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Good morning. I am delighted
to be here and I appreciate the invitation to be a part of this panel
discussion.
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I spent almost 30 years as a
small business owner and operator in my community. I am also an elected local
official.
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As a businesswoman, I learned
a great many lessons that have helped me overcome some difficult situations in
my elected office.
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I serve on a legislative
council with thirteen other members. I am the only woman on that council.
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Just as in my business, I had
the added burden of proving I was as capable of success and dealing with
issues that arise, as were my male colleagues.
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It took some time in both
endeavors to convince doubters I was not there as a hobby or to pass my idle
hours, but to do a job and to do it successfully.
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Some days it was very
difficult not to use the excuse that one of my children was sick during the
night and I had no sleep and the presentation I was to have presented wasn’t
quite ready because I just didn’t have time between dinner, baths, homework
and bedtime.
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All of that may be true, but
as a woman, you are expected to find a way to manage all of those things and
get your job done.
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As with any endeavor
throughout our lives, succeeding in the business world requires focus,
dedication and hard work.
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It also requires an
understanding of the impact a product or service will have in a particular
community. In addition to these requirements, as women, we face a few more
obstacles.
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These additional challenges
must be considered in the decision making process of starting a business.
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The challenge of family
responsibility is a great one. It would be wonderful to have the commitment of
a life partner to share those responsibilities, but society has not yet come
to the point of accepting a woman’s role as a completely shared
responsibility.
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In making the decision to
start a business, an honest assessment of family issues is probably more
important than the day-to-day management of that business.
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If the foundation is not laid
correctly concerning the care of children or home making responsibilities,
both the family and the business will suffer.
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So the decision has been
made, the challenges have been spelled out and you are now ready to start that
business you have dreamed of for so long.
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You have gone over every
possible scenario of what could go wrong and how you will face the problems
and solve them.
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You have researched every
aspect of your new endeavor. Your friends and family have assured you that
you are making the right decision and you are sure to be successful.
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You go into this new phase of
your life excited, energetic and sure of what you want to accomplish.
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You begin making day-to-day
decisions with all the information you have amassed. It will not take a very
long time before you face a situation that has never occurred to you.
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After many hours (if you are
fortunate enough to have the luxury of time) you make the decision on how best
to proceed.
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It may well turn out not to
be the right decision. What happens next is probably more important than all
the preparations leading up to the start of your business.
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As in every other situation
in life, you learn from mistakes, probably learning more from mistakes than
the things you do right every day.
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Unfortunately, often the
mistakes in your business life result in financial loss.
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One lesson I have learned in
the business world is the damage procrastination can cause financially and to
your business’s reputation.
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If there is a mistake that
must be corrected, the sooner you make that correction, the sooner you can put
it behind you and move on. Business associates understand mistakes can and
will happen.
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What gains the respect of
your colleagues is accepting the responsibility, finding a solution and laying
out a course of action to make sure the same thing does not happen in the
future. Setbacks will happen no matter how hard we work to prepare
ourselves.
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Facing those setbacks with
the same determination it took to start a business is vital to success.
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Another very important aspect
of running your own business is having the self-confidence to recognize when
things are not going exactly as planned, and knowing you can face these
situations, correct them and move on.
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This self-confidence does not
come quickly or easily. You gain that confidence from the mistakes as well as
the successes.
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Because I worked with my
husband in our business, I faced some issues that others may not face.
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Certainly there were
advantages to being in business with him, but there were a few disadvantages I
had to overcome. Unfortunately, as much as we would like to believe women are
viewed as competent business people, society still more readily accepts men as
leaders.
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In our business, my
responsibilities were office management and finances; my husband’s were
engineering and sales. If someone disagreed with his engineering decisions,
they did not come to me for a second opinion.
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On the other hand, if someone
had an issue with a financial decision, they had no problem going to him for
an over ride of my decision. In the beginning, I was highly offended when this
happened.
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I didn’t understand or want
to accept that, as a woman, I had to prove myself as an equal partner who was
capable of making the right decision. That was one of those added burdens I
mentioned before.
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If you have a business
partner, clear lines of responsibility help the business run more smoothly.
If your partner is your husband, those clear lines are vital in assuring your
home life runs a lot more smoothly.
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One advantage I believe we
now have are the many organizations focusing on entrepreneurship for women.
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There are professional
organizations dedicated to the advancement of women in business.
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We have National Business and
Professional Women organizations throughout our country with many small local
groups. They have wonderful programs on starting businesses and meeting the
challenges we face daily in the business world.
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There are many publications
now aimed at women in business.
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I see the ground we are
gaining in the business world. It is slow in coming, but there are signs.
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One of my favorite examples
of this progress is the election of the first woman to serve as Chairman of
the Board of Directors of the U S Chamber of Commerce. Her name is Maura
Donahue. She lives in my community and is one of my closest friends.
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I am thrilled for her success
and she is for mine. That is another advantage we have as women. Because we
are just beginning to reach those high plateaus, other women are there to
applaud and encourage us as we strive to take our place along side other
successful business owners.
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If there is one thing you
take away from this discussion, I hope it will be to expect the unexpected,
but don’t let it deter you from moving forward.
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Having to take a small step
back never means you are unable to take that step forward again.
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You also have the advantage
of having learned a better path to take to success.
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Thank you for your
attention. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.
