Xtraordinary Women Magazine September 2014 | Page 17

belief in the skills I had to offer. It has become the most important lesson I needed to learn for
my business going forward.
2) Trust your gut
If something does not feel right or if you do not feel comfortable working on a project, trust
that feeling and either walk away or finish the project and part ways with the client. It took
me nearly a year to realise that while client satisfaction is important, so is being assertive as a
business woman and walking away from situations where you are not being respected.
3) Ask for help from fellow entrepreneurs and get the experts to help you
This is something I realised very late in the last year that I have been in business. You can’t
do it alone. Yes, operating as a solo entrepreneur is by its very nature isolating, but
you do not have to struggle on your own. Reach out to fellow entrepreneurs
through the XWN and make use of experts within the network, be it organisers,
image consultants, web designers or business coaches. If you can’t find them in the
network, venture out and look for experts online. Spending too much time wondering
whether I should admit that I am not that good at budgeting and have no clue
where to start with regards to building up that elusive CASH FLOW, meant money down the
drain as I tried to figure it out myself. I now live by Albert Einstein’s words: “Everybody is a
genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that
it is stupid”. I would not ask an accountant to build my website, so why would I trust a
copywriter and communications strategist (myself) to advise me on my finances.
4) Use the services of associations and organisations to remain connected to your
industry and register with the ones that benefit you and your business
I regularly attend the XWN networking breakfasts in Somerset West and at times in Blouberg
and have attended one of the network’s Holistic network events too. It has exposed me to a
range of people who have either told me of possible clients or have shared their skills and
expertise with me. It has also kept me inspired on those days when all at once the deadlines
are looming, the kids manage to get seriously ill and hubby cannot even bribe them to stop
them from gravitating towards mommy and to add insult to injury, the coffee has also run
out.
I am currently a member of the National Small Business Chamber and the XWN and have
learnt loads from both, though I have to admit that it is the exclusive interaction with other
women entrepreneurs that I have cherished the most and that has made XWN stand out
above the rest. I also continually shop around for organisations or associations specific to my
field of expertise, but have learnt that quality trumps quantity all the time. It does not matter
how many networks you can claim to be a member of on your e-mail signature, if they are
not adding value to you as an individual and to your business, you are wasting your time and
money.
5) Slow down and live too
This is the biggest lesson the Universe bestowed on me and the one that I needed the most.
While rushing up and down and putting in those required hours to grow my business, I forgot
to rest (which translated into weeks of working straight through till 03:00 or 05:00) and enjoy
the people around me in particular the ones that were making sacrifices along with me to
establish my business. I have learnt that if I want my business to grow, I need to rest and not