My first Publication The Creative Space Volume 1 January 2020 | Page 5

Topic
“Take a leap of
faith and begin this
wondrous new
year by believing.”
- Sarah Ban
Breathnach,
best-selling
author,
philanthropist
and public
speaker. She is
the author of
thirteen books,
including
“Simple
Abundance: A
Daybook of
Comfort and
Joy”
2. Read More. Whether it’s a book or an article Try to commit to at
least one chapter a day. Educate yourself about your clients and your
industry - you won’t regret it;
3. Take time for you. This means eating healthy, committing to an
exercise regimen and factoring in time for friends and family. You
need balance - the entrepreneurial journey will take everything out
of you if you're not careful;
4. Ask for help. No one makes it alone out here. Reach out via
industry groups, fempreneur chats or any other means-but please
reach out - you’ll be surprised at how much help is out there;
5. Support other small business owners. This is missing in many
areas - you want to sell your product/service, but won’t support
another person’s hustle. Remember, the fight is against
poverty-not each other;
6. Network. Part of being an entrepreneur is based on how well you’re
able to “Take up Space”. Make a commitment to attend at least
one event every 2 months-more if you can make it. And when you go,
don’t hug the walls-make eye contact, smile, get to know people,
shake hands, and share business info;
7. Fail forward. 2019 taught us all how failure tastes. When I
struggled, I’m now realizing that we were all struggling - some were
just too ashamed to say it. Learn from your attempts; cause that’s all
they are - indications that your product/service needs some fine-
tuning. So go do that;
8. Bootstrap when you can. Start by bartering service for service.
Then look at what you can do yourself without a third party. Maybe
it’s doing some of your own graphic work or making your own finger
foods for small events. Microfinancing continues to be a “thing” and
until we are seen as legitimate contributors to the economy, it’s going
to continue to be tough. Do what you can, when you can, with what
you have.
9. You're not everyone's cup of tea. By that I mean you need to get
clear about who you’re serving. Whether it’s product or service, not
everyone is going to like you or get you.