Hiring a Winning Team: How Three Types of Women Entrepreneurs Put it Together

As a business becomes increasingly successful, an entrepreneur must examine her business’ changing needs and implement a system for meeting them. Booming success often means hiring a team of people to see to the details so the entrepreneur has time to run the business. Creating a winning team is a bit more complicated than just asking a bunch of people for help – is there a right way to do it? Is there a way to go about it that will leave members of the team, as well as the owner, feeling fulfilled while the business thrives?

 

A new study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on women entrepreneurs, recently revealed there are five distinct types of women in business. Each of these five types has unique approach to running a business—and as a consequence, each of them has a unique combination of characteristics and factors. This article profiles three of the Jane “types” and the different ways they may handle hiring a team.

 

Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and makes good money. She is comfortable and determined in buying and selling, which may be why she’s five times more likely than the average female business owner to hit the million dollar mark. Jane Dough is clear in her priorities and may be intentionally and actively growing an asset-based or legacy business. It is estimated that 18% of women fall in the category of Jane Dough.

 

To Jane Dough, business is business. In her world, systems and efficiency share the throne. When hiring a team, she is likely to choose members based on their specific skill sets and how those skill sets and their exacting implementation will affect the system she plans on using.

 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Because Jane Dough is a pragmatic business owner, she’ll choose team members who know what they’re doing, and do it well. Con: Because Jane Dough is so focused on pragmatism, she may hire team members who don’t get along well with each other – personalities aren’t as important to her as efficiency and a job well done. But down the road, conflicting personalities may negatively impact the system she loves. Pro: Jane Dough’s fast pace means she gets a lot done and doesn’t waste too much time waffling on decisions about whether to hire someone. Con: That fast pace is enough to make anyone’s head spin, and if Jane Dough isn’t careful she may overlook a candidate with better long-term potential in favor of someone who fits the bill right now – putting her future self at a disadvantage.

 

Merry Jane. This entrepreneur is usually building a part-time or “flexible time” business that gives her a creative outlet (whether she’s an ad agency consultant or she makes beautiful artwork) that she can manage within specific constraints around her schedule.  She may have a day-job, or need to be fully present for family or other pursuits. She realizes she could make more money by working longer hours, but she’s happy with the tradeoff she has made because her business gives her tremendous freedom to work how and when she wants, around her other commitments. 

Because Merry Jane is “freedom-focused,” she’ll need a team that allows her to continue working as many or as few hours as she wants to, which means that she’ll have to be flexible with their schedules, too.

 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Merry Jane loves her freedom, so she’ll hire dependable people who can do their jobs without a ton of direction. Con: Loving her freedom can come at a price – Because her business may not be her first priority, communication may slip from time-to-time.  If her team is unclear in what they need to do or if they take too much accountability, this can create problems for Merry Jane.  Pro: Hiring people means that Merry Jane can delegate some of her work and therefore have even greater flexibility. Con: Creating a team also adds responsibility, of which Merry Jane already has plenty – she’ll need to face payroll, meetings, e-mails and phone calls that she didn’t deal with before – and this may mean more administrative work than she anticipated.

 

Tenacity Jane is an entrepreneur with an undeniable passion for her business, but who is struggling (a little or a lot) with the business’ financial performance.  As a result, she’s working longer hours and making less money than she’d like. Nevertheless, Tenacity Jane is bound and determined to make her business a success. At 31% of women in business, Tenacity Janes are the largest single group of female entrepreneur.

 

Tenacity Jane’s greatest asset is her attitude. She may feel overwhelmed at times but she keeps on keeping on because she truly believes in the business she’s building and she wants to make it work. As she seeks to hire a team, Tenacity Jane will seek people with great attitudes like her own.

 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Tenacity Jane feels like she can make this work, despite having faced many business challenges – she has a positive, “keep chugging” attitude. Con: When hiring a team, attitude isn’t enough.  Tenacity Jane may be drawn to people who are also enthused about her business, but does she take the time to (and does she know exactly how to) evaluate their skills, experience, and preparedness to do the work at hand? Pro: Tenacity Jane loves her business concept and can see the big vision of what it can someday be, which may include a large team sometime down the road.    Con: Because she is focused on the “ultimate” vision, Tenacity Jane may not map out the path to get there step-by-step.  If this happens, she runs the risk of hiring too many people too soon (and then not being able to retain them) or hiring them in the wrong order to maximize business growth. 

