Women business owners can use the beginning of a new calendar year as a time for improving their businesses, whether that means hiring help, taking a good look at existing structures and systems or designing new ways to handle workflow. Different business owners will have different priorities when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions. This article highlights two different types of female entrepreneurs and resolutions that will help build success now and in the future.
Most female entrepreneurs probably strive throughout the year to improve their business’ efficiency, strategize for growth and meet market needs. However, the New Year provides women business owners with an opportunity to slow down and really examine the structures on which they’ve built their companies, and to work strategically to better those structures for long-term success – in whatever way they define it.
A recent study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on female entrepreneurs, reveals there are five distinct types of women in business. Each one has a unique approach to running a business – and therefore each one has a unique combination of needs. This article outlines two of the five types and provides some advice for continued success and satisfaction as they ring in 2010.
Accidental Jane is a successful, confident business owner who never actually set out to start a business. Instead, she may have decided to start a business due to frustration with her job or a layoff and then she decided to use her business and personal contacts to strike out on her own. Or, she may have started making something that served her own unmet needs and found other customers with the same need, giving birth to a business. Although Accidental Jane may sometimes struggle with prioritizing what she needs to do next in her business, she enjoys what she does and is making good money. About 18% of all women business owners fit the Accidental Jane profile.
Accidental Jane business owners report feeling confident and fulfilled in their work, and they appreciate that their businesses provide them with a great work-life balance. On the other hand, Accidental Janes often say the ebbs and flows of business can be stressful. Sometimes the workload is overwhelming, and other times there doesn’t seem to be enough work. To obtain greater satisfaction starting in 2010, Accidental Jane business owners may want to consider the following tips:
Maintain an even workload. Accidental Jane’s marketing efforts usually run opposite her workload. For example, if she has several projects to work on, she slows down her marketing efforts because she doesn’t have time for more projects. On the other hand, when she nears completion on current projects, she starts marketing to find new clients to fill her time (and keep her income steady). How does a business owner maintain an even workload?
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.
Merry Jane loves the way her business fits into her life. It gives her the flexibility to take care of the myriad other tasks and responsibilities she must complete, and it gives her a creative outlet at the same time. On the other hand, a majority of Merry Jane business owners said they would love to make more money. In 2010, Merry Jane can increase her business’ revenue by following some simple advice:
Increase marketing and sales. Defining a business’ target market and then marketing to that group is key to increasing a company’s bottom line. It sounds simple, and it is; consider these strategies before launching a huge campaign:
A New Year is an excellent time to focus on opportunities for reaching unprecedented levels of satisfaction for business owners, in whatever way they define it. No matter how successful the previous year has been, the next year can be even better.
Interested in learning more about the five Jane types and which Jane you are? Check out www.janeoutofthebox.com
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