
Feel free to join the conversation and add your thoughts or experiences in the comments.
Marjorie Gutierrez
Website: www.smartbusinessdesigns.com
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/marjorie-gutierrez
Reflecting on your journey as a female entrepreneur, what have been some unexpected challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?
Going through the process of becoming an entrepreneur has been a massive challenge but I realised a year into my coaching that the resistance had to do with past roles, where I managed a company and staff. The realisation of overcoming the habits taken from working as an employee to a business owner was a massive breakthrough for me.
Can you share a pivotal moment or decision in your entrepreneurial journey that significantly impacted other aspects of your life? How did you navigate it?
My company closed in New York, I became unemployed but also resisted the thought of working for another company. I sold my flat in NY, used the funds to support my son and started my journey on becoming self employed. It impacted my lifestyle, the need to seek validation and go through a rough healing process which took a long time but the constant search of who I am became important. I practised meditation to ground myself, I simplified my life and continued to seek the right support to enable me to find myself, my brand and who I would like to work with. Finally, a purpose and motivation driven, makes me excited about my path. Financially still a challenge but consistency and discipline taught me that one break will knock down barriers to get me to where I want to be
What advice would you give to anyone who is a caregiver and running a business?
Don’t get caught up in the fear of missing out. I would look at your business, where you’re at, what’s working. How is it structured and if your current processes support your business. Look at your offers. Keep things simple. Work on your niche and audience. The messaging becomes easier when you know who you are speaking to. Seek the right support, it’s not easy to do it alone. Invest in yourself. Be disciplined and consistent. Take breaks. Map out your realistic goals and look at your offers to measure how much you need to sell to get you to your financial goal. You can create your own blueprint, or work with me
Nicola Reynolds
Website: gtexdigitalmedia.co.uk
Reflecting on your journey as a female entrepreneur, what have been some unexpected challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?
My decision to become an entrepreneur was influenced by my newly solo parent status around 10 yrs ago, where I refused to work to pay my entire income on childcare of two very young children. My initial challenge was building up my self-esteem to a place where I was comfortable in my chosen profession. I tried a few different ventures before I found my strengths. Over the years I’ve attempted different MLM’s and businesses that did work for the short term, but I personally didn’t find them fulfilling. I was struggling to identify my passions and my why’s.
I found them by going back to my roots and looking back over my career path and building a role that worked with the strengths I’d developed. Problem solving, training and my ability to work with different software easily has been a huge eye opener for me.
For many years I hadn’t realised how unique my skill set is, but good friends helped me realise this, and it has taken my business to new levels.
Can you share a pivotal moment or decision in your entrepreneurial journey that significantly impacted other aspects of your life? How did you navigate it?
My pivotal moment occurred after another life changing hit to my self esteem. This was about 3 years into my entrepreneurial journey. I broke free from a very abusive partner (not the kids dad) and was once again working on rebuilding myself and as part of that process I rebranded my business.
It was at that point I was encouraged to look back at how far I had come. I’ve never been one to dwell much on the past, and those who know me would probably describe me as a forward thinking positive person.
But in that moment it struck me that I was still standing tall and strong, even though all the events thrown at me had at times left me in a spoiled wreck. I know it took courage and resilience to keep going and my kids are my reason for it!
How did I navigate it – I got help – I was going through therapy and counselling at the time this happened, and it was a very profound impact that it had on me. Up to this point I’d never really done much self-reflection or healing.
This allowed me to accept a lot of things about me that other people around me already knew but I had yet to acknowledge. It might sound strange, but not everyone goes beyond what they see in the mirror and appreciate the person inside and what they’ve been through. I learned to love me, and the journey I’ve been through and the lessons I’ve learnt along the way.
What advice or strategies would you offer to fellow female entrepreneurs balancing business ownership and life? Any practical tips for managing time, priorities, or self-care that have been particularly effective for you?
I’ve been grateful over the last ten years that I’ve managed to establish an amazing support network.
When I became a solo parent, help was one of the hardest things I had to learn to accept. It was always there if I was willing to ask for it.
My support network now extends to my kids dad and his wife, my dog walker/boarding, my parents. I can call on them when I need to work away from home, or just need a break.
One of the biggest benefits for me has been able to be there for my children. I’m home and present, sometimes I am working into the evening but if they need me I can answer. I can collect them from school if they’re unwell or take myself for a massage or to the gym session without having to answer to anyone, (other than my clients of course).
My biggest take away from being an entrepreneur is I know I am working towards fulfilling my own dreams rather than working for someone else’s!
Veronica King
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronicaking2/
Reflecting on your journey as a female entrepreneur, what have been some unexpected challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?
Can you share a pivotal moment or decision in your entrepreneurial journey that significantly impacted other aspects of your life? How did you navigate it?
I once signed up for a programme to increase my lead generation, and although at the time of the offer I felt some doubts about whether this was really what I needed to increase the number of one-on-one consultations I wanted. I knew that there were risks involved in every business decision, so I went ahead and signed up.
What I discovered was that although I was ‘leaking’ money from my business account each month paying for this service, I got nothing in return.
Moreover, I was expected to do most of the work myself using one of the most difficult systems I have ever experienced. There were no recommendations as to how to reach my potential clients, only the advice that I must keep trying, even when I expressed doubts that things were not working as promised.
Because I had only just started my business, I did not know how to say NO! It seemed like an easy decision to make, but the question of ‘What if? kept popping up. And of course the person who made the offer knew that I was a new business and took advantage.
I lost thousands of pounds on this one investment, and hours trying to get this system to work. Although this experience is not unique, for many entrepreneurs have had similar experiences, I blamed myself for not following my gut instinct.
