Tag: women entrepreneurs

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Starting Up

Characteristics to Evaluate in a Prospective Partner

Article Contributed by Michele DeKinder-Smith

When a female business owner is considering a business partnership, evaluating her prospective partner based on several criteria increases the likelihood that the match will yield positive results for both parties. While gut instinct and good chemistry may make the partnership friendly and enjoyable, those two components on their own do not necessarily create a recipe for business success. Rather, careful evaluation of specific business-related components of the prospective partner’s personality and experience can lead to entrepreneurial harmony – and business success.

Extensive research with women business owners about all aspects of
business ownership reveals the importance of due diligence when selecting a business partner. Further, research shows there are seven main characteristics to consider in prospective partners. This article discusses the details of two of those characteristics.

Characteristic 1: Suitability for Entrepreneurship

The question: “Is the prospective partner well-suited for being self-employed?”

Although a prospective partner may have great ideas, tons of money, or be a complete sales superstar, that doesn’t necessarily mean she is cut out to be a great businessperson. If both partners have been self-employed before, the question of suitability may be easy to answer. If one of the partners (or neither) has been self-employed, consider the financial risks of self-employment, the self-discipline required, family tension, and the challenges of working at home (if applicable), just to get started.

It is important to realize that even if a prospective partner seems like a perfect match, if he or she is not suited to the entrepreneurial lifestyle, then he or she may end up unhappy or dissatisfied, or even unknowingly causing business problems.

If a prospective partner is cut out for business ownership and/or has succeeded at running a business of his or her own already, then the partners must determine whether they are well-suited to work together. If they’re not sure, they should do themselves a favor and discuss the challenges of entrepreneurship as much as they discuss the possibilities.

Characteristic 2: Compatible Business Goals and Values

The question: “Are there any conflicts around the partners’ business goals and values that would prohibit or jeopardize their ability to successfully partner together?”

Different types of business owners strive for different balances in their work. For a partnership to work well, the prospective partners must determine, ahead of time, how well their goals for business and for work-life balance fit together – and if they are not similar, how the partners can work out the differences.

For example, if one partner sees business ownership as a way to spend more time with her family and the other expects to put in 60-hour work weeks, the two partners may not be compatible. If one partner wants to build a multi-million dollar empire and the other wants to run a small, home-based business, they may not be compatible.

Here are some examples of partnerships between two types of business owners – and their potential high points and conflicts:

•    Jane Dough and Go Jane Go: Both are driven to succeed, but for different reasons, with Jane Dough looking for growth and profit while Go Jane Go strives for service and deep customer relationships. To avoid miscommunication, these two types should discuss how to be of service while also hitting profit goals. Also, it is important for Jane Dough and Go Jane Go to keep lines of communication open, because Go Jane Go may tend to shoulder more than her share of work.

•    Accidental Jane and Merry Jane: This partnership has the potential to be strong, because both types want life balance and time freedom. One point to consider: finding the right mix of business to deliver sufficient income to make both partners happy.

•    Accidental Jane and Tenacity Jane: This partnership may be tricky because Accidental Jane wants an ideal job while Tenacity Jane may seek business growth (although she lacks experience or important skills). To succeed, they must discuss expectations about time and effort, as well as how they will handle financial decisions. Tenacity Jane may also seek a mentor who can help her develop skills that Accidental Jane may care less about.

Women business owners should keep in mind that all partner pairings can work, given a commitment to open dialog and mutual understanding. The best exercise to determine whether your business goals are in harmony – whether they’re two different entrepreneurial types or two entrepreneurs of the same type – is to put together a business plan, or at least start sketching out the process. The business planning process has the potential to reveal significant differences in partners’ long-term goals and approach. Those differences do not necessarily mean the end of a business partnership before it even begins. Rather, a complementary approach, in which partners consider all points of view and arrive at solutions that draw on their mutual experiences, will strengthen all business decisions.