 

Whether hiring a team is strictly business, or it’s a small part of a grand scheme, it’s a big deal. Women entrepreneurs shouldn’t go into it without a solid idea about who to hire, what they’ll do and how they’ll do it – and how all of that will affect the business in the short- and long-term. From Jane Dough to Merry Jane to Tenacity Jane, business owners must get a plan in place before hiring to ensure the step from one-woman-band to marching band sounds great.

 

Interested in learning more about the five Jane types and which Jane you are? Check out www.janeoutofthebox.com

 

Winning Tactics In Driving Free Traffic To Your Website – Email Marketing

Driving traffic into your website is not as easy as you think. This is not to scare you but a lot of online businesses failed due to this issue. If you would like to meet success in this industry, it is important that you know how to evolve your strategies into a more traffic generating type of strategy.

Your business marketing plan must be based on how you want your business to succeed. If your starting out with your website, then your would definitely like to focus in getting as much web traffic to your website as possible. So you might as well be thinking what would be the best strategy to use to go about succeeding in doing this? You will be able to come across a lot of strategies, however, one of the most effective methods being used by successful businesses right now is email marketing.

First thing that you should look into is building up your email list it’s very important. You should be able to build a personal relationship with your clients through sending them email updates, and newsletters regularly. In doing this, you would be able to obtain a constant communication with them, and you will not lose them in the course of time.

Now you have to create those sales pitches to send to your email list. Together with this you may have to include a link for your website, just in case they need to know more about what you are offering. Doing this from time to time will add free traffic to your website. But of course with all of those emails to send to, you need a software that would help you out in sending those, right? You can actually use a bulk email software that would help you out with the emailing task. You may also control the speed of the delivery of your email messages through this. Isn’t that great?

There are other methods that you can use together with email marketing, like for instance article marketing and social networking. These methods help in sending free traffic to your website in the most efficient way possible.

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Government Grants For Women – Winning Tactics

You have arrived here to read this because you are looking for more information on getting government grants for women? Most experts would agree that this has to be one of the most ideal financial ways to create your business by using grant money. The trend seems to be toward the giving of grants to those who start their own small businesses while also contributing to the economy at large. The federal government will give Business grants to people who qualify. Since they don’t have to be paid back grants differ from loans.

Choose a Business Loan Or Business Grant?

Another differing point about grants is that they don’t specify credit checks, collateral, security deposits or co-signers. Most of the time what IS required from you is to send them periodic progress reports which will inform them on the progress of your specified goals as found in your application. This is to make sure funds are being used as previously specified. Look into the links presented in the resource box if you want more information on this.

Women’s Business Grants Defined

Women can run a business outside of the home or a home-based business by utilizing business grants. They can be used to:

1) Start a new or expand an existing business. 2) Equipment financing. 3) Acquisition of a new or existing business. 4) Office Rent. 5) Salaries and related expenses. 6) Office expenses and overhead.

Encouraging business growth and promoting woman small business owners is who these are generally given to. Keep in mind you have to be at least 18 years old to be eligible.

Purpose Of Governments Grants

One great way to turn the dreams of an entrepreneur into reality and support a business idea is to use a grant. The types of grants offered by the government include but are not limited to:

1) Housing grants. 2) Education grants. 3) Individual grants for personal necessities. 4) Business grants for starting a new business.

Keep in mind that the listed grant types were just a small sample of the whole. The end of this article has a resource box that can be followed for more information.

Business Women And Business Grants

There are grants for women to buy existing businesses. Another way to qualify for a government grant is to excel in your respective field. Attending business school is another great reason to qualify for a grant. Keep in mind that you do NOT have to repay a business grant to the funding agency or the government.

Women And Government Grants

Studies have shown that up to seventy five percent of women small business owners tend to be successful. Add that to the fact that as a group when applying for government grants women have the biggest advantage. In fact specifically earmarked for women are several business grant types. Small business grant funding does come with some limitations that haven’t been discussed here. For a lot more information on this and grants in whole see the resource box. Just remember you may have to go in front of a foundation or a governing council’s grant board to get your funding. Small price to pay for your self employment isn’t it? When are you going to get started?

Five Winning Strategies For Starting A Business

Do you dream about starting a business, but don’t know where to begin?  Does the idea of being your own boss and creating a company that provides great products and services excite you?  But all you do is dream, unable to move ahead?  You’re not alone.  Many women feel this way.

More than twenty-five years ago, I launched my own company, a public relations agency that is still thriving today.  I’ve also had the privilege of mentoring many other women entrepreneurs.  I’ve seen what works and what prevents women from moving ahead.  Below are five step-by-step strategies that can help you launch the business of your dreams.

