4 Lessons Learned from an Obsession with Women Entrepreneurs

 

I’ve been slightly obsessed reading books and articles about women entrepreneurs- specifically in the world of food.

I’m not sure what led me to this idea, but it seemed good at the time and now I’ve started writing a book.  Honestly, what started was a personal project of going through biographies of women I admire and the notes of the speakers I’ve heard over the years. I was in desperate need for some instruction on How To Get Your Life Together 101.

Perhaps you’ve been here?

The more I worked and took notes and wrote chapters, the more immersed in the subject I became.  From time to time, I’ll throw out a post or two about what I’m discovering.  If I ever finish the book and have it edited, believe me, you’ll be the first to know.

In the meantime, I’ll share a few tidbits about what I’m learning.  Women are so interesting.  We are so different than men in the way we do business.  And in a lot of good ways.  We tend to be nurturing and helpful and want to work with a bigger purpose than just ourselves.  Not that men work just for money- women seem to get the whole "I want to do work that makes a difference" as a core reason behind why we do what we do.

4 Lessons Learned

1.  Most women didn’t have a clear cut plan.

There was a lot of wandering around as they discovered what they were good at.  A lot of wandering, sister, a lot of wandering. 

O.k. take a nice breathe of relief here:  a lot of them didn’t have a business plan in the beginning.  Or a venture capitalist backing them up.  Or a board of directors.

These things often came later.   But a whole lot of women entrepreneurs were going piece by piece, bootstrapping the whole endeavor.

Another point:  a lot of these women didn’t start with food. Martha Stewart was a model and then a stockbroker.  Debby Fields had no culinary background when she opened her cookie shop.  M.F.K. Fisher just needed to pay the rent and opened a restaurant (kind of) in her apartment with some buddies.

It was a number of different things that led them to finally move into the world of food.  (Also, this reminds me of Tolkien, All who wander are not lost. YES!)  Typically it was their interests and their identification of a problem that led to a job that ended up allowing them to make a living in something they loved.

THE POINT:  If you are having a hard time finding your fit in life, just keep on searching and learning and staying open to possibilities.

2.  Frustration is part of the game.

I think frustration- or stretching-  is pretty normal.  In fact, if you are never frustrated it might be because you are not stretching.  Or you are amazingly patient and brilliant.  J
It takes time to push through to develop our skills and find our fit in the world.  Maybe if we accepted that not having it all together right away is pretty normal, we would be less anxious and more creative in our own journeys and the creative process.

3.  A lot of women found their fit by fixing a perceived problem.

Many times they weren’t even looking to solve anyone else’s problem.  It was a problem that bugged them, not anyone else!  Then they discovered that a lot of other people had the same problem.

Life is pretty funny sometimes.  Julia Child is an example of this.  Sandra Lee wanted to help women make good home food without a lot of fussing and fancy ingredients.  Lila Rogers, well known artist and art agent just likes to make stuff.  Monica Lee from Smart Creative Women wants to share “how to” secrets and skills of working artists and bloggers stories with those of us in the creative world.  All of these women started with a problem and then put their ideas out for other people to try.  Spanx founder Sarah Blakely was really irked about the way pantyhose didn’t fit well.

The examples could go on and on.  (Note to self- sometimes we gotta put our work “out there” to see if there is an interest!  Don’t be afraid if no one wants it- it’s part of the process!)

4. The women who do really well in their craft are the ones who stubbornly stuck through hard times and criticisms.

They so believed in the value of their work that what others said didn’t matter to them.

Everyone thought Dorie Greenspan was crazy for leaving her PhD program in geriatrics to become a cookbook writer and baker.  Sandra Lee was heavily criticized for her “semi-homemade” cookbooks.

These women just kept going- they knew in their gut this was the path for them, despite the storms they needed to work through.

I hope this encourages you in your life.  You may be in the middle of a project or searching for work that matters.  Wherever you are, don’t give up!  I’m rooting for you.

What I’m Up to this Week

I was challenged by a blogger and location independent I admire to set up a niche site as a way of building residual income as well as learning skills in the online realm.  It wasn’t specifically to me, but do you how, when you began to participate in a blog community: read the posts, make some comments, read what others are saying, etc.  you began to really feel a part of that group.

I’ve wanted to develop a very specific niche site for some time and after doing some research, I landed on a topic and have been following a specific blueprint on putting it together.

It’s an interesting project because it tests so many different skills:  identifying a subject matter people are interested in, putting together a website that (hopefully) answers questions, making the website “findable” for people, attracting people to the website, building a mailing list, working on SEO, writing relevant articles, considering advertising, etc.  It’s gathering a lot of skills in order to put together a “big picture” project.

It’s fun and stressful and my emotions have a tendency to sway with the tides.  (Lord, steady me!)

Speaking of mailing lists…I’ve been horrible at keeping up with mine.  I’m re-committing to sending out a weekly email to my list with special info, updates and more.  If you would like to be on the list, please sign up in the subscribe box on the left side of this page.

P.S. "Summer at Tiffany's" isn't a book about women entrepreneurs or cooking.  But it's a fun read.  And "Paris, My Sweet" was not exactly a research book either. However if you like cookies and baguettes and pastries and the idea of being an expat in Paris, you must read this book my friend.