Thriving As a Female Entrepreneur
Thriving business woman 50+
What’s the Most Effective Way to Thrive As a Female Entrepreneur?
Female entrepreneurs are making their mark in every sector of the economy. More and more women are choosing to break away from traditional career paths, opting to become their own bosses. It’s no longer just fashion, beauty, and media; female founders are in tech, finance, real estate, and so much more. This makes it a great time for women who want to follow their dreams.
But venturing into unfamiliar territory can be daunting.
What Makes a Female Entrepreneur
Many factors have contributed to the rise of female entrepreneurs. Socially, there are changing attitudes and greater acceptance of women as business leaders. (Go Kamala!)
Economically, more women are gaining access to funding, training, and resources. What all successful women entrepreneurs share is a desire to contribute to the world in their own way.
Some see a gap in a certain market or recognize something isn't working. They think, "There has to be a better way." Perhaps they’ve noticed products are overpriced or difficult to obtain. Maybe they see a disconnect between what customers need and what’s available. This leads them to create innovative solutions and disrupt entire industries in the process.
Reasons Women Are Becoming Entrepreneurs
First, there's definitely a "burnout factor." Many women juggle careers and domestic responsibilities, working full time while raising children and keeping a home. No matter how much you love your career, that will take a toll.
After a few years or a couple of decades, the corporate ladder begins to feel less like something you're climbing and more like a hamster wheel. They crave more autonomy, flexibility, and the opportunity to pursue their passions while making a real difference in the world.
Then there's "The God Smack," which usually comes after women realize they’ve already achieved many of their original dreams. They may feel they’ve reached a plateau in their current careers and need something more fulfilling. Then, something external happens, as if the universe is telling them to change course.
This could be getting laid off after dedicating their life to a corporation, becoming seriously ill, or even an "empty nest" scenario. This “aha.” moment can be frightening but also extremely liberating, pushing people to take a step toward what's next. This can lead women to explore entrepreneurship as a way to regain control of their lives and create a legacy that aligns with their values.
From Rocket Scientists to MINTED
There are so many inspirational entrepreneur success stories.
For example, after several health scares, I was inspired to create Beyond the Dreamboard. I specialize in helping other successful women executives in their fifties, sixties, and seventies leverage their vast networks and experience to transition from the boardroom to entrepreneurship. They become consultants, authors, and coaches in their fields.
Then there’s Dana Kirchmar, the founder of The Elevate Initiative. With over 35 years of experience in aviation and aerospace, she became passionate about increasing female representation in these fields and STEM/STEAM education. Her initiative focuses on empowering executives with strategies to address gender disparities, aiming to create a supportive and inclusive environment for women in aviation and aerospace.
Or how about Miriam Naficy, who created Minted, an innovative site that gives creative entrepreneurs an opportunity to market their wares and gain valuable exposure? Since launching the platform in 2007, Naficy's become one of the world's leading experts in helping online ventures succeed. This earned her recognition from Fast Company, which listed her as one of the 25 Most Creative People in Business in 2013.
Her company has raised $297.1 million in funding, making her one of today's leading female entrepreneurs in tech.
Getting Past the Challenges Faced by Female Entrepreneurs
While much has changed in recent decades, women are more likely than men to report issues getting funding or dealing with prejudice or skepticism. As society slowly begins to make amends for past injustices and gender biases, funding initiatives dedicated to women are seeing significant gains.
A study by First Round Capital discovered that venture-backed companies with at least one female founder outperformed all-male teams by 63%. Investors are starting to see what many already knew: Companies thrive when there's diversity in race and gender.
For many women, the biggest challenge may not be social or financial but internal. Women who entered the corporate world before age fifty often encounter cultures where ambition and authority are perceived as masculine, especially at the management and executive levels. Over time, these women have had to make tough decisions. This often involved toning down their feminine side or behaving more like “one of the guys” to be taken seriously.
I call this “putting on the Teflon suit," which enabled women to survive corporate America's cut-throat nature in previous decades. Unfortunately, this can lead to internal struggles in mid-life or retirement. Women no longer want to pretend to be something they aren't, but may lack confidence in their natural ability to lead. This often requires a qualified coach or mentor who can help them reconnect with their unique “why.”
What’s the Most Effective Way to Thrive As a Female Entrepreneur?
If you want to become your own boss, recognize that a lot of the success factors may not involve degrees or business experience. Success has more to do with your outlook. This requires embracing new ways of thinking focused on discovering your strengths rather than overcoming weaknesses.
Some of this can be challenging at first. But with practice and, if needed, a supportive mentor or mastermind group, any woman can overcome negative self-talk or lingering impostor syndrome to reach the next stage.
First, Visualize the Life YOU Actually Want
The first vital thing to ask is, “If money wasn't a consideration, how many hours would I LIKE to work?” Next, figure out how much time off you want monthly or yearly. Decide who you'd like to work with (and who you wouldn't like to work with). Once you become your own boss, you have much more autonomy.
This means a big shift from “work-life balance,” which focuses on prioritizing a job over life. Women entrepreneurs are moving toward “life-work balance,” which involves living your best life and fitting work in, instead of the other way around. It may seem difficult at first. But breaking these goals into simple questions allows you to move past self-doubt and into concrete visualization.
In a few weeks, the "shoulds" and expectations imposed by the workplace or society will start to disappear. They'll be replaced by an "I deserve" and "I'm going to have this" mindset that brings a surge of confidence.
Finding Strength Through Inner Connection: It's OK to Ask For Help
For many successful female entrepreneurs, coaches or masterminds provide vital guidance. Figuring things out alone can feel empowering, but it can also result in false starts and frustration that drain your time and money. By the time many women enter their forties or fifties, they’ve already spent a couple of decades juggling family and career responsibilities while trying to keep everyone around them happy.
Consider “emotional bandwidth” when mapping out goals and a budget. It can be much easier and faster to navigate all these unknowns by bringing in support.
Even coaches seek coaches. In this podcast I shared how important a coaching program was to helping me transform from a stressed-out cofounder, into the woman who founded Beyond the Dreamboard. And by the way, I’m not afraid to admit that I paid tens of thousands of dollars yearly to participate in two mastermind groups, in addition to working one-on-one with multiple business and life coaches.
For someone starting their entrepreneurial journey, this may seem like overkill. But what happens when a female entrepreneur invests that much in herself? The answer is it makes it much easier to charge her clients those prices. She can also set limits on who, when, and how she chooses to work.
Is it Time For YOU to Make a Shift?
By taking the time to understand the obstacles women face, you can leverage what others have learned. As more female entrepreneurs make strides, business landscapes shift. Women entering entrepreneurship are less likely to face the push-back of their predecessors.
But the obstacles can be so deep-rooted and invisible that a change of perspective is more effective than focusing on degrees, accolades, or traditional financial metrics. By embracing a more balanced approach that prioritizes both personal fulfillment and financial success, women are changing the face of entrepreneurship and paving the way for future generations.
Conclusion
This new generation of female entrepreneurs shows no sign of slowing down. Each year we're learning about even MORE success stories. Women are less focused on simply joining "the boys' club." They’re rewriting entrepreneurship rules by creating more balanced businesses with stronger ties to financial goals AND humanitarianism.
This makes the twenty-first century a great time for anyone with a good idea, a strong work ethic, and a healthy network. Female entrepreneurs today can find the motivation and resources to accomplish goals in practically every field.
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