In every female entrepreneur’s life, opportunity will knock. Successful women must determine how they’ll answer. Will they fling the door open and shout, “Welcome!” with no more trepidation than they’d use when hosting their best friend? Or will they hook up the security chain and open the door just a crack, asking, “What do you want?” Whether it’s one of those extremes or something in between, one thing is certain: her response to opportunity likely will determine opportunity’s response to her – and her business.
A new study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on female entrepreneurs, recently revealed 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 characteristics and factors.
This article profiles three important Jane “types” and the ways they are likely to respond when opportunity shows up on their doorstep.
Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and makes good money. 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 fall in the category of Jane Dough.
Opportunity is a guest Jane Dough will carefully consider. Sure, she’ll open the door, but she’ll give Opportunity a good once-over before letting it in. Because she’s business-minded and pragmatic, she will look at all the angles before deciding whether this particular opportunity is one she wants to be closer to.
If you’re a Jane Dough, you should think about a few things while making your careful assessment:
* You’re a big picture kind of girl. You might see an opportunity and know it will fit in, in the grand scheme of things. But before you give the go-ahead in your quick and business-like manner, be careful to analyze exactly how it will fit in to the rest of your system.
* Ask yourself, “Even if this opportunity will make my business even more successful, will taking it allow me to continue to focus on what I want to focus on at work?” In short, evaluate not just the opportunity, but the timing as well. Jane Dough works best in a very focused manner, so it’s important not to allow a new opportunity to become a distraction for you and your team. If you’re already working on a big project, it might be best to re-negotiate timing so you can maximize your effectiveness with both opportunities.
Tenacity Jane is an entrepreneur with an undeniable passion for her business, but who tends to be struggling with cash flow. As a result, she’s working long 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 are the largest single Jane type.
Tenacity Jane LOVES Opportunity because she is seeking the key(s) to helping her financially struggling business become more profitable so she can rest easier. That said, it’s important to realize that not every gift horse should be allowed in the door. When faced with a new opportunity, Tenacity Jane can consider the following:
* Sometimes what looks like Opportunity is just trouble in disguise. Before you proceed with something new, take the time to analyze whether the opportunity has significant potential to deliver the income you’re looking for, and what will be required for that to occur. Map out your plan and examine feasibility before diving in with both
feet.
* Consider your current projects and workload. How will the new opportunity fit in? Will it disrupt fledgling efforts you have underway already to improve the finances in your business? If so, it might be better to put the new opportunity on hold until the work you have currently underway begins to bear fruit.
* Finally, consider the costs of the opportunity. What will it cost you in terms of time, and importantly, money? Before pursuing any new opportunity, make sure you have sufficient resources to fully take advantage of it. If it would require an investment in building a new website, for example, and you don’t have the money to do so, the opportunity will not pay out the way you hoped. Again, it might be worth postponing slightly, until you can marshal more resources to truly make the most of it.
Merry Jane. This entrepreneur tends to be “building a business on the side”-in addition to a day-job, or a focus on family or other pursuits. She doesn’t have a high personal income from her business, but she also tends to be working less than 40 hours a week, and she loves the freedom her business affords her.
For Merry Jane, being a successful woman means multi-tasking well and having a smoothly running life. It also means having the freedom and flexibility to do what she wants when she wants. Merry Jane is enjoying herself and her business overall due to the freedom she enjoys so she will want to examine any new opportunity to decide whether it threatens her work/life balance or whether it will deliver sufficient profitability to allow her to make even better money while preserving her time freedom. When opportunity comes knocking, Merry Jane can as herself the following questions to ensure she chooses her course wisely:
* How much time will this opportunity take (in hours per week and overall duration)? Is this an investment of time I am willing to make? What might I be able to let go of to free up more time?
* Will this opportunity fit into my existing systems or am I going to have to invent new ways of doing things to take advantage of this? If it will take a change in the way I work, is it worth it?
* Will I enjoy this work? Overall, Merry Jane loves her work and her business and any new opportunity should be equally or more enjoyable than the work she does today to ensure her continued happiness.
* If the answer to all of the above results in a continued desire to pursue the opportunity, Merry Jane can then ask herself … What can I do to make this new opportunity even more profitable? A key opportunity for Merry Jane is to increase her personal income through
her business, so this is always a great question when embarking on a new project.
Whether you’re a Jane Dough, a Tenacity Jane or a Merry Jane, deciding whether to invite a new opportunity in requires quite a bit of consideration. Each type of female entrepreneur should identify the myriad ways the opportunity may affect her, and then make the decision about whether to accept it. One of the greatest joys of owning your own business is the freedom to choose – so choose what’s right for you!