One more key consideration: essential and desirable values. From creativity to risk-taking, and religion to parenting styles, all values come into play when two people work closely together.

If business partners share core values, their relationship will likely be more harmonious and rewarding. It is important for partners to understand each other’s entrepreneurial type and values, to increase the possibility that the partnership will thrive.

When two prospective partners are compatible in terms of entrepreneurial style and experience, and in terms of core values, their partnership is more likely to produce excellent business results that meet both their needs and desires.

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. Michele was recently named to the National Association of Women Business Owners national board of directors for a two-year term. Buy a copy of her latest book with coauthor Azriela Jaffe, “See Jane Collaborate,” which contains more in-depth information about this article’s topic, at www.seejanecollaborate.com.

Categories
Planning & Management

A Prospective Partner: Skills and History

Article Contributed by Michele DeKinder-Smith

When two business owners form a partnership, each one brings strengths, skills, and enthusiasm to the table. It’s important for the strengths and skills of one partner to complement those of the other so that the new partnership offers a broader range of skill sets. In some cases, one or both partners may have shaky credit history or even a criminal history – and those are guests many people wouldn’t want at their table. Therefore, when examining a prospective partner’s positives, it is important to check for negatives, as well.

Extensive research with women business owners about all aspects of business ownership reveals the importance of due diligence when selecting a business partner. Further, research shows there are seven main characteristics to consider in prospective partners. This article discusses the details of two of those characteristics.

Characteristic 1: Complementary Business Skills and Business Competence

The question: “What is each partner bringing to the partnership in terms of skills, knowledge, work experience and strengths?”

Most female entrepreneurs are not looking for clones of themselves in a partner; rather, they are looking for a partner whose skills and strengths fill in the gaps in their own. If this partnership is a new one, it’s important that each partner demonstrates competency through personal and professional references, as well as through a demonstration of her work and abilities.

To gather more information about a prospective partner’s competency, spend some time with him or her – whether it’s apprenticing, working together on a small joint project or talking with his or her employees and customers. Don’t just check out the surface; delve into their work as deeply as possible.

It is essential that a business owner checks out her prospective partner’s work in person before launching a partnership. Impressive brochures and great chemistry may be alluring, but they may not make up for what a prospective partner lacks in experience or skills. Most female business owners have heard that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior – and that is true in business, as well. While past accomplishments are not one hundred percent accurate when forecasting the future, past records of achievement are excellent clues.

Criteria 2: Solid Credit History and No Trouble with the Law

The question: “Do prospective partners’ credit history and legal status live up to the way they present themselves as businesspeople?”

A female entrepreneur may have a prospective partner in mind, and may have great chemistry with her. The situation may look, “all systems go.” Would that status change if the entrepreneur learned that the prospective partner had bad credit history, was late or delinquent on child support or alimony payments?

Depending on how much money is at stake in a partnership, prospective partners may decide to perform credit and criminal checks – after all, any financial pressure the partners experience will directly affect their business motivations and behavior. That same idea carries over into the new partnership; for example, if the newly-created business began to struggle financially, how would the partners react? How have they reacted in the past when under pressure?

Because each partner will be placing her livelihood in the other partner’s hands, it is absolutely appropriate to ask for evidence that each partner can handle her own financial affairs. In longer-term and/or legal partnerships, one partner’s decision-making can significantly impact the other’s financial well-being.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the national law that governs the credit industry), joining with someone in a business partnership is considered a permissible reason to access his or her credit history information.

Begin with local credit bureaus, credit reporting agencies and the courthouse in the county where the prospective partner lives.

New partners often overlook or avoid these steps, viewing them as unnecessarily cautious steps that will slow down the process and introduce hostility into the relationship. However, these steps are critical, if not necessary, especially when the partners don’t know each other very well.

When creating a partnership, it is essential for both business owners to understand all of the facets each partner brings to the table – from skills and competency to credit and criminal history. Each of these items directly affects the outcome of a business partnership.

