7 Biggest Business Blunders Women Make (And How To avoid Them)
By Linda Hollander
Women are starting businesses in record numbers, at twice the rate of men.
It’s not just because we want financial independence and empowerment, it’s because we’re good at it.
But we still have some special issues and challenges in business. Here are the top 7 business blunders that have even toppled the corporate giants:
1. PRICING TOO LOW
Women-owned firms are notorious at pricing their goods and services too low.
This dooms them to a life of always worrying about money. Heck, even when they get orders, they aren’t happy, because they aren’t making enough profit on their sales.
2. LACK OF INFORMATION ABOUT CAPITAL
This is a big one! It’s really not the lack of money, but the lack of capital-raising skills and knowledge that holds women back.
Studies have shown that fast growth firms eclipse the laggards because of their aggressive use of investor capital and their risk-taking skills. You don’t have money, so what? Someone else does.
3. HYPER-SENSITIVITY
In my success coaching, I talk to many women who are just too sensitive about business. Every rejection becomes a devastating blow. The truth is the people who reject us are actually doing us a favor. They are not really our prospects anyway. They are freeing us to go after the qualified customers who will help build our business.
4. LACK OF SALES AND MARKETING SKILLS
Every company is a sales and marketing company. The true salesperson is the ultimate adviser. She listens to the customer’s goals, objections, questions and desires. Instead of pushing products, she offers brilliant solutions.
Marketing is the way to sustain and insure your business life. Most companies, if they do any marketing at all use ‘Elephant Marketing’ a one-prong approach. To succeed, you need to use ‘Octopus Marketing’ which involves many different high-tech, low-tech and no-tech strategies.
5. NOT TRUSTING YOUR INTUITION
Women business owners have highly developed intuition, but sometimes forget to listen to their inner voice. Because he didn’t trust his gut, the chairman of Remington Products, Victor Kiam, lost out on the opportunity to manufacture and distribute what we now know as Velcro.
6. NO SYSTEMS IN PLACE
When women start or buy businesses, they tend to choose labor-intensive companies. If you show up, you get paid. If you don’t, you lose money. You are trading hours for dollars. Your business should be a system that
functions without your presence. The system gives you freedom.
7. NO PLANNING
The business plan, whether written on a napkin or in a binder, is the internal roadmap for your business. Without it you will be swimming upstream. The business plan is a living entity. Don’t just stick it in a drawer or in a file cabinet. Take it out every three months and re-evaluate it, massage it, sleep on it, ask other people’s opinions about it.
Sure, business is challenging. If you do it right and learn from your mistakes, it’s your ultimate passport to living your life of dreams.
Best of luck on your incredible journey!
Linda Hollander
Call 310-337-1430 or
mailto:Linda@WealthyBagLady.com
Linda Hollander, the Wealthy Bag Lady, is the author of
Bags to Riches and the Founder of the
Women’s Small Business Expo
(c) Linda Hollander, the Wealthy Bag Lady
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December 6th, 2007 at 8:49 am
[...] read a great post by Linda Hollander, The Wealthy Bag Lady, on the WomenCorp blog today called “7 Biggest Business Blunders Women Make (And How to Avoid Them).” In her post, Linda describes the top seven mistakes women in business make from small business [...]