Female entrepreneurs trying to make it in an almost male-dominated business environment is a daunting task. A host of gender and societal factors inhibit women from playing to their full abilities and make it harder for them to bootstrap their ventures. In such a case, seeking the support of coaches and mentors can be highly beneficial to help you get to where you are trying to go.
Here are some of the ways in which coaching and mentoring can empower women business owners:
Increase Knowledge Base
When starting out, women entrepreneurs need support in terms of training and guidance to harness their idea into an impacting enterprise and scalable venture. Coaches and mentors can provide that much-needed handholding as they are up to date with the issues and challenges that businesspeople face.
Help with Revenue Generation
While starting out, women-led businesses often face fund crunch as investors do not rely much on their acumen. Furthermore, the lack of females in the business community reduces women's social capital options to create a trusted network. Taking the help of a coach can enable them to leverage this aspect to their advantage.
Develop a Leadership Style
Through mentoring, women entrepreneurs can learn to be more objective while managing their company through a leadership position. These experts can help you make productive short-term and long-term goals and push you to go beyond your comfort zone to accomplish them. “Women should be equipped through human-centered techniques to help them harness their unique leadership skills,” says Executive Coach LaToya Jordan .
Personal Development
Coaches and mentors are valuable assets who can help women entrepreneurs develop as both business owners and individuals. Successful mentors help women with decision-making while reducing feelings of isolation. Their approach in counseling will give the businesswomen an idea of where they are and help them decide where they want to be in the future.
Set Realistic Goals
Coaching and mentoring can enable women entrepreneurs to realize what is possible and attainable. It is about empowering women and supporting their ability to be their unique self and model their strategies to bring the same uniqueness into their businesses. Women entrepreneurs can highly benefit from the experts who help them align personal goals with business goals.
Navigate Barriers
Entrepreneurs cannot do it all and need to seek the external support of coaches and mentors to help them through tough times with ease and propel them upwards. “I help clients view their careers through a different lens and take them out of the rut,” says Deborah Brown-Volkman , a Professional Certified Coach.
Facilitate Work-Life Balance
Women entrepreneurs do not have a 9 to 5 job, so learning how to balance work and home life is essential. Coaches and mentors can help define one’s vision of success and grow the business accordingly. They can help decide on what kind of work-life balance they want and create a suitable business model to achieve it.
Defy Imposter Syndrome
No matter your education, your style of work, or your skill set, these experts make you believe that every step taken in your journey is yours and help you let go of the mindset of fear and feeling undeserving. “I tell my clients to own the space they are in as they have a vision, and no one knows it better than them,” says Krys tal Champlin , owner of Maverick Coaching Solutions.
Whether you need help with developing a go-to-market strategy, handling a big project, or just getting your mind in the right place, coaches and mentors have got your back. Rely on them as they are experienced professionals, an unfailing safety net, who will provide you with an assurance that you are on the right track.
