Hiring Help: Two Entrepreneurs Find the Right Assistant

When a woman business owner makes the decision to hire help, hiring an assistant is an excellent first step in building a team. Even if an entrepreneur doesn't feel ready to create a team immediately, the right assistant eventually can serve as the link between the business owner and the team in the future. Selecting an assistant who meets an entrepreneur's specific needs (both immediate and future needs) is absolutely essential in forming a relationship that will set the foundation for a strong team later one.

A recent study reveals there are five distinct types of women in business. Based on professional market research of more than 3,500 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 tips for each one to consider when hiring an assistant.

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 Jane Dough often delegates almost too much and then moves quickly on to her next strategizing session, she needs an assistant who will ask questions when necessary and who will be able to command Jane Dough's attention and then communicate quickly and efficiently once she has it. Jane Dough business owners tend to be so focused on growth and strategy that they don't communicate their vision. Therefore, team members often feel disconnected. An assistant can act as the liaison between Jane Dough and the rest of the team.

Professional skills and experience Jane Dough should look for: managerial skills, effective communication skills, multi-tasking, organization.

Personality traits Jane Dough should look for: confidence, an outgoing nature, a can-do attitude, a thick skin, autonomy, flexibility.

Go Jane Go is passionate about her work and provides excellent service, so she has plenty of clients - so much so, 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 she often struggles to say 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 others who are important to her.

Go Jane Go business owners often find delegating difficult because they worry that no one else will live up to their own high standards. Therefore, they must hire helpers who are detail-oriented and who strive for perfection like she does, and who will find creative ways to encourage Go Jane Go to delegate to him or her. Also, Go Jane Go values her relationships with customers so much that she sometimes goes above and beyond what is reasonable, stretching her personal and business resources. Therefore, while an assistant Go Jane Go hires must be customer-friendly, he or she also must be able to provide Go Jane Go with a reality check when a client's demands exceed practicality. Finally, an assistant to Go Jane Go must have excellent communication and organization skills so he or she can effectively handle running a team while providing Go Jane Go with the information she needs to feel confident that her team is performing at the high caliber she demands.

Professional skills and experience Go Jane Go should look for: attention to detail, managerial skills, previous experience as an assistant, customer service skills, excellent communication skills.

Personality traits Go Jane Go should look for: perfectionism, confidence, a take-charge attitude.

Although working with a team may provide excellent benefits and results, an entrepreneur may not be ready for the costs and challenges of managing a team right away. Hiring an assistant is a great starting point in creating a team, as it encourages a woman business owner to learn to delegate effectively and provides a future link between the business owner and a team.

Women Entrepreneurs Getting Back on Track, Part 3 - Making the Change

Once a female entrepreneur has determined what caused her to stop living her ideal entrepreneurial type, and what she can do about it, she may feel ready to begin the transition to her new ideal type. At first, the transition may seem daunting - but with the right tools, strategies and motivation, a woman business owner can conquer her fears and rediscover the success she deserves.

A recent study reveals there are five distinct types of women in business. Based on professional market research of more than 3,500 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. When a woman is living as her ideal entrepreneurial type, she feels satisfied, personally and professionally. This article outlines four steps a business owner must take when she is ready to make the change.

1. Assess the gaps between the current situation and the ideal situation, for the business owner and for the business. If an entrepreneur has previously lived as her ideal type, then she knows what that feels like, and it will be relatively easy for her to determine the changes she needs to make to become her ideal type again, even if that is a different type than she lived as previously. Assessing the business-related gaps will determine what adaptations the entrepreneur must make within the business so that it functions as she wants it to (whether that means sustaining itself or growing).

Advice: In determining her ideal type, the entrepreneur already should have examined her own behaviors, habits and belief systems and determined which ones she needs to change to become her ideal type. Now it is time for her to begin to change those behaviors, habits and belief systems. That means that in every situation, she must choose to act like her ideal type, even when doing so feels uncomfortable, difficult or challenging. Of course, setbacks will occur as a business owner falls back into familiar habits, but over time, as she continues to act like her ideal type, she will become her ideal type. As for the business itself, the entrepreneur must find ways for it to adapt, just like she is doing. For example, if a business previously offered graphic design services only to high profile clients but is now running short on new clients and/or jobs, maybe the business owner needs to branch out and donate her services to a nonprofit organization as it launches a fundraising event. This particular job may not bring in a paycheck, but providing the service is a great marketing tool and allows the entrepreneur to use her creativity. Also, the business owner could consider calling her contacts and letting them know about promotional prices she's offering, thereby gaining her some new clients.

2. Create a plan for change. Many entrepreneurs find that creating a written plan, or "to-do" list, helps keep them motivated when they're making a change. Writing down each step in the transformation provides an excellent visual reminder of each goal, and allows the entrepreneur to make changes and additions as she needs to. Plus, crossing off each completed item gives a business owner a sense of accomplishment.

