Category: Entrepreneurs

Chances are, people who are in business for themselves view financial freedom as a motivating factor for venturing out on their own. Money in the bank—time off for friends, family and travel—and even a luxurious lifestyle can all be part of the vision that entrepreneurs have when they set off to build a business. But according to the latest research, when it comes to women entrepreneurs, financial prosperity isn’t the only carrot: the desire for “greater work-life balance” is also a primary motivating factor.
A new study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on women entrepreneurs, reveals that there are a significant number of women in business who’ve created significant financial success, but who may feel overwhelmed by a to-do-list that is out of control. This article provides important “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for duplicating the success of the market segment known as “Go Jane Go” in the year ahead—without taking on the stress of her hectic life.
Comprising 14% of all women entrepreneurs, 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.
At the same time, her hard work is also paying off. Go Jane Go takes home more money from her business at the end of the day than any other segment of female entrepreneurs, and she’s four times more likely than the average female entrepreneur to have hit the one-million dollar mark. However, her “big paycheck” may reflect a tendency to delay hiring people to help her get the work done.
Other types of women entrepreneurs can learn a lot from Go Jane Go’s can-do attitude that will help them achieve financial success. Just remember that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Business owners who know they’re a Go Jane Go must pay careful attention to the pointers below. Where might a business owner be able to gain a little perspective that will help her gain better balance in her life overall?
1) DO—Be an idealist
A big-picture vision of her life’s purpose is a motivating force, and it’s a big part of why Go Jane Go is so successful. Knowing what she stands for will not only help her get out of bed in the morning inspired by the possibilities, it will attract clients to her door who can see big things for themselves.
2) DON’T—Be a perfectionist
While providing a great product or service is virtue—and going the extra mile to make it happen can help to set you apart—pushing herself too hard is not a sustainable strategy in the long run. Perfectionistic habits may cause Go Jane Go to wind up working very long hours, contributing to her stress level and guilt feelings. Remember that satisfying customers, if an entrepreneur is a natural perfectionist, is often easier than meeting her own exacting standards—so learn to recognize when “good is good enough” – because Go Jane Go’s good will be better than many people’s “best”.
3) DO—Build a team
Go Jane Go knows how to attract other people who are equally good at what they do and can be an effective catalyst that inspires her team members to go the extra mile. She’s great at recognizing and appreciating others and gladly and generously shares all kudos with members of her team.
4) DON’T—Ignore Poor Performance
Although she inspires others to want to go that extra mile, Go Jane Go may be better at seeing someone’s potential than their actual performance. As a result, when a team member is not performing, she may tend to make excuses for that person. Rather than initiate what she may perceive as a confrontation, Go Jane Go may burn extra energy following up with the poor performer, attempting to understand the reasons behind the performance issue instead of addressing the problem directly. Or, she may start gradually removing work from the person, doing more and more herself as her trust in them diminishes. If an entrepreneur has had problems giving critical feedback in the past, she should commit to herself that she will no longer let such things fester.
5) DO—Deliver great customer service
Go Jane Go tends to be all about relationships, and this is a key factor in her success. She knows that integrity and communication are the twin pillars of lasting business relationships, and she knows how to be responsive to her clients’ needs, desires and timeframes. As a consequence, her customers love her, and recommend her to everyone they know.
6) DON’T—Forget to set aside “self-time,” which is important as “business time”
Go Jane Go can keep herself so busy meeting others’ needs that she seldom has time to take care of herself. She is often last on her own to do list. This may manifest itself in taking client calls after hours or on weekends, giving more hours to volunteer activities than she originally agreed, or investing lots of time in counseling and supporting other people. While being responsive is important, returning phone calls after hours or spending weekends putting out fires are habits that quickly become counterproductive in terms of creating or maintaining the life balance many business owners seek. Most problems are not dire emergencies and will wait. People respect those who have good and reasonable boundaries. Also, while volunteering for a great cause can be a deep source of personal satisfaction, over-committing is another classic habit of the overwhelmed and over-stressed. Go Jane Go should carefully consider before investing more time, and make sure she is investing sufficient time in herself to feel rested and ready to go.
Go Jane Go proves that being loving in business, having high personal standards, and the confidence and passion to help others succeed are a winning recipe for financial success as an entrepreneur. For business owners who see this as their style, the key is to care for themselves as compassionately as they care for others. Over the long haul, this is necessary to ensure they can be their strongest, happiest selves … and therefore do even greater work in the world.
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 joining 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 now available as a FREE membership. Claim yours today at www.janeoutofthebox.com

Determining whether a particular skill you possess is natural or acquired is an important step to doing more of what you do best. Because many of of our natural skills bring a greater feeling of joy, these skills are worth discovering and developing.
A “skill” is a behavior or ability you’ve developed through training or experience. And, while all personal skills are behaviors, not all behaviors are skills. For example, telling a joke is a skill; laughing at a joke is a behavior.
Some of your skills are natural, meaning that were born with the potential to develop them easily. By the way, you usually have a strong affinity for those skills which are natural to you. Some of your skills are acquired, meaning you had to put more effort into developing them than you did your natural skills.
You may be able to perform both with equal ease, but the skills that are acquired will cost you more in terms of psychological, emotional and physical effort. The skills that are natural to you tend to bring with them fulfillment and joy, leading to a greater feeling of life success.
Take 10 minutes to reflect on the behaviors you perform every day.
o Which of these behaviors are skills?
o Which of these behaviors do you find easy, look forward to doing, or gain great satisfaction when you do them?
o Which do you find more challenging?
o Which do you find yourself putting off or postponing?
These are important keys to discovering your natural skills. Discovering and nurturing a new talent is an opportunity to find what you need to be successful in life and enjoy life more fully. When we are doing what we love, we are often performing at our best. This leads to a kind of fulfillment that allows us to live life passionately and happily.
To learn more about discovering your natural skills please visit www.vrft.com.
About the Author:
Gary Jordan, Ph.D., has over 27 years of experience in clinical psychology, behavioral assessment, individual development, and coaching. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology – Berkeley. He’s the co-founder of Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., a consulting firm that specializes in helping people discover their true skills and talents. www.vrft.com.