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. Michele was recently named to the National Association of Women Business Owners national board of directors for a two-year term. Buy a copy of her latest book with coauthor Azriela Jaffe, “See Jane Collaborate,” which contains more in-depth information about this article’s topic, at www.seejanecollaborate.com.

Categories
Planning & Management

Women In Partnerships – The Importance of Due Diligence

Article Contributed by Michele DeKinder-Smith

Business partnerships provide a variety of benefits to women entrepreneurs. For example, women with complementary skill sets or ways of thinking can partner to offer their customers a more well-rounded offering or experience. Women with similar interests and business styles can partner to offer their customers more options. While some entrepreneurs rush forward into a partnership, throwing caution to the wind, others take their time, evaluating every minute detail of a potential partner before signing the papers. Both types of processes can yield a successful partnership – however, due diligence is essential in improving the odds that a partnership will work well for both partners.

Continuing research from delves into the intricacies of business collaboration – and reveals important steps to follow. Based on professional market research of more than 3,500 women in business, research has shown that each of five unique types of business owners has a unique approach to running a business and to handling the other details of her life – and therefore each one has a unique combination of needs. This article outlines surprising trends in creating partnerships, as well as an outline for practicing due diligence before cementing a business union.

Research revealed that while some business owners “went on gut instinct” when pairing up with other entrepreneurs, others partnered with family members they’d known for years, or put their potential partners through a strict rubric before joining with them. While it is entirely possible for a partnership to work out fine without intense upfront evaluation, good chemistry and gut instinct are not the be-all, end-all.  That’s why it is essential that business owners carefully evaluate the qualities of their potential partner before proceeding.  The more dependent an entrepreneur will be on her partner for personal and professional well-being (including  income, stress level, and freedom), the more important a thorough consideration of that individual’s qualities will be.  For example, a writer who needs an editor may hire one more quickly knowing that if they do not work well together, the writer will maintain control over her book and can end the partnership quickly, with only time and a little money lost. When the partnership is longer-term, however, or when the partners are reliant on each other’s ability to produce an income, thorough due diligence can save headaches, heartaches, time and money later.

The amount of due diligence a business owner puts into finding the right partner depends, also, on how well her gut instinct usually serves her. For example, if a business owner tends to see the best in people and to give them the benefit of the doubt, she should require herself to perform a higher level of due diligence.  Depending on the situation, this may include extensive reference checking or even a request to examine the potential partners’ personal or business finances.  On the other hand, if a business owner has partnered successfully many times and found her instincts consistently “spot on,” she may need to invest less time and effort — although any decision that affects a business’ future still merits at least some research.

The bottom line: research shows that many business owners have been burned through partnering with the wrong individual.  While it is possible to have a successful partnership based solely on luck and good chemistry, It is imperative that a business owner perform at least some due diligence before leaping into the business equivalent of marriage, to save herself from future headaches, heartaches, lost time and lost money.
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. Michele was recently named to the National Association of Women Business Owners national board of directors for a two-year term. Buy a copy of her latest book with coauthor Azriela Jaffe, “See Jane Collaborate,” which contains more in-depth information about this article’s topic, at www.seejanecollaborate.com.

Categories
Entrepreneurs

Two Entrepreneurs: Living Their Ideal Type

Every business owner has probably sat back in her chair, eyes closed, imagining what life would be like if she was living her ideal entrepreneurial type. Whether she was a Merry Jane imagining a full-scale business that still allowed her time freedom, or a Tenacity Jane imagining smartly directing a team of people to implement her vision, one thing remains important: before changing her type, every female business owner must consider her own priorities to ensure that she truly becomes her “ideal.”

A recent study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on female entrepreneurs, reveals there are five distinct types of women in business. Based on professional market research of more than 2,500 women in business, this study shows that 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 outlines two of the five types and provides ideas they may consider before changing their entrepreneurial type.

