Do you know women who lead businesses in your area? Chances are, you might be a gal who runs a business yourself or maybe someone who wants to launch a new thing one day. Well, my personal experience with The Simplifiers and other female business owners has shown me that the very best support women get… is from other women. And I believe in paying it forward.
October is Women in Small Business Month in the States. So, why not share our top tips on how to support women led businesses in your area?
Just in case you’re wondering why, not only is it good karma, but it helps build your network and is likely to give your own business a boost! And it doesn’t necessarily require you to spend any money…
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Here are 5 simple ways you can support women led businesses in your area.
Ask: can a woman do it?
Okay, yes. Captain Obvious suggestion here… it’s worth bringing up to consider. When you’re looking to hire a vendor, making a business purchase or you have work you want to contract out, ask around and see if there are any women led businesses who could take on the work. Realistically, we hire people not based on gender but on qualifications, communications style, fits the budget and they get the job done on time. But sometimes we just go with the obvious choice and not question things. Why not ask people you know or even put a shout-out on social media for recommendations for women led businesses this week, just to expand your network of possibilities?
Give shout-outs on social media
This costs you nothing. If you know of great women led businesses, tell people! Write reviews, tweet, post on Instagram or LinkedIn. Don’t forget to use hashtags that are relevant to your location and industry. If rising tides helps all, what if you devote 5 minutes today to write a positive review online for a fellow female business owner? How would that feel?
Collaborate
You could boost your own business and others if you work together. We’re not all in competition. Are there women led businesses that complement yours? Maybe there’s a project you could work on together or a unique package you could offer.
Become a mentor
Whatever stage you’re at, there’s probably someone looking up at you trying to work out how to get to where you are. Share what you’ve learned – it could be practical business skills, how to overcome fear and imposter syndrome, public speaking skills, or skills specific to your industry. There are so many different ways you can help other women in business as a mentor.
Run workshops
What’s your superhero skill? Maybe you know how to take great images for social media or have color-coded, super fancy cashflow spreadsheets that help to simplify your finances? Are you great at writing pitches, networking or figuring out the super boring (albeit, super important) legal stuff?
(Can you tell by the fact that I called it legal “stuff” that my skills definitely don’t lie there?!)
Share these skills with women at free or discounted rates. Not only will you be supporting women led businesses but you’ll be positioning yourself as an expert. Plus think of the great reputation (maybe even press and media attention?) you’ll get!
You could even provide these workshops for different groups and organisations and charge them a price that will cover the subsidies for your women only workshops.
It’s a win-win for everyone!
Resources we recommend:
Listen to The Simplifiers Podcast
Make 2019 your best year ever with advice, guidance and tips from the expert guests who feature in The Simplifiers Podcast. Find all our episodes HERE.
Don’t forget, you can tune in to the podcast on any of these fantastic FREE platforms, whatever suits your fancy:
TuneIn | Acast | SoundCloud | YouTube | Pandora
Send Mary a voicemail to get featured!
What’s one tip that’s helping you simplify your work, or life these days?
We’ve added a fancy little vertical button which says ‘Send Mary a Voicemail’ on the right side of the website.
Here, you can record a voicemail through your phone or your laptop, and then, we can feature you on a future episode of The Simplifiers Podcast!
So, what’s one thing that’s helping you simplify these days…
- A new app that’s really helping you manage your work or
- A great book you’re loving these days or
- Maybe you’ve simplified the droves and droves of paperwork in your life (and if that’s the case, GIRL… share your secrets!!)
Leave us a message with:
- Your name
- Your business name (if you own one)
- City
- … and your one simple tip
Click on the ‘Send Mary a Voicemail’ button over there –>
Easy peasy, super simple!
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