Women Solo Entrepreneurs ONLY! Dang-It

It's been one of those weeks - if it could go wrong, it went and like that Energizer Bunny, kept going and going and going....whew! Rant over

I've found a few things to share with the ladies because no matter what the media says, running a business as a woman isn't easy. We're used to 'here's the problem, who can we call to fix it' because waiting around for someone to come to our rescue doesn't work. At least for the head strong, independent women I know anyway.

It would be nice if real life was like life in commercials - Buy this, get that, do this and life will be perfect. You've got to hand it to them, they tell great lies! It's also a very good lesson in marketing: Tell 'em, Scare 'em, Sell 'em!

That's why I'm dedicating this issue to women entrepreneurs and women who want to be. Unless having a job (funny how over the years forced slavery has come to be called 'a career') suits you, then let me burst a couple bubbles about owning your own business.

Is it hard work? Yes, I'm not known for lying. Will you sleep better? Eventually. Will you be an over night millionaire? Keep slinging burgers, baby. Unless you have a million already, plan to 'put in the skin'. Is it worth it? You damn right!

So with that said, let's get to it.
1. Trend Watching: Still Made Here
Going local is the trend foreseen for years to come and if you make, bake, shake anything as a solo entrepreneur that you can tie-in to where you live, so much the better. For ideas on how to put this to use in your venture, read the June/July 2007 issue.

My Opinion: If you HATE where you live - Move Some Place Else! You will be more effective, life will be worth getting up in the morning and your business will reward you for it.

2. $1 Million Women
This comes from their archives on what $1 million Women Business Owners do that we probably aren't (or we would have million dollar businesses, yes). It shows just how much better we can be as solo entrepreneurs.

They are more likely to use formal advisers such as accountants (40.7% vs. 28.9%), lawyers (15.7% vs. 6.6%), and boards of directors (13.3% vs. 4.6%), and less likely to use informal financial advisers such as family or friends.

More likely to belong to formal business organizations (81.3% vs. 60.5%)

This next point will be a real eye-opener. While many small business journals and books recommend the service industry in their 'Mommy With Toddler' as the best option for successful businesses for women entrepreneurs - It's DEFINITELY NOT the shared mindset of $1 Million Women!

They are less likely to be in the service sector (26.9% vs. 51.0%) and more likely to be in wholesale trade (17.0% vs. 3.8%), construction (13.4% vs. 3.3%), and manufacturing (12.3 vs. 4.8%)

They are more likely to have a customer set that includes corporations, other businesses and government contracts at the local, state and federal level

They are nearly 2.5 times as likely as other women-owned businesses to be certified as a woman-owned business.

Now if there are a couple things on that list you're missing (I know I am) then you might want to reconsider if having a million dollar business is what you really want.

For me, I'm willing to settle for $500,000 - the idea of babysitting employees makes me physically ill. But I am open to working with other solo entrepreneurs who can do better the things I can't or don't want to do.

Which brings me to the end of this week's post (if Murphy will go home or bug someone else, I'll be back on schedule next week).

Passion. Is it really that important to have it in a business? Of course, I'll say yes because this isn't my first time around this track and a business you hate to think about is one you shouldn't be involved with. Here's two of my favorite "used-to-be" solo entrepreneurs to vouch for the importance of passion in what you do.
Just click the button and Enjoy.




That's it for today, and I leave you with this little bit of Zen humor

Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield- anon