About the Author:
Michele DeKinder-Smith is the founder of Jane out of the Box, an online resource dedicated to the women entrepreneur community. Discover more incredibly useful information for running a small business by taking the FREE Jane Types Assessment at Jane out of the Box. Offering networking and marketing opportunities, key resources and mentorship from successful women in business, Jane Out of the Box is online at www.janeoutofthebox.com
Category: Entrepreneurs
Last week I talked about how either moving too fast or too slow can sabotage your success. (You can read part 1 by visiting my blog… my website address is listed below.) Today I’m going to talk about a place where entrepreneurs typically move too slow — creating products or programs.
Does this sound familiar? You’ve been working on your book or your program or product for several months or maybe even years. You’re close to finishing — you just have one or two more things to do. Of course, every time you finish those one or two things, one or two more things crop up. It’s never ending.
If this does sound familiar, you’re not alone. I know many, many entrepreneurs (including myself) who have taken longer than necessary to complete their products. The reasons vary but many fall into the “perfectionist” camp. You take pride in your work. You want your product to be perfect. You want your customers to love your product and get a lot out of it. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?
Well, there is when it prevents you from actually bringing your product to market. Think about it — if the conclusion isn’t quite right or there are a few missed typos, is that going to REALLY take away from the experience of your product? Or the results your customers will get?
Of course not. But we’re so fixated on it being perfect we can’t get past that.
Now the advice many successful business owners share when you’re in this situation is something along the lines of “good enough is good enough” (meaning your product doesn’t have to be perfect, just get it to a good product and then get it to market) or “taking imperfect action” (which also basically means get the darn thing out the door even if it is imperfect). I agree with both of these statements, but the problem is what happens when you know this and you STILL need to get that “one more thing done?”
I think there are a couple of deeper issues around perfectionism. (And depending on how deep the issues are depends on how quickly you can push through them.) Let me explain.
When we create a product it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking the product is an extension of ourselves. So any flaws or mistakes or criticism of the product suddenly takes on way more importance than it ought to be. Because any problems with the product, anything that is lacking in the product, is actually a problem or a lack with us personally.
In addition to that (if that wasn’t hard enough to get past) there’s also a little question of value. If you don’t value yourself, your gifts, your brilliance, what you bring to the world, then how are you going to value a product you created? And if you don’t value your product, when will it ever be “good enough” to sell?
So what happens if you find yourself relating to one or both of these issues? Well, you need to take a step back and do some deeper work on yourself. Hiring a coach or taking a program that gets at the core of what you’re struggling with– whether it’s valuing yourself, valuing your brilliance or accepting yourself (warts and all) is crucial to helping you push through your blocks and getting your products finished and selling.
If you want to do something right now, try journaling about it. See what comes up for you and what your next steps should be.
Next week we’re going to look at the next step – racing through your product launch now that you’ve finally gotten your product done.
After being in business for as long as I have, there’s one thing that never fails to amaze me — the capacity entrepreneurs have to sabotage their own success. (Not to mention how creative those ways can be.) While there’s about a million ways this manifests itself, here’s one way I see popping up over and over again.
Is Your Timing Keeping You From Being Successful In Your Business? (Part 1)
After being in business for as long as I have, there’s one thing that never fails to amaze me — the capacity entrepreneurs have to sabotage their own success. (Not to mention how creative those ways can be.) While there’s about a million ways this manifests itself, here’s one way I see popping up over and over again.
And that’s timing.
What do I mean by timing? I mean either entrepreneurs are moving too slow, and thus miss opportunities to make money, or they move too fast and are reckless and miss out on opportunities that way.
What’s interesting about timing is it’s not as clear cut as “one person moves too slow and one person moves too fast.” What I actually see is entrepreneurs move BOTH too fast AND too slow. They just do it at the wrong times.
And where do I see this happen the most? When they’re planning to launch a new product or program.
Here’s what typically happens — people will move WAY too slowly creating the product or program and will move WAY too fast to launch it. With the end result being they miss out on opportunities on both sides — it takes them forever to actually get thing done (so they’ve missed out on money selling the product or program) and then they rush through the launch like they have a bunch of hungry vampires chasing them and they don’t make nearly the sales they could have.
What REALLY should be happening is they should move quickly creating the product then slow down while launching it.
That way, they get the best of both worlds — they get the product or program to market faster and can start profiting from it sooner, and they take their time to work through ALL the launch steps so they wring as many sales as possible during the launch.
Now, there are variations of this. I have met people who are slow during the product creation AND launch, just like I’ve met people who whip through both as well. (And then there’s another group of people who either never get their product done or they finish products and never actually get around to launching them.) All of these are sabotaging techniques, which is part of the reason why this is far more complex problem then would initially appear on the surface.
