Author: Ethan Theo

Article Contributed by Michele DeKinder-Smith

Most women business owners are on their own as they create, grow and run their companies – but by finding expert and community support, they can accelerate their business growth process and shorten their learning curves, reaching their greatest potential more easily in less time.

Research by a trusted authority on female entrepreneurs shows there are five distinct types of women in business. Each type of business owner has a unique approach to running a business and therefore each one has a unique combination of needs. This article describes three of those types and outlines various ways each of them can seek that support effectively.

Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and generally, she makes a nice living. She is comfortable and determined in buying and selling, which may be why she’s five times more likely than the average female business owner to hit the million dollar mark. Jane Dough is clear in her priorities and may be intentionally and actively growing an asset-based or legacy business. It is estimated that 18% of women entrepreneurs fall in the category of Jane Dough.

With her fast pace and quick-growth style, Jane Dough will welcome expertise and will devour it eagerly. She will be a serial consumer of information as she acquires expert guidance so she can quickly and easily implement new strategies in her business for maximum potential. From marketing and social media to hiring and team development, Jane Dough’s entrepreneurial style will allow her to  find the right mentor, until she is moving towards her business goals at a breakneck pace.

Merry Jane is 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) which 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. Representing about 19% of women in business, 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.

Thanks to Merry Jane’s myriad roles and responsibilities, systems are key. Therefore, she will benefit most from experts or support people who can help her increase her efficiency using systems that tie to her business and require very little time from her. Also, Merry Jane would benefit from a mentor or expert who is well-connected to other resources in the community so that she can quickly identify solutions to her needs, and then connect with them so her needs are met just as quickly.

Tenacity Jane is an entrepreneur with an undeniable passion for her business, and one who tends to be struggling with cash flow. As a result, she’s working longer hours, and making less money than she’d like. Nevertheless, Tenacity Jane is bound and determined to make her business a success. At 31% of women in business, Tenacity Janes make up the largest group of female entrepreneurs.

Because a Tenacity Jane business owner will want to get her businesses on solid financial footing as quickly as possible, she should seek an honest mentor or expert who knows how to make a business profitable. This person must be willing be straightforward – to tell Tenacity Jane the apparent cause of the business not being as profitable as it needs to be – and then teach her how to repair the business so it can thrive.

Although running a business may feel like a solitary operation, a female entrepreneur who seeks support and guidance from experts and community members will find her journey is much easier and more enjoyable – and her business is more successful.

About the Author:

Michele DeKinder-Smith is the founder and CEO of Linkage Research, Inc, a marketing research firm with Fortune 500 clients such as Starbucks, Frito Lay, Tropicana, Texas Instruments, Hoover Vacuums and Verizon Wireless. She parlayed this entrepreneurial knowledge and experience into founding Jane Out of the Box, a company that provides female entrepreneurs like YOU with powerful resources, such as educational blogs, teleclasses, newsletters, and books. Take your Jane assessment to determine your own business type at www.janeoutofthebox.com Also, she is the author of two successful books for female entrepreneurs, “See Jane Succeed” (at www.seejanesucceed.com) and “See Jane Collaborate” (at www.seejanecollaborate.com).

Article Contributed by Jeff Beals

From an outsider’s perspective, she was leading the ideal life.

She made the Dean’s List in law school and was in her tenth year practicing at a respected firm in the middle of Toronto’s bustling financial district. If that wasn’t enough, she had four beautiful daughters, a rich personality and an impossible-to-forget name: “Tsufit,” a Hebrew word for “humming bird.”

Indeed, she had it all, but something just wasn’t right.

Tsufit was restless. One day she thought to herself, “there’s got to me more to life than this,” so she made the monumental decision to leave law and follow her dream of being a singer, comedian and television actress.

It was certainly a radical change.