Merry Jane is a woman business owner who is building a part-time or “flexible time” business that gives her a creative outlet that she can manage within specific constraints around her schedule (whether she’s an ad agency consultant or she makes beautiful artwork). 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.

Because time freedom and creative stretch are so important to Merry Jane, she must make thorough examinations of other potential entrepreneurial types before making a change. Most Merry Jane business owners reported high levels of satisfaction with their companies, although most also said they would like to attract new clients and increase their income.

Considerations for Merry Jane:

* Time freedom versus growth: It is possible for Merry Jane to start work with more clients and make more money while maintaining her time freedom – it just may require some juggling. For example, Merry Jane could continue working a desirable number of hours performing the creative tasks she loves, but hire someone to help her with business-related tasks, such as taking information for proposals, sending invoices, and answering e-mails. Once she starts hiring team members, she may shift into the Jane Dough group. If she doesn’t hire team members but still wants to grow her business, she may find herself working longer hours than she wants to, possibly feeling overcommitted – a Go Jane Go.
* Creativity versus growth: Because Merry Jane business owners often started their companies as creative outlets, they may be disappointed if business growth affects their ability to flex their creative muscles. Again, hiring someone to handle non-creative tasks could lessen the impact, but any growth will require additional time from Merry Jane. Whether she tries to do it all, like Go Jane Go, or learns to delegate, like Jane Dough, is completely up to her.
* Timing: Merry Jane business owners often have myriad responsibilities in addition to running their businesses. They may take care of their children or aging parents, or they may have full-time jobs in addition to running their companies. Therefore, Merry Jane must consider the timing of any entrepreneurial type change. For example, if becoming a Go Jane Go or a Jane Dough means spending more time working on her business, maybe the transition can wait until her young children enter school, or until the business can support her not having another full-time job.

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.

Because most Jane Dough business owners report a high level of satisfaction with their businesses and with business ownership, it is unlikely that they would want to change to another entrepreneurial type. Jane Dough often already is living her ideal type. She brings home a high personal income, enjoys the strategizing on which she spends her time, and manages to fit in time for rest and relaxation. However, Jane Dough business owners can still benefit from the strengths of some of the other types.

Considerations for Jane Dough:

* Communicate like Go Jane Go: Go Jane Go takes business personally, and values her relationships with her clients as well as with her employees. On the other hand, Jane Dough believes business is business – and therefore, in her fast-moving style, she can sometimes communicate abruptly with team members who were inspired by her passion. Even if Jane Dough does not want to change her type, she may consider improving her communication skills so her team members feel valued and appreciated.
* Create like Merry Jane: Jane Dough absolutely loves planning and strategizing for the growth of her business. However, sometimes she is so visionary that she may not be as aware as she should be of what is happening on the front lines of her business. Jane Dough, her team members, and her business may benefit from her periodic “days in the field,” when she could stay abreast of the company’s daily workings, through time spent with the people and processes.
* Be a role model like Accidental Jane: Accidental Jane business owners define success, in part, by their ability to live life on their own terms – and to encourage others to do the same. Jane Dough, a successful businesswoman by anyone’s standards, could adopt a similar mindset and create a mentoring program in her business. Not only could she be a role model to a would-be entrepreneur, but she’d be giving back, like Go Jane Go.
* Stay passionate like Tenacity Jane: Jane Dough is undoubtedly passionate – she could not have attained her level of success without that passion. Sometimes, in the day-to-day operations of any business, though, things become routine, and the passion that drove entrepreneurs to succeed fades. Tenacity Jane business owners show courage, passion and determination every day – and all business owners should strive to do the same, no matter what their level of success.

From deciding whether it is time to make a change, or deciding that she’s already living her ideal type, every business owner must periodically consider where she is, and how that compares with where she wants to be. When the two align, she’s living her ideal type – and that is pure enjoyment.

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.