Advice: Business owners should write down every single goal they want to accomplish, whether it's creating a new system for office organization or designing a new company web site. Then, they should break each main goal down into smaller steps. For example, the new system for office organization may require the entrepreneur to clear out or destroy her old files, create new file folders, relocate her filing cabinet to a location more convenient to her desk, buy a desktop organizer with designated slots for incoming and outgoing mail, buy a desktop calendar, clear the clutter on her desk and empty her desk drawer. Also, business owners should always closely monitor their progress, so they can celebrate their accomplishments and make adjustments where necessary.

3. Recruit a support system. No one can reach her goals alone, so business owners must not be afraid to ask for help and support in different forms.

Advice: Support systems can include several types of people: those actually doing the work with or for a business owner, those who can provide advice or resources that make doing the work easier, more efficient or less expensive, and those who can support the business owner as an individual with moral support or by holding her accountable.

4. Recognize and reward hard work. As women, we beat ourselves up a lot. Every business owner deserves to recognize and reward herself for confronting her challenges head on, and for making the sometimes-difficult changes necessary to fuel their transformation. The vast majority of people perform much better when they are praised and recognized, than they do when they are afraid of punishment.

Advice: Female entrepreneurs should give themselves loving care whenever they need it, so they can keep moving forward, ever more positively, and arrive at their final destination. Whether times are so tough they need to celebrate every single phone call they made without procrastinating, or they just need to celebrate the major milestones, those celebrations are important.

Taking the actual steps to shift to an ideal situation from one that feels less-than-ideal is gratifying, confidence-building and inspiring to business owners who have experienced setbacks in their businesses. By following these four steps, female entrepreneurs will find success.

Women Entrepreneurs Getting Back on Track, Part 2 - Determining the Future

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." But what if a female entrepreneur doesn't want lemonade? When changing circumstances take a woman business owner out of her ideal entrepreneurial type, she may determine that rather than going back to her previous type, she wants to move on to a new ideal. Before she does, though, she must determine what that ideal is, and whether it is truly ideal for her own situation.

Based on professional market research of more than 3,500 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. When a woman is living as her ideal entrepreneurial type, she feels satisfied, personally and professionally. This article outlines three questions a business owner must ask herself when she is on the brink of change.

1. Is this a time for business growth, or a time to sustain? Business growth often requires more time and energy on the part of a business owner. Also, it increases the ratio of time spent strategizing to time spent creating. Therefore, an "ideal" type depends on the level of resources an entrepreneur is able to or wants to invest in her business.

Advice: If an entrepreneur doesn't feel like she is living her ideal type, and wants to grow her business and transform into a new type, she's probably considering becoming either a Jane Dough or a Go Jane Go type, since they generally run larger businesses. She must keep in mind that each entrepreneurial type comes with its own set of strengths and challenges, and "benefits" and "drawbacks," which may actually be different from how the business owner perceives them. For example, Jane Dough business owners often run large businesses, run teams of people, and bring home a high income. They also work long hours and spend more time strategizing than they do creating. Go Jane Go business owners often bring in a high income and love running their businesses and giving back to their communities, sometimes feeling overwhelmed in the process.

2. During this difficult time, has the business owner developed any habits or behaviors she must change or stop so she can become her ideal type? In the process of adapting to what has probably become a difficult situation, it is possible that a business owner may have developed previously uncharacteristic habits or behaviors. Maybe she has begun procrastinating because she is unhappy at work and finds it draining to deal with the problems. Perhaps she feels so overwhelmed with the day-to-day operations of the business that she has stopped communicating with her team members and/or clients. Or maybe she has completely stopped making time for herself and/or her loved ones as she struggles to keep her company afloat.

Advice: In evaluating her own behaviors (especially recently developed behaviors), a female entrepreneur can determine specific adjustments she needs to make in order to power herself into her type change. For example, if cash flow has lessened and she is feeling stressed about it, she may have started avoiding paying the bills. Not only is this behavior unproductive, but it also can put the company in danger and weaken relationships with vendors. When it's time to shift from one entrepreneurial type to another, it is essential that a business owner be cognizant of her own behaviors and how they affect her business, so that every time a decision arises, she can act like her ideal type - that is a powerful way to create change.

3. Is the business owner's current environment conducive to productivity, in work and in personal life? Every business owner lives in two different environments - Her physical space and the people around her. Environment dramatically impacts performance, and it is a great place for an entrepreneur to start when she is making a change.