So if you suspect you might struggle with one or several of the above, what can you do? How can you stop it? And how much time do you REALLY need to launch? Well, I’m going to answer all those questions over the next 2 articles. Next week we’ll look at why it takes some entrepreneurs so darn long to finish their product and how they can speed up the process, and the week after we’ll cover racing through the launch process.
Article Contributed by Michele DeKinder-Smith
Launching a product is an important step in growing a business. If you’re already in the business of selling products, it’s an opportunity to expand into a new market. If your primary business is in services, offering a product is an opportunity to get beyond the “dollars for hours” trap and begin creating residual income. In either case, launching a product, or even a new service, takes time, forethought and a great deal of investment. And, while it’s exciting, it can be stressful, too.
A new study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on women entrepreneurs, recently revealed there are five distinct types of women in business. Each of these five types has a unique approach to running a business—and as a consequence, each of them has a unique combination of characteristics and factors. This article profiles two important Jane “types” and the things they should keep in mind as they plan for (and launch) new products.
Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and makes good money. 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 fall in the category of Jane Dough.
If you’re the Jane Dough type, chances are good you feel totally confident about this launch. You’re a big picture gal, and you probably believe this launch will benefit your business. But before you go ahead with it, here are some things to think about:
* Staying focused on the big picture means you may fail to truly analyze all the potential risks and benefits of your new product or service. Although you make good business decisions and are able to separate your business from your emotion, sometimes you move so fast you forget to consider all the angles.
* Have you adequately assessed your market? Do the parameters and features of price points associated with the product need to be tweaked? Are you reaching your target market with the right message? You’ve got plenty of business coming in and plenty of other plans in the works. That doesn’t mean you don’t need to yield to those caution signs. Slow down and analyze all the intricacies, colors and patterns that make up the big picture you love so much.
* What about the system around your launch? Have you taken the time to explain to your team what they need to do to make the launch a success? Having a system in place can prevent problems before they happen–and just thinking about that system can make you slow down enough to consider all the angles.
By taking the time to understand exactly how this new launch fits in—rather than staying focused on the big picture vision, and forging blindly ahead—you’ll be able to learn from possible mistakes before they happen.
Tenacity Jane is an entrepreneur with an undeniable passion for her business, and also one who tends to be struggling with cash flow. As a result, she’s working long 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 are the largest single Jane type.
If you’re the Tenacity Jane type, you’re no stranger to challenge. But that doesn’t mean you should create another one for yourself. Before launching a new product or service, ask yourself some questions:
* Is adding a product or service a smart business decision, or is it just something you just really want to do? Tenacity Janes tend to love what they’re doing so much, and want it so badly, that emotions sometimes get in the way. The deep and abiding faith you have in your business and in yourself as an entrepreneur is what keeps you going–but it won’t launch a new product and keep it off the ground.
* Is the timing good for adding another output for your business? For Tenacity Jane, finances are an issue. If this product launch fails, will it put you out of business? Is this a risk you can afford to take right now, or should you put it off until your business more stable? A product launch can boost your business–but it also can suck your resources dry.
* Have you done enough research and planning? For some Tenacity Janes, their business results from a great concept but a poor plan. For others, they have a great idea but no clue how to run a business. Make sure all your ducks are in a row before you launch a product. What if your product takes off? Are you equipped to handle a huge increase in business? Remember, if things go well, you’re going to be swamped with more work. And if they don’t, you’re going to be out a lot of money. Either way, you need to be prepared.
* Are you looking at this possible product launch as just another challenge? Well, it’s not! Launching a new product is a big deal. Make sure you’re giving it enough thought, time and attention. We know you’re familiar with struggles, but launching a product has the potential to take up even more of your time, use up even more of your money and cause even more desperation. Make sure you’re ready!
Each Jane presented here–Jane Dough and Tenacity Jane–has several things to consider before launching a new product or service. Each entrepreneur must decide whether this is the right thing to do for her business–and for herself. Because in the end, isn’t that what this is all about? Asking herself the right questions and thinking about the right issues will allow every Jane, when the time comes, to move boldly forward in the future.
About the Author
Michele DeKinder-Smith is the founder of Jane out of the Box, an online resource dedicated to the women entrepreneur community. Discover more incredibly useful information for running a small business by taking the FREE Jane Types Assessment at Jane out of the Box. Offering networking and marketing opportunities, key resources and mentorship from successful women in business, Jane Out of the Box is online at www.janeoutofthebox.com.
Are you prepared for explosive growth? What will you do when it happens?