Over the past 20 years, the number of businesses owned by women has grown by more than 42%. In fact, in 2008, women-owned firms accounted for more than 1.9 trillion dollars in sales.
But while more and more women are eager to become small business owners, they’re also still facing more challenges than men. Businesses owned by women are nearly 50% less likely to reach the million dollar mark—and often produce less return on investment for hours worked.
A new study by Michele DeKinder-Smith, market research professional and founder of the website www.janeoutofthebox.com, has recently released a study that reveals five different types of female entrepreneurs. Each personality type has a different approach to business, along with different strengths and challenges.
Success can be defined in many ways and it’s clear that each of the five types have their own definition of success. Taken overall, if we consider business revenue and personal satisfaction with work/life balance, one might say that the type that is most conventionally successful is the type known as “Jane Dough”.
Why should we pay attention to Jane Dough? Comprising 18% of all female entrepreneurs, she’s five times as likely to hit the million dollar mark as the average female entrepreneur. She’s also one of the groups most satisfied with her work/life balance. So, if growing a large business while working reasonable hours is important to a business owner, she can learn from Jane Dough’s characteristics, behaviors and decisions.
Here are some of the traits that tend to make Jane Dough so successful.
1) Focus on growth
Running a business is filled with a ton of minor details, every day of every year. But Jane Dough has learned how to personally stay focused on the big picture: growing her business. This means getting past the details, the billable hours and the overdue invoices—and paying attention to the process of getting (and handling!) more business, in less time.
2) Building teams and systems
Jane Dough knows there’s only so much a woman can do by herself. Because business growth is an important goal, she’s learned how to build a team and delegate responsibility. This means using systems that create leverage and prevent her from falling victim to the ‘dollars for hours’ trap.
3) Prioritization
Along with a focus on growth and systems, Jane Dough tends to prioritize those activities that will make her the most amount of money with the least amount of personal time expended.
4) Looking ahead
How does Jane Dough stay so focused on exactly what she needs to do to grow a successful business? Well, many of these women started their companies with a big vision and/or they are intentionally building a business they can later sell or pass on to their children. These big, longer-term priorities help her stay consistently focused on the big picture.
5) Putting in the hours—but leaving work at work
Jane Dough is the type of entrepreneur who’s willing to put in the hours it takes to make her business successful. However, unlike some other types of female entrepreneurs, for whom business can be intensely personal, Jane Dough understands that work is work and that tomorrow is another day. Because she’s supported herself with systems that give her the flexibility to problem-solve when she needs to, she feels confident that she can and will be able to manage things during the hours she has designated for work. Yes, she might check her email in the evening after she’s home, but she’s not going to consistently find herself spending her personal time as a slave to demanding customers. Her ability to mentally keep work and personal life reasonably separated and her perspective and confidence that she can solve any problems tomorrow contributes to her higher-than-average work/life balance.
6) Confidence in marketing and selling
While many women in business express concerns about their ability to successfully market their business for profitability, Jane Dough is highly confident in selling both herself and her business. This confidence (which can be learned!) is a major factor in her financial success.
7) Perspective
When the going gets tough, Jane Dough stays focused, and doesn’t let doubt creep in. She tends to view challenges and setbacks objectively rather than personally, and keeps focused on her big picture goals. Jane Dough loves her business and she keeps it in perspective, as well.
Interested in learning more about the five Jane types and which Jane you are? Check out www.janeoutofthebox.com.
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.

You may be a small business, but chances are you collect some form of PII. Even small businesses are accountable for the safety of user PII, and thereby must take adequate measures to protect it. Lead Microsoft.com editor Monte Enbysk gathered TRUSTe’s insight to help develop 6 privacy tips for small businesses:
1. Take inventory of the personal information you collect and store.
2. Analyze how safely you use and store this data.
3. Make sure you’re complying with industry or federal laws.
4. Post a privacy policy that is clear and comprehensive.
5. Have your policy reviewed by an attorney or by a privacy seal program.
6. If you have employees, make sure their personal information is protected too.
According to Enbysk , you should seek the expert opinion of a privacy service like TRUSTe who can help ensure the accuracy and validity of your privacy statement. Not only may a third-party privacy authority ensure your privacy statement and practices are up to par, but a seal from TRUSTe can benefit your brand.
“The Web privacy seal is one of TRUSTe’s most popular products,” says TRUSTe’s VP of Communications, Carolyn Hodge. A privacy seal may be most beneficial to small e-tailers with little or no name recognition outside their hometown or region.
About TRUSTe
TRUSTe Privacy Seals help consumers click with confidence by guiding them to trustworthy Web sites. More than 2,400 Web sites rely on TRUSTe industry best practices to help them make the right decisions about privacy and protecting confidential user information. Half of the top fifty Web sites are certified including Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft, Disney, eBay, Intuit, and Facebook. Independent research shows that when a TRUSTe web seal is present, visitors are more likely to share personal information, register at higher rates and spend more money. To learn more about internet privacy services for SMBs, visit http://www.truste.com/privacy_seals_and_services/small_medium_business_privacy/index.html