After much self-blame/self-recrimination, I plucked up the courage to say NO! I no longer want this service because it simply does not work. I walked away with decreased funds to invest in my business, and totally demoralised, but I felt that I had control over my once more – one of my key reasons for wanting to be an entrepreneur.
What advice or strategies would you offer to fellow female entrepreneurs balancing business ownership and life? Any practical tips for managing time, priorities, or self-care that have been particularly effective for you?
When I first started my business I felt that my life was my business and that my business was my life. That means whenever I stepped away from my business to do anything not connected to my business I was showered with guilt for days at a time.
A decade ago balancing life with business was not a thing. I would hold myself to the coal-face 24/7 and neglect to live! Afterall I went into business because I want control over my life and my time.
What I found was my life got left behind as I got lost in the busyness of running a business. It was after I began to suffer from exhaustion that I realised that I had to do things differently.
Having taught time-management as a lecturer in business and management, I realised that I had neglected to utilise this skill for myself. And this is the key factor in balancing business ownership and life.
When I began to schedule all my activities, I found it resulted in my managing my life, and in managing my life I found I managed my time, and most importantly it made it easy to draw up a plan of focused activities. In this plan all the details about every-day (life) activities, like going to gym, going for a walk, meeting with friends, and spending time with the family, were all built into that plan.
I found that I became fit (again), my mind was clearer when I had tasks to complete, and my self-confidence was boosted. This exercise can be done by anyone, as you allocate the time to get it done. I would recommend that you try it .
Ylva Forssén
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ylva-forss
Reflecting on your journey as a female entrepreneur, what have been some unexpected challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?
The journey is more individual. As I have my business at home it is hard to separate work/family.
Also to find the courage to speak my voice., not caring what others will think. We do it differently and better To find a way to be proved of that and let the message out without “judging” others.
Gathered more knowledge and trust the process
Can you share a pivotal moment or decision in your entrepreneurial journey that significantly impacted other aspects of your life? How did you navigate it?
As I know I have a really high quality product I decided to raise the prices to sell less tours with the same turnover. Giving me more time to develop the business in a new direction. With the goal to have more time for family
What advice or strategies would you offer to fellow female entrepreneurs balancing business ownership and life? Any practical tips for managing time, priorities, or self-care that have been particularly effective for you?
Buy the service you don’t like to do. Focus on the things you are good at. I have been spending too many years doing everything as I have knowledge, a little here and there. But you do not have time to keep up with everything.
Elizabeth Bachman
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethbachman/
Website: www.ElizabethBachman.com
Reflecting on your journey as a female entrepreneur, what have been some unexpected challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?
For me, the challenges were more about being female than about being an entrepreneur. I have been an entrepreneur for most of my working life, working in the New York theatre scene right out of college, then moving into the opera world. Working my way up through the ranks, I became an international opera stage director at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, and many other companies.
As one of the early women, I found myself in the classic trap that many women STILL face: I could succeed up to a certain point, but when I tried for the big jobs (and the big money), I hit a glass ceiling. Specifically, I wanted to run an opera company. I knew I’d be good at it, so I applied whenever there was an opening. Every single time, I was on the short list, and every single time the job went to a man. Often to someone who was less qualified.
Some of this was unconscious bias against women, but not all. A large part of the glass ceilings were internal. I now see how I sabotaged myself by following the “rules” that society teaches girls. Rules such as, “It’s rude to ask for money.” “Asking for help makes you look weak.” “Good girls don’t brag.”
And the big rule: “Stay quiet, do a good job, and you will be rewarded without having to ask for it.”
Discovering that to be a lie took me YEARS.
This is why I now work with executive women, helping them get past their own glass ceilings.
Can you share a pivotal moment or decision in your entrepreneurial journey that significantly impacted other aspects of your life? How did you navigate it?
First big decision:
When nobody would hire me to run an opera company, I started my own summer opera company. The Tyrolean Opera Program (TOP Opera) ran for 11 years. It gave me an identity and a reason to travel to Europe at least twice a year.
It gave me a lot, but my health paid the price.
Running TOP Opera while pursuing my main-stage career meant that I worked day and night. For three years in a row, I had serious health challenges during the summer opera season. It became clear that the work was killing me, which led to:
The second big decision:
For many reasons, it became time to close TOP Opera. The market had changed, our competitors were offering the same services for less, and we couldn’t find enough customers to pay the bills. Getting sick every year was extra.
Letting go of a business that I had created was really, really hard.
The lesson was (and continues to be) that things change when you don’t want them to. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and walk away. Sometimes you have to grieve the loss before you can find something else.
But you CAN find something else. I didn’t believe it while I was grieving, but I am in a much better place now.
That lesson applies to whatever gender you are.
What advice or strategies would you offer to fellow female entrepreneurs balancing business ownership and life? Any practical tips for managing time, priorities, or self-care that have been particularly effective for you?
Entrepreneurship gives you freedom, but not always security. Because you don’t have the structure of a M-F job, you have to create your own. Self-care is crucial. Part of that care is to surround yourself with supportive colleagues who will keep you engaged and give you ideas. Most especially, surround yourself with colleagues who will hold you accountable.
It hasn’t always been easy, but entrepreneurship has been worth every minute.
Final Thoughts
Thank you ladies, such a wealth of experience and wisdom in these shares, a fraction of what is available to tap into here in the GTeX community, especially when your entrepreneurial journey hits one or two of the variety of challenges and setbacks that can confront you.
The main point coming through is don’t get disheartened and stop; foster resilience; be willing to reflect, review, let go and adapt; recognise, celebrate and utilise your strengths; take risks, i.e. be in uncertainty, by moving beyond rules, beliefs and habits that hold you back, so allowing you to achieve more – just keep going.
As you read through each account, I am sure you will find inspiration that will help you fully embrace and continue being a female entrepreneur.
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