Does every entrepreneur seek growth opportunities? Growth can mean more customers, more income, or more opportunities to explore new ideas. Although exciting, growth also brings its challenges, and can spiral out of control if it’s not handled properly, causing a setback as big as the potential expansion. Our research shows that the five types of female entrepreneurs have very different attitudes toward business growth (some want it, some don’t!) and each will respond to growth opportunities differently. This article will examine the attitudes and reactions of Jane Dough, Merry Jane, and Go Jane Go.
Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and makes good money. 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 fall in the category of Jane Dough.
Because Jane Dough is business-minded and pragmatic, she probably has a plan in place for handling growth. In fact, business growth is something she’s striving for, with most Jane Doughs saying they want to grow significantly within the next couple of years. As a result, she has no doubt delegated individual tasks to specific team members, putting her team and her business in an ideal position to take advantage of the appropriate opportunities that come her way. She has a system – and it’s in place and ready to roll.
Although Jane Dough’s systematic approach is one of her many strengths, there is a flip side to high levels of delegation. Sometimes Jane Dough relies too much on the system. She moves quickly to fuel her business growth, so she may not always be in touch with what’s happening within every functional area. When large opportunities come knocking while Jane Dough is distracted, weaker parts of the system can break down.
The solution: When massive growth arrives – and it will – a Jane Dough entrepreneur should gather her team for a quick check-in, making sure everyone and every system is aligned and ready to do its part in creating success. In doing so, she’ll make sure resources are allocated appropriately and can create plans to strengthen any weak spots.
A Merry Jane tends to be “building a business on the side”—in addition to a day-job, or a focus on family or other pursuits. She doesn’t have a high personal income from her business, but she also tends to be working less than 40 hours a week, and she loves the freedom her business affords her.
Because Merry Jane’s focus is more on time freedom than on “big money,” major growth opportunities can be a daunting proposition. While many women in this group dream of a day when they land the mega-customer, Merry Jane does not. Although many know they are capable of building a much larger business, now is not the time. During interviews, when asked what they would do if faced with the chance to take on a big new account, most quickly came to the conclusion that unless they could manage the account in their own way and time, they would let the opportunity pass them buy rather than disrupt their lives.
However, many Merry Janes admit they would like their business to be more profitable, wanting more money without much additional work. Therefore, when faced with a growth opportunity, Merry Jane can consider several options:
* She can hire someone to take over some of the more mundane, day-to-day business chores, like bookkeeping and responding to customer e-mails, freeing more of her time to pursue the new business without taking up more time?
* She can pursue the new opportunity at higher rates, therefore increasing her profit. This may mean letting go of less profitable customers or delegating their care to someone else.
* Or, she can stand firm, turning the immediate opportunity down, knowing that at some point in the future, she may have more time available for new customers.
Whatever she decides, Merry Jane should stay true to the reasons she loves her business now so that she doesn’t add undue stress and time-pressure to her already busy life.
Go Jane Go is passionate about her work, and has no problem marketing and selling herself, so she has plenty of clients—but she’s struggling to keep up with demand. She may be a classic overachiever, taking on volunteer opportunities as well, because she’s eager to make an impact on the world and may really struggle saying “no”. Because she wants to “say yes” to so many people, she may even be in denial about how many hours she actually works during the course of a week. As a result, she may be running herself ragged and feeling guilty about neglecting herself and possibly others who are important to her.
Overall, most Go Jane Go women don’t seek out growth opportunities because they are already fairly busy. However, when an opportunity crosses their path, they will feel compelled to “make it work somehow.” Go Jane Go truly wants to help those who need her products or services, so it is difficult for her to turn them away. And because she’s excellent at multi-tasking, this Jane may underestimate the time that will be required or may justify sacrificing personal time in order to help someone else.
This is why Go Jane Go must be careful not to overwork herself. When faced with a growth opportunity, Go Jane Go will want to think critically about the amount of work she already has scheduled and either “say no,” attempt to postpone the project, or delegate some or all of the work. If she is not willing to do so, she will eventually face serious burn out – so it’s very important that this Jane be realistic about her available time and energy for new opportunities.
While every female entrepreneur dreams of growth, when it really comes, it can seem like a huge challenge – and though it may be, handling it the right way can create a huge payoff.
About the Author:
Michele DeKinder-Smith is the founder of Jane out of the Box, an online resource dedicated to the women entrepreneur community. Discover more incredibly useful information for running a small business by taking the FREE Jane Types Assessment at Jane out of the Box. Offering networking and marketing opportunities, key resources and mentorship from successful women in business, Jane Out of the Box is online at www.janeoutofthebox.com