Stuck in Start up

The dream has been captured and hidden inside your heart throughout the years. The letterhead, business cards, website, and a mile-long list of clients are all vivid images dancing around in your thoughts. Now, you must decide what keys are necessary to ignite the fire in the engine of your dream to make it a reality. Once you have laid out your road map, join the thousands of women business owners who have moved from being stuck in their start up phase.

According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, women-owned businesses grew at twice the rate in comparison to other segments during the period of 1997 to 2002, and account for 16 percent of all U.S. jobs. Women-owned companies contribute over $2.8 trillion dollars annually to the economy, while also directly and indirectly impacting the creation of more than 23 million jobs.

Even though, there has been tremendous growth of women-owned business, a segment of women still lag behind in growing their businesses at the rate of their counterparts. Women of color are estimated to start businesses three times more than other groups; however, research reflects that they face more major obstacles to moving from the initial start up phase to full implementation of reaching their defined success level. Those obstacles include cash flow and capital; marketing; access to decision makers; human resources; and strategic partnerships.

What can you do move your business to the next level?  First, you should network, network and network with everyone, especially with individuals who have expertise in establishing a business.  Next work through the steps necessary to overcome obstacles and challenges - draft a business plan, develop marketing strategies, implement administrative processes, and allow yourself room to make mistakes, but ultimately learn from those mistakes.  Along the path to entrepreneurship, seek out materials to help you learn how to run a successful business.  This may be in the form of buying books, attending classes, or contacting the Small Business Administration. 

Now that your homework has been completed, you can forge ahead to making your dream business into reality!