As it turned out, it was also a profitable change for Tsufit (yes, she goes by a one-word name just like Cher or Madonna). She did well as a performer, taking advantage of her natural penchant to entertain others. She was energetic, colorful and damned funny on stage, on camera and in one-on-one conversations.

But she was more than just an entertainer. She brought a business-like approach to her new profession, and more importantly, she was a savvy marketer. Tsufit had a knack for getting exposure in newspapers and in other media.

Eventually, entrepreneurs and other professionals started asking her how she earned so much publicity especially from major media outlets. In answering such questions, she found an even better career.

Today Tsufit is an internationally renowned marketing consultant who coaches clients how to be stars in their professions. She’s the award-winning author of Step Into the Spotlight: A Guide to Getting Noticed, as well as a popular radio talk-show guest, keynote speaker and seminar leader both in Canada and the United States. Her coaching fee is now substantially higher than the legal fees she earned years ago. Her clients, who come to her from around the world, are entrepreneurs, executives, authors, professional speakers, independent professionals, fellow coaches – anyone who is the “directing mind” of a business.

Tsufit coaches the type of people who want to be experts or stars in any business. Suffice it to say, she is an expert when it comes to building one’s personal brand and marketing it in today’s precarious economy.

Her clients learn how to brand themselves and become well known. That leads to so many professional benefits for them.

“You get to charge more,” Tsufit says, “I help them raise their rates. Part of that whole process is getting them well known among the people who pay their rates. My coaching rates are now five times what they were eight years ago. It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t become so well known.”

Tsufit argues that well known people are more credible. “It’s bizarre, really, but because they’ve heard of you in the marketplace, they trust you more. They’re much more willing to give you large amounts of money. They trust that well known people deliver on what they promise.”

While there are so many theories of personal branding and so many ways to brand oneself, Tsufit believes you must start with your own uniqueness.

“It’s better to be different than it is to be better,” she says, “If you focus on creating differences and distinctions between you and everyone else, you don’t have to focus on boasting or showing that you’re better.”

To build your brand, drop the excessive professionalism and simply be yourself, Tsufit advises. But as you do that, “be the best version of yourself.” People who come across as too perfect or too smooth turn others off. That’s why you should show your vulnerabilities, or as author Harry Beckwith once said, “show your warts.” Research shows that if you show some vulnerability, you’re actually more credible.

As you brand yourself, you want to do it the right way. Tsufit believes the biggest personal branding mistake is not standing for anything, not having a slice of the market that is yours and yours alone.

“If you say you’re for anybody, you’re really for nobody,” she says, “because there’s no way to find you among the sea of other people, who do what you do.”

On occasion, a professional may desire to change his or her personal brand. That’s okay if the change is made for the right reasons.

“I wouldn’t change every five minutes,” Tsufit warns. “Some people have a totally new thing every month or two or every year. After too many changes, people write you off as a flake. Your new brand should grow out of something you’ve done before.”

If you want to change how you appear in public, start by appearing in front of a different public. To borrow from the world of theatre, try it out off-Broadway first. When Tsufit was a singer, she would test new songs at a small coffee house before debuting in front of large audiences. Similarly, professionals, should test market their new brands, making sure the brand fits, is comfortable and not fake.

Many people will admit that personal branding is an effective way to bolster a career, but they’re simply not comfortable doing it. Specifically, many people worry about going too far. So, if you’re worried about crossing the line from “healthy personal branding” to “egotistical boasting,” you’re not alone.

“For me, it’s humor,” Tsufit claims. “I could never get away with half of what I say without humor. Otherwise, I’d come across as arrogant or conceited. The other thing is confidence. Know that you can demonstrate that you really do what you say you do.

About the Author:

Jeff Beals is an award-winning author, who helps professionals do more business and have a greater impact on the world through effective sales, marketing and personal branding techniques. As a professional speaker, he delivers energetic and humorous keynote speeches and workshops to audiences worldwide. You can learn more and follow his “Business Motivation Blog” at JeffBeals.com.