Being an entrepreneur isn’t always easy, especially for women, but the rewards that come from achieving self-made success are more than worth persevering through challenges and adversity.
I spoke with Mirela Sula, Founder and CEO of Global Woman Club, a community and learning platform helping female entrepreneurs and businesswomen achieve great success, to learn her secrets to thriving as an entrepreneur. Here’s her advice:
Master your mindset.
Your mindset doesn’t simply influence the way you think, it also impacts the way you act, show up in the world, and can build or break your confidence. “Your thoughts become words, words become behaviors, then those words become habits,” Sula explains, highlighting why mindset is so important. If you’re able to change your inner narrative and tell yourself that you’re sure you can achieve success, you’re far more likely to make that success a reality than if you’re spending all of your time doubting yourself or questioning your abilities. It’s important to find ways to stop negative thoughts in their tracks so that you can keep a positive mindset even in the face of adversity.
Speak up.
It’s important to find your voice and to use it. Never be afraid to shine the spotlight on yourself so that you can share your message. You can’t help people if no one knows who you are or what you can do. “If you want to empower a woman, give her a microphone and put her in front of an audience,” Sula says. Start speaking about yourself and your goals and talents so you can start attracting the attention of people who are interested in working with you. Sula offers powerful advice on this. “Stand in your power, take the mic, and speak loudly about yourself.”
Provide solutions.
Your company is offering a product or a service, but what you’re really selling is a solution. When you understand your customers’ pain points, you’ll be able to deliver targeted solutions designed to reduce or eliminate those pain points. “You need to understand people's needs, desires, or aspirations. Ask questions to identify what their problem is, like what do they want? What is their pain? What is their struggle?” advises Sula. Take the time to truly get to know your target customers through market research, polls, and surveys, then thoroughly analyze the data to ensure that you’re providing solutions that will benefit the greatest number of people.
Dress for success.
There's a correlation between how you dress and how you feel. The clothes your wear can have a positive impact on your confidence. Everyone should own at least one piece of power clothing, something that when you put it on, you instantly feel good about yourself. You should also consider getting dressed for work each day instead of working in your pajamas. Wearing office clothes when working from home puts you into a different mindset and can help boost productivity by providing a visual cue to switch into work mode. Changing out of your work clothes at the end of the day can also help you transition back into home mode, so getting dressed up for work serves a dual purpose.
Have a big, audacious goal.
Sula recommends starting with the end result in mind and working backwards from that point. “Think of it like this, you haven't started yet and you know where the destination is, but you don't know where the starting point is,” Sula says. The bigger and more ambitious your goal is, the better. When you start with a big goal or your target results in mind, you will always have something to work towards that keeps you motivated.
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