“It’s so hard for women to work together!” I hear this statement a lot lately, especially since more and more women are becoming entrepreneurs. I do believe their complaints are valid, but it’s not the whole truth. This is a deeper issue. One that I believe takes a mindset change.
I have worked with lots of women over the years. When I entered the broadcasting industry I was a 16-year-old girl in a predominately male industry. The few women that were able, didn’t share information to help me excel. Instead, I learned through trial and error, along with the assistance of some great (and some not so great) men.
Once I got to a place where I could share, I did. I did it for the sole purpose of saving some young person from enduring what I went through. I didn’t want any young lady to have to deal with any more sexual harassment and discrimination than we already deal with. This has become a heartfelt initiative for me and a lifelong commitment. Today, I host the yearly Goal Chasers event for female startups, and each week I feature a fempreneur in our “Where You Should Be Spending Your Money” series.
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak about collaborations at the BlackBerry Naturals Spring Brunch. I met so many amazing women that are creating brands and pursuing entrepreneurship boldly. I shared with the group 4 major keys to building fruitful and successful collaborations:
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Learn what support looks like…
- Usually, the reason we are so disappointed and feel as if we don’t have any support is that we are expecting support to be monetary. However, there are so many other ways in which you can receive support. You may need help promoting your business, exposure, systems implementation, education, etc. Don’t miss out on opportunities to be supported because it doesn’t come the way you expect it to.
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Always be a student!
- There are people out there that think they know EVERYTHING! The issue with that is that people are going to be less motivated to share information with you because they assume you already know it. Also, you miss out on lots of opportunities when misrepresenting your business state as better or more advanced than it really is. Be humble, let people know that you are always open to learning more about your craft.
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Verbalize what support you need & diversify…
- As I touched on before, it is important to tell people what you need. You’d be amazed at how many clients I’ve spoken to that have complained about not having support. Yet, when I ask them if they’ve shared what they need with people, they immediately say, “They should’ve known.” *** REALITY CHECK *** The world is not checking for you all day! You’d be amazed how much people are NOT seeing on their social media timelines. There is more to marketing & promotion than social media. Build a lead list, network in real life, gather business cards, etc. Also, be sure that you are telling people how they can support you. And have a few ways that they can support you. Everyone can’t support you monetarily, but trust me, there are more people for you than against you. They just need options.
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Utilize your contact list.
- Most of your friends and family probably don’t know in-depth information about your business. Spend time going through your phone contacts, business cards, FB inbox, and Insta DM’s to reach out to the people you know and tell them what you need. Have services that could benefit them? Shoot them a quick email. Just released a cool ebook? Remind them via inbox or DM with the link attached. You’ll be amazed at how many people respond positively to more personal communications.
