Successful entrepreneurs are brave, their ranks filled with women who refuse to give even a nod of recognition to their fears as they march resolutely forward.
Or so it appears. The women who build successful entrepreneurial businesses aren’t that different from most people. They doubt themselves. They’ve almost all stayed awake late at night worrying how their company would meet its next payroll. They worry that they’re not doing things right.
What differentiates successful entrepreneurial women is this: They’ve faced their fears and developed strategies to help themselves keep moving forward. They’ve learned that the very act of confronting and overcoming fears builds strength that never goes away.
Over the past couple of months, I spoke with four successful entrepreneurial women to discuss how they confronted and overcame their fears as they built thriving businesses. Here’s what I learned from each of them:
Know That You Are Qualified
“When you believe in what you are doing to the very core of your being, that’s the greatest defense against fear, and in this case, a fear of failure,” says Autumn Manning, one of my firm's clients. “It’s not about you necessarily, but about the pursuit of a better place that you feel only exists if you don’t fail.”
Manning's company – of which she is the co-founder and CEO – provides peer-recognition tools used by major companies. The product has reinforced Manning’s believe in the power of positive self-talk.
“Quiet the noise about all the reasons you might fail. Step up to the plate and swing,” she says. “Know you are just as qualified, and in many respects even more so, than others who are currently out in front leading. So step up and win.”
Creation of a strong network of mentors and advisors is critically important, Manning says. Staying close to her roots in faith and family, meanwhile, helps keep business-related problems in perspective. Still, she acknowledges that fear never goes away entirely.
“It’s a scary place leading out in front,” she says. “Overcoming this is a journey towards self-awareness and understanding.”
Failure Is A Tool For Learning
Setbacks aren’t any fun, acknowledges Sania Jamil, founder and CEO of Bumble Brain
"If there are no challenges or setbacks, there is no growth,” says Jamil. “There is no point of a victory that is easily won.”
When she launched her company’s site, for instance, Jamil’s customers encountered some glitches. She learned to react with action rather than worry.
“I've learned the importance of responding immediately to setbacks. There is no time to overthink or delay when you're in a tough situation,” Jamil says.
Like Manning, Jamil finds strength in family, friends and religion. And despite the fears that entrepreneurial women face if they’re not consistently perfect in roles ranging from business executive to mother, she says a well-balanced life doesn’t require excellence in every facet.
“I know I’m not going to be an expert chef in the kitchen. That’s my weakness, so I’ve decided to work even harder doing what I love — which is running businesses — to be able to compensate someone to cook for me,” she says.
Stay Focused On Your Core Values
The CFO Group President Tanya McCaffery was absolutely fearless when she launched her firm, a provider of virtual accounting services for business owners. The 2008 recession, however, delivered a heavy dose of fear as major clients shut their doors and cash flow dried up.
As a CPA, McCaffery today pays close attention to the financial infrastructure of her business — elements such as cash reserves, new sources of revenue and diversification among major clients — to keep fear at bay.
But she says the most important lesson she learned from her scary days is psychological, not financial.
“Every setback I’ve encountered has been the result of one thing — lack of focus on my part,” McCaffery says. “It’s sometimes difficult to just stay focused on one thing — one core product line, one company, one brand — but I’ve found that not letting myself get distracted or spread too thin helps me avoid additional expensive setbacks.”
Her solution: Test every bright new idea against the core values of the firm. Don’t chase ideas that don’t fit.
Fear among entrepreneurial women often is a result of self-doubt, McCaffery says. But entrepreneurial drive itself carries the seeds to overcome fear.
“If you are brave enough to start on your own, you are brave enough,” McCaffery says. “Get out there and do it.”
Know Your Worth
Early in her career, Danielle Sabrina, a consultant and author of What Vibes Your Tribe, battled the fear that potential customers would write her off as overly aggressive or pushy when she worked to close a sale.
“I was always fearful that my offerings weren’t good enough or that my sales tactics were too forceful. Because of this, I was constantly adding little bonuses or incentives for people to work with me. My nagging fear left me feeling resentful and burnt out,” she says.
But she took a fresh look at the value she provided and stopped worrying whether clients would be turned off by aggressive prospecting. The result: People started taking her more seriously and sent more business her way.
“My tip,” Sabrina says, “is to know your worth and only budge when the offer is super sweet.”
Be Brave
As I talked with these four successful women, my mind kept returning to the words from Emma Donoghue's novel, "Room": “Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”
We all can do. We can all be brave.