Advice: Women business owners should consider the people around them and the physical spaces where they work and live, and then ask themselves what needs to be "cleaned up" for optimal performance. Living in clutter - physical or emotional - drains her energy. Female entrepreneurs should consider these actions when wishing to modify their environments:
• Organize and clean up messy desks or office space.
• Hang inspiring artwork in the office.
• Ensure that all office furniture is comfortable and that tools are in easy reach.
• Use color to create the right mood.
• De-clutter everywhere, even the house and the car.
• Eat healthy foods that boost energy.
• Limit or eliminate time spent with negative people and naysayers.
• If eliminating time with negative people is impossible, set clear boundaries, such as making "worrisome" topics off-limits for discussion.
• Meet and become surrounded by positive, inspirational people.
• Create or join a mastermind group (people interested in supporting each others' success).

When life hands a female entrepreneur lemons, she doesn't have to make lemonade - she can make anything she wants. By asking herself the right questions, and answering with her heart, she will be able to follow the recipe for her ideal type - and new success.

Women Entrepreneurs Getting Back on Track, Part 1 - Assessing the Cause

Life is a continuum - so change is inevitable. In the life of a female entrepreneur, then, this inevitability affects her not only personally, but also professionally. While some change results in higher profits and greater personal and professional satisfaction, other change may result in a situation that drains a business owner's resources and leaves her feeling unsure about the best next step for her business and for herself. This shift also may result in another shift: a previously content and confident business owner, living as her ideal entrepreneurial type, transforms into an entrepreneurial type that simply doesn't fit.

Based on professional market research of more than 3,500 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. When a woman is living as her ideal entrepreneurial type, she feels satisfied, personally and professionally. This article outlines three of the main circumstances that may cause a woman previously living as her ideal type to transform into a less-than-ideal type - and provides advice for changing these circumstances so they can work their way back to ideal.

1. The business started undercapitalized and acquired more debt than can comfortably be carried given current revenue levels. One reason companies acquire debt in the early years is that, although the entrepreneur had some money set aside, their business did not hit its revenue projections on time. The result: the cash ran out before the revenue kicked in. Some women who fall into this category are savvy businesswomen who had previously run large corporate budgets, and were confident and accurate in determining the costs of running the business. However, when they projected how quickly sales would occur and money would come in, they were overly optimistic. They struggle to add more customers, watching their cash reserve run out, ultimately having to decide whether or not to go into (more) debt to keep the business afloat. Many of them end up making that investment because they have hopes for the business and they feel confident it will be profitable eventually.

Advice: Business owners must look at two aspects of the business financials right away to assess whether or not their business model is going to be profitable enough to help them transform back into their ideal entrepreneurial type. She should ask herself: Is it possible to make enough money with the existing model, and if so, what should she focus on immediately to create the best possible chance for the business to survive and thrive?

Entrepreneurs need to assess how much money they can realistically expect to come in, and how much is realistically going out. Revenue and expenses, when viewed together, paint a vivid picture of how successful the business will be. If an entrepreneur discovers that by the time her expenses go out (mortgage/rent, phone, Internet, groceries, doctor's visits, etc.), she is barely squeaking by, she can manipulate her business model to increase her income. Whether she increases her hourly rates or increases the number of billable hours she works each week, she can create concrete plans for increasing her income - using real, solid numbers.

2. Fluctuating business environments drove the profitability out of the business, and the business owner finds herself struggling with cash flow, revenues and/or business cost challenges. For example, a brilliant and successful entrepreneur who established a niche in marketing specialty products grew her business successfully until "me too" companies started chipping away at her market share. Increasing competition took away some of her business.

Advice: If a business owner believes that something outside of her control has caused her to shift into a less-than-ideal entrepreneurial type, she must adapt accordingly - while focusing on cash flow, and possibly reinvesting in the business to give it the jumpstart it needs. To accomplish all this, she must set goals and then create specific, step-by-step action plans for achieving each goal.

This owner of the specialty products marketing company began marketing existing products to new niche markets, and started diversifying into other fields via new divisions that were related to the initial niche. Entrepreneurs should keep in mind that momentum will build as they begin to achieve their goals. The key is to prepare to act by choosing the right focal points and then succeed in those specific areas.

3. The business owner is moving in too many directions at once. In some cases, a female entrepreneur has been successfully running her business for some time, and she decides to branch out. Her ultimate vision encompasses multiple streams of income and she tries to activate them all at once. This approach can be counterproductive in the short-term because the lack of a singular focus can make it difficult for her target market to understand her business model. In cases such as these, it is not possible to build marketing and sales efforts for such diverse income streams simultaneously.

Advice: Every entrepreneur, especially one who is struggling because she is not living as her ideal type, should examine her business concept, and her business model to ensure that her company in its current state can make the profit she needs. This will help her nail down a specific focus for getting back into her ideal type. When considering business concept, entrepreneurs may want to develop a one-sentence "catch phrase" to respond when someone asks, "What does your business do for people?" The key is to highlight a singular line of work, plus exactly what benefits customers can expect from using the business. For example, a business coach may say, "In my business, we're experts at helping business leaders be more effective, so they can make more money with less stress." In this statement, she has said who she helps (it's deliberately open-ended to include a variety of business leaders), and what she does for them (helps them make more money with less stress). When considering business model, entrepreneurs must determine whether their customers would want to buy their product or service in the form in which they're selling it. Maybe a business was running smoothly for years with the same business concept and business model - but with changes in the economy, it is not as profitable. In cases like this, a business owner can assess whether she could make focused minor or moderate changes to her business model to offer her services or products in a way that makes sense, now.

