Andrea Nicholas shares tips for Women Entrepreneurship Day
As we know at DFSA, women profoundly influence their families, neighborhoods, and communities. Entrepreneurship is an excellent vehicle for widening that impact and doing something uniquely natural to women: birthing things. Though women-owned businesses remain underfunded compared to their male counterparts, the data show they perform better overall. VCs and PE are coming around and increasing their investments, so it's an exciting time to be a part of the ecosystem. Choosing entrepreneurship as a career path can be economically, intellectually, and personally rewarding.
You own your destiny, and, as the saying goes, what you focus on grows. Stay disciplined, manage your time, set goals, read and then read some more, meet as many people as you can, embrace resourcefulness. If you are paralyzed, and there will be moments when you feel that way, do something. Results reward action. Finally, a lot of people will offer you advice, but unless they’re doing it themselves and excelling, feel free to ignore it.
Entrepreneurship is as much about resilience as it is about skill so cultivate a mindset that sees challenges as growth opportunities. If entrepreneurship calls you, do it. No matter what - you will grow and learn in new, exciting ways.
Chiefly, entrepreneurs must remain self-confident no matter what. You may not know all you need to know at this moment, but believe in your ability to figure it out and set a course to win. When you encounter setbacks, lean on your confidence, knowing that mistakes and failures are part of the process, not a reflection of your capability.
Bossypants by Tina Fey and The Mental Toughness Handbook are a few books that come to mind for entrepreneurs. Bossypants reminds us to laugh and not take ourselves too seriously while teaching important lessons about overcoming obstacles and succeeding in a male-dominated world. The Mental Toughness Handbook is an excellent primer for strengthening our mental game so we can successfully navigate the inevitable ups and downs of business and life with resilience and strength.
Andrea Nicholas Coachsulting is a culmination of my years of executive leadership and entrepreneurship and reflects my commitment to supporting leaders in thinking bigger and leading differently. I blend my years of executive leadership, management consulting, business ownership, VC investing, and coaching credentials to create a brand of executive development called “coachsulting.”
With an action and results disposition, we focus on strategically identifying and activating executive clients' professional goals. Foundationally, we tap into clients' closely held values to unleash their broader career vision and create more fulfilling, aligned work that positively influences others. I absolutely love the work and the positive ripple effect it has had on many.
Thomas Jefferson's "The harder I work, the luckier I get," is an inspiring quote that’s been proven out for hundreds of years. At any time businesses, whether one I owned or led, were trending negatively in some way, I worked harder and it always, always paid off. Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, offers another gem: "Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset." This quote is a great reminder when starting a new venture to to stay open, curious, and flexible, and see the unknown as an opportunity rather than a limitation.
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Thank you to DFSA Board Member & Entrepreneur Andrea Nicholas for sharing your words of wisdom!