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Why women entrepreneurs are losing money because of one word
A small three-letter word is one of the hardest words for a lot of people to use, especially women. ASK. Why do we find it difficult to ask for help or to ask for what we need or for what we want. When you don’t ask, ladies you are sitting on money.
At the Pennsylvania governor’s conference for women, which bring together 4,500 women from around the world with the aim at promoting gender balance in leadership and facilitating rousing debates, discussions and learning. The women who attend the conference are extremely bright—most hold advance degrees and are very successful professionally. They are also engaged, vocal and motivated when it comes to shaping the trajectory of their careers. The speaker, Selena Rezvani started her speech with a question, “Who in this room counter-offered when negotiating your current salary?” About 10 percent of the women raised their hands.
Scary isn’t it? It’s surprising but not unique. According to research of Carnegie Mellon’s Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, women report a “great deal of apprehension” about asking at a rate of 2.5 times more than men. Selena writes about this in her book Pushback.
You would think in 2013 that would not be the case since there are so many women in the workforce, own their own businesses and women earn more degrees than men, yet we struggle to ask for what we want or ask for needed help.
As a woman entrepreneur, what do you need to grow your business right now? If you know the answer, ask for help. If you don’t know the answer, ask for help. Too often, women sit and wait for the answer to appear or for the focus area to fix itself. How many of you have made statements like, “I don’t know how to use social media for my business?” or “I can’t blog to grow my business,” or “I struggle getting my employees to do what I need them to do.” Guess what we all struggle in areas of our business but the difference between a long-term sustainable business and a short-term business is asking for help. You are losing money by not asking for help.
Answer these questions:
- Where do I struggle in my business?
- Why am I not taking action in this area?
- Who can help me with this?
- When will I reach out and seek the help I need?
These questions will help you interrogate yourself and cause you to think and hopefully act on what you need to do grow your business and your profits.
Becky A. Davis
Leadership Transformation Coach
“Helping small businesses stay up long after they start up.”
Crisis Management: How to have a plan before it is too late.
I have a question for you. If the economy were to go into a downturn next week, do you have a plan in place for your business to keep making money or would you be caught off guard? In 2008 when the downturn hit the US economy so many small businesses were not ready for it. From 2008 to 2010 there were over 400,000 small businesses that closed their doors.
What is your plan if a crisis happen in your business. If you have no plan, don’t be surprised if your business fail.
Here are three questions to answer that will let you know if you have planned effectively for an economy change.
- Do I have people who work for me that believes in what we are doing and they help bring in new business consistently?
- Does my entire team deliver exceptional service above our competitors to create customer loyalty?
- Am the only business with this product or service, the customes have to come to me?
If you answered yes to all three question, you will survive a change in the economy but if you answered no, you have some work to do.
As you plan your business, make sure you have plans in place for the unexpected so that your entire business do not suffer.
Becky A. Davis,
Leadership Transformation Coach, http://www.mvpwork.com
Torch Bearer for Purpose
The olympic torch started in Olympia Greece. Originally the torch was lit at Olympia and then carried by relay to the host-city. The last runner carries the torch into the olympic stadium during the opening ceremony. The flame is then lit from the torch and will remain until it was extinguished during the closing ceremony.
The first torch runner was in 1936 from Greece to Germany. There were 3330 runners that brought the flame through Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungry, Austria, Chechoslovikia and Germany.
To be a torch bearer was considered an honor only given to local residents with a record of community service in addition to atheltes and celebrities.
You could not be a torch bearer if you did not serve others. Community service showed that there was a cause that you were passionate about and wanted to be apart of supporting or helping improve the cause. The torch bearer carries the flame from one place to another, always lit.
When you get to work each day are you being an M.V.P. work torch bearer? Do you see what you do everyday as a greater cause that’s connected to serving others? Do you carry your M.V.P. work flame with you from person to person?
M= Meaning. Do you know the true meaning behind what you do at work?
V=Values. Do you apply your personal values at work or deny your values at work?
P=Purpose. Do you work to make a difference by what you do at work?
If you answered yes to these questions, then you are a MVP player and work is good. Congratulations!
If you answered no, these are some side affects.
- You leave work unfulfilled.
- You look at work as a job that pays the bills.
- You are not engaged at work.
- You make sure you are jjust compliant.
- You are not committed to what you do.
- Your results are inconsistent.
- You are not as creative as you could be at work.
Arnold Glasow said, “Every great accomplishment is the story of a flaming heart.”
You can reignite the flame.
How?
First, start by looking for the larger meaning of the type of work you do. Ask yourself, “What is the significance of what I do everyday? How does it impact the people I serve? How does it impact the world?
This will help you understand the meaning behind what you do.
Second, write a list of your personal values. The values that you live by in your personal life. Then ask you self do I use these values at work or do I feel I need to deny those values in the work place. When you are not aligned personally and professionally, it brings chaos to your life. When you learn how to use those values at work and not deny them, you are willing to do more because it feels good to live a value you that’s important to you in every aspect of your life.
Lastly, what is the difference you want to make at work. Purpose is an outcome that guides your planned actions. When you make a difference, you make and impact and you feel fulfilled. Kenneth Hilderbrand said, “Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purpose; lesser ones exist on wishes and inclinations.”
It’s time to ignite the flame in your heart. It’s time for you to carry the torch from person to person. It’s time to run with your torch. An MVP torch is a sure fire way to get promoted, increase profits(I.P), improve performance(I.P) and impact people(I.P.).
What is your I.P. issue?
M.V.P. work can fix it.
Becky A. Davis
MVPwork 