Change happens, always. The way a woman business owner reacts and adapts to change defines whether her company will simply survive or begin to thrive. By following the above advice during three common sets of circumstances, female entrepreneurs will hold the power they need to live their ideal type - and to find personal and professional satisfaction.

Best of the Janes - Getting Back on Track

While any female entrepreneur who has experienced a setback in her business will ultimately take a multi-pronged approach to getting back on track, certain specific elements of the rise to ideal apply differently to each entrepreneurial type.

A recent study reveals there are five distinct types of women in business. Based on professional market research of more than 3,500 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. When a woman is living as her ideal entrepreneurial type, she feels satisfied, personally and professionally. This article outlines six ideas for jumpstarting cash flow following a business setback.

Most women business owners who have experienced a setback are living a Tenacity Jane phase. Tenacity Jane is an entrepreneur with an undeniable passion for her business, and one who tends to be struggling with cash flow. As a result, she's working longer hours, and making less money than she'd like. Nevertheless, Tenacity Jane is bound and determined to make her business a success. At 31% of women in business, Tenacity Janes make up the largest group of female entrepreneurs. Typically, a woman business owner becomes a Tenacity Jane for one of five reasons: she has a craft or skill, but lacks business knowledge, the business started undercapitalized or acquired more debt than can be comfortably carried at current revenue levels, she doesn't charge enough for her services, she lacks focus and is trying to accomplish too much all at once, or something has changed in the industry or cost structure that has caused a once-prosperous business to falter financially.

To move forward from a Tenacity Jane phase, a woman business owner must:

1. Invest in her own knowledge. New knowledge can be the key to jumpstarting profitability. Even if she is an expert in her craft, she may not have the knowledge she needs to run a successful business. Odds are, she recognizes where she can improve her knowledge for the betterment of her business. An entrepreneur can create her own training plan or she can hire someone with expertise to fill in the gaps. Whether she reads books, buys home study courses or attends live classes, an entrepreneur who builds her knowledge base dramatically increases her chances of boosting her profit. Some areas where she may need new knowledge: marketing (specifically, email marketing, social networking as a marketing tool, etc.), financial management, team building and delegation, and project and time management.

2. Identify her target market and its needs, and then market accordingly. By surveying her existing customers, a female entrepreneur can get an inexpensive and very accurate picture of which of her products and services are most in-demand, and of the profiles of the people who are using them the most. Then, she can market to similar people, thus increasing her chances of attracting ideal clients who need (and will pay for) her services.

3. Evaluate her pricing and raise it, if possible. Whether she "started low" to win business and never raised her rates, or she over-estimated her profit margin, it never hurts for an entrepreneur to evaluate how her pricing compares with that of other similar professionals in her area. She can send surveys to existing customers, asking them about industry pricing, and call competitors and ask for a price sheet. Also, by evaluating her costs and margin, she can determine whether she could increase her margin slightly and therefore increase her profits. When considering hourly rates, a female business owner should remember to include the cost of taking time off for vacation, and the time she spends working non-billable hours marketing, paying bills, etc. She should consider what each project or unit is worth to her - and create a guideline for herself about how much she has to charge to feel properly compensated.

4. Network. By networking with other like-minded professionals, a woman business owner creates opportunities for a support system in which she can share ideas and information, and for getting word of mouth referrals. Also, networking provides chances for affiliate relationships, in which two professionals who offer related services market their products together.

5. Upsell. Business owners can drive profit fairly easily with a little extra work through consistent upselling. In this sales approach, every time someone buys from the entrepreneur, she offers them a chance to pay just a little bit more for an expanded service or an augmented product. For example, if she sells a necklace, she upsells to include a fancy jewelry box. If she sells an information product, she upsells to a continuity product such as a newsletter.

6. Communicate regularly with information and offers. Every business owner probably has a list of prospects and current customers. A female entrepreneur must recognize that the more frequently she communicates with her prospects and customers, the more frequently she'll be on their minds - increasing the likelihood that they'll buy from her! Business owners can employ (almost) effortless marketing methods for communicating regularly, such as social networking, blogging and newsletters.

It is common for a business owner to experience a setback within her company. Fortunately, by following specific steps and guidelines, and by using the six cash flow jumpstart strategies listed above, a female entrepreneur can overcome her setbacks and be on her way to living her ideal entrepreneurial type and enjoying her successes.