1.  Commit to one business 
You must commit to one business.  The biggest roadblock to being an entrepreneur is fear of choosing one business and going for it.  You can’t get an enterprise off the ground, if you spread yourself thin.  Over and over again throughout the years, I’ve met women who have the passion to become entrepreneurs, but they keep spinning in circles, never committing to one business.  Look at it this way, once you succeed at building your first company, you can always start another one.

Remember, too, that it’s important to choose a business that you are passionate about.  This is not about the latest fad or fashion.  It’s about making a commitment to something that will absorb large amounts of your time – and possibly quite a bit of money.  So choose wisely.  If you want to start an online business, then commit to it.  If you want to open a retail store, then go for it.  If you want to be a contractor, then move ahead.  But don’t hang yourself up by wanting to do all three things at once.  Make a choice and commit.

2.  Research that business
Today, it’s easier than ever to learn about any business in the world.  For the fastest results, look online.  Google the type of business you want to start.  Find out about professional organizations in the field.  Read blogs and bulletin boards by people doing similar things.  Learn about sources of help.  Read industry articles and buy the magazines or books that can teach you more.  Participate in teleseminars.  You also need to reach out to business people and others who may be able to help you.  You can do this through networking at local events, seminars, business groups, and online through social networks.  Make sure you understand the business that you want to start.  The more you know about it, the greater your chance for success.

3. Create a business blueprint
Don’t worry about writing a formal business plan at first.  Business plans are essential if you want to raise money through venture capital or obtain a commercial loan from a bank or other source.  Most people start businesses with their own funds or a personal loan.

What you actually need is a three to four-page business blueprint that serves as your personal guide to navigating the road ahead.  Here’s what goes into a business blueprint:
a. A clear description of what the business does and who it serves. 
b. A description of how the business will run on a day-to-day basis. 
c. A list of your specific responsibilities as the business owner.  
d. A list of what other people will do. 
e. An estimate of what it will cost to run the business for the first year.
f. An estimate of how you will cover these first-year expenses, either through sales or from some other source.

Once you create a written picture of how the business will function, you’ll be able to move ahead to the next step.

4. Build a team
One of the biggest myths about starting a business is thinking that you’ve got to do it alone.  But you can’t create a great business without help.  Using your business blueprint as a guide, you’ll need to put together the following three teams:

Professional Advisors:  These are the professionals who will advise you on the basics of starting a business such as whether to incorporate; what type of insurance coverage to obtain; and where to work.  These professionals will include an accountant, an insurance agent, and possibly a lawyer or real estate broker.  Make sure you get recommendations from other small business owners before you hire these experts.

Informal “Board of Directors”:  This is a group of unpaid advisors, often made up of friends and acquaintances with business expertise, who will mentor you as you’re finding your way in the business world.  Don’t be shy about asking for their advice.  You’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to help, if you only ask.

Your Own Staff:  This is the team who will work with you on a daily basis to help you build your business.  If you’re not ready for full-time employees, think about adding college interns or part-time employees.  Don’t make the mistake of trying to do everything yourself.  Instead focus on the key activities that will give you the biggest return.  Your business will grow twice as fast.

5. Surround Yourself With Positive People
It’s not enough to simply follow the four steps listed above, you must believe in yourself.  There will be many times when you’ll question yourself, wondering whether you’re doing the right thing.  That’s why it’s essential to surround yourself with positive people.  Negative people encourage self-doubt.  They drain your time and energy, and undermine your ambitions.  Negative people come in many guises, from those who don’t want you to get ahead to others who see the downside of every situation.  And they are everywhere.  Some may even be family and friends.  Try not to share your business dreams with them.  Instead, share your ideas with people who are supportive.  Positive people will help you build your business.  Seek them out for counsel and advice.

Starting a business may seem like a daunting task.  But if you are passionate and committed to making it work, then following these steps will help make the journey easier, less complex, and much more fun.

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Jane Wesman is president of Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc., (www.wesmanpr.com) a firm that creates high impact book publicity campaigns for publishers and writers.  She is also the author of Dive Right In – The Sharks Won’t Bite: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Guide to Success.

Wesman’s articles on business and marketing have appeared in such magazines and on such websites as American Bookseller, Professional Performance, Inc., Enterprising Women, foxbusiness.com, and womenentrepreneur.com. Wesman is also a frequent guest on television and radio.

Wesman has been a guest speaker at the National Women’s Business Council, the Womensphere Leadership & Innovation Conference, the Stern School of Business, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Learning Annex, among other venues.  She is currently working on a new book about women and entrepreneurial leadership.

Wesman is based in New York City and may be reached at jane@wesmanpr.com or 212-620-4080.

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