There’s Always A Yes, And Other Advice For Women Starting A Business

Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank would rather invest in women-run businesses. “I’ve been investing now for over 10 years on things like Shark Tank deals — and other deals that are brought to me because of Shark Tank — and the majority of my returns come from the companies run by women. Now this isn’t some kind of academic research, this is real data. This is real money coming back to me,” he told CNBC Make It of his portfolio.

He’s onto something. Women-owned businesses are diverse, creative, and flourishing: According to the 2019 State of Women Owned Businesses Report from American Express, there are nearly 13 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. — which marks a 21 percent jump in the past five years. (To put this number in perspective, overall business growth rose 9 percent during the same period.) They employ 9.4 million people and generate $1.9 trillion in revenue. Those are impressive figures, but there’s significant room for improvement. Women-owned businesses account for just 39 percent of privately owned firms and only one in five firms with revenue of more than $1 million is owned by a woman, according to the National Association of Women Business Owners. October is National Women’s Small Business Month, which means it’s time to celebrate the accomplishments and growth of female entrepreneurs.

I left the corporate world to start my own business, so I have plenty of advice as someone who’s been there, done that. I was always told to wait for that perfect moment or that I wasn’t right, so the only thing I could do was follow my heart and go for it. One of the things I learned very quickly is that starting your own business is not just about having a great idea, but also about inspiring a team and always finding the solution. The other very important ingredient to success is realizing that when you follow your purpose and your passion, you are truly unstoppable.

When I founded OTX in 2000, I created the uncorporate rules. I no longer wanted to be the exception to the rule; I wanted to create the new norm, a workplace culture where everyone could thrive and bring their best self to the table. As a result, I had a 99.99 percent retention rate. We were a family sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly. I also had a philosophy that I needed to be the first, the second, and the third. The first person to do something is the innovator, but they also make mistakes. The second is the copycat. The third is the sweeper, because the ecosystem has been built and the path for success is there. 

So for this Women’s Small Business Month, I want to inspire some of the women out there who might be on the fence about starting their own company. I reached out to some small business owners and industry experts for insights that might be helpful, too. Here are some of our best bits and bytes of advice:

Embrace your feminine strengths. Women are great at multitasking on steroids. Because we’re not linear thinkers, we can do several things at the same time — and we can do them all well. We’re also great listeners. Take advantage of this. Bring empathy into the workplace and be open to what’s working and what’s not.

Articulate your vision. “You should be able to speak about the personality of whatever the concept is,” says Kat Turner, chef-partner of the Los Angeles cafe Highly Likely. Keep refining as you go, she adds. “Even if it’s not where you are or end up, give yourself future vision: Jot down where you want to be a year before opening, six months, three months, one month, one week… You don’t have to be right, but at least you’re giving yourself a structure to hang your ideas on.”

There’s always a yes, you just have to find it. Don’t doubt yourself because it hasn’t been done before. That’s when you know you have a winning idea and that’s where the fun begins. That’s your white space — play in it.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I’m known as the Chief Troublemaker because I wrote new rules for the workplace. Mistakes have always been my greatest source of growth. Margaux co-founder Alexa Buckley agrees. One of their greatest breakthroughs happened when there was a production snafu with an early shoe design and they realized it couldn’t be shipped to customers who’d preordered it. “We reached out to every single person and explained what happened, and I think it humanized the business to our customers. They knew they could trust us.”

Innovation can be messy, but it also can be beautiful. Don’t be afraid to color outside the lines. That’s called abstract or modern art, and it sells for a pretty penny!

Do it your way, even if it’s not the popular way. When I wrote my business plan, I was told to do it like the typical investor’s deck, but there was no “wow” within the deck. I wanted every page to excite and delight, so I created a very nontraditional presentation — and it paid off.

Don’t doubt yourself. Don’t wait for someone to give you permission. Take it and run with it. The worst thing that could happen is that you might be wrong, the best thing is that you build a game-changing company.  

Don’t forget about cash flow, cash flow, cash flow. Courtney Kelso, Senior Vice President at American Express, points out, ”A 2018 Fed report showed that 43% of small business credit applicants were borrowing loans to cover the cost of operating expenses. A common way to help prepare for cash flow problems is to have at least three to six months of working capital in case an emergency occurs. Having a cash flow business plan and tracking your cash flow can help prevent cash problems in the future.”

Break the rules that make no sense and create your own. Set up your organization in a way that works for you. There’s no textbook for success. When it’s your business, you make the rules. Don’t get hung up on titles or hierarchy — create the structure that makes the most sense for you and your business.

Surround yourself with talented people. Just because you have a great idea doesn’t necessarily mean you’re great at running a business. Don’t be afraid to surround yourself with people who have complementary skill sets, because those are the people who will help push your business to the next level. There really is power in the pack; we’re so much stronger together than we are individually.

Explore multiple sources for funding. “There are many programs such as the 8(a) Business Development program, which helps small, limited businesses compete in the marketplace. Female entrepreneurs can take advantage of SBA loan programs, which will help owners pave a path to success for their company,” Kelso says. Buckley adds, “It helps to pitch to people who understand the problem you’re trying to solve. So I appreciated when there would be a woman on the other side of the table.”

Speak up. “I have this saying that says, ‘‘if you don’t a-s-k, you don’t g-e-t’,” says Turner. That could be said for drumming up funding, or for getting any other kind of help when you need it. I always like to say that if at first you get a “no,” find a way to turn it into a “yes.” Only when we create our own opportunities do we really see results!

In many ways, the deck is stacked against female entrepreneurs. I often think about the stat that less than 2 percent of VC funding goes to women. This leaves so much on the table. Not just income — though myriad research shows that women-owned businesses deliver higher returns than those founded by men (twice as much per dollar invested, a BCG study found). By leading with feminine strengths like empathy, creativity, and tenacity, they bring special offerings into the marketplace and find innovative solutions to challenges big and small. Willy Wonka said it best: “Invention, my dear friends, is 93 percent perspiration, 6 percent electricity, 4 percent evaporation, and 2 percent butterscotch ripple!”