Ep 14 - Being a Women in Business is Tough

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With International Women's Day last week, and with March being Women's History Month, I wanted to do a Podcast on Female Business Owners.

Being a business owner is HARD work! But we know that in so many ways, it can be even harder for female entrepreneurs. As females, we lead differently to men and face a different set of challenges in building our businesses than our male counterparts.

What inspired me to do today's podcast was reading that only 2% of female led businesses every reach the 7 figure mark. It got me thinking about why this is the case, and what we can do to try and change this stat!

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Show Transcription: 

Hi, friends, Amanda here, hope you are doing so. So well. I'm so excited that you've decided to join me on the dance principles United podcasts today, I am flying solo today back is enjoying a couple of world reserve days off. And I have been thinking about what I wanted to chat to on today's podcast on for the last few days. As you know, last Tuesday was the Tuesday I can't remember days, but it was International Women's Day. And March is Women's History Month. And it made me think about what it's like to be a woman business owner. And you know, being a business owner, regardless of your gender is hard. It is bloody hard. There are ups and downs, there is so many challenges that we've got to overcome. But when you add in being a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, trying to look after your household having a social life, it's a lot, there are a lot of things that we you know, have to add into the mix as women. And as women we lead differently than men, we lead with more empathy. And that can change how we look at business. And sometimes, you know, I have always read a lot of business books. But I often find that you know, the business books that are written by men or the podcasts that are done by men. Sometimes that's just not how I am. That is not how I want to lead my business. That is not who I am. And I'm sure so many of you relate to that. Because most of us, I'm sure listening to the podcast are women, or women work in female dominated industry being dance studios. And it's different, you know, we can't just jump on and listen to what some of the how some of these men lead and just, you know, copy it because it is so different for us. And so it should be, we should do it differently. Just because that's how it's always been done doesn't mean it's the right way. So men naturally share business, they share life, so much more than we do as women, you know, at the gym, at the football in the corporate boxes, whatever it is, they share their tips about business, they share what they're doing, and they just talk more about it more openly. However, women are different. Most women business owners, I know are insular. One, they just don't have time to be out socializing like that. They don't spend as much time at social functions in, you know, whether it's in business world or just with their friendship group. And women can also hold things pretty tight to their chest, whether that's for fear of judgment. Because we know that sometimes these female dominated industries can be bitchy. And so we tend to hold things in. And that's why I think that it's so important that we're getting out and were, you know, creating a community because it doesn't have to be like that. It doesn't have to be that hard. You know, it, there's no reason that we need to keep it like that. Last week, we had the dance principles United Summit. And one of the big things that came up again and again, is that there is room in the world for all of our studio owners. So many studios run completely different programs,

we attract a different tribe of people. And that's great. They're, you know, there's no right or wrong way to do it. And there's room in the industry for all of us. So why not support each other, why not build each other up and be there for each other. And let's make it a little bit easier, and a little bit more fun. Because we're not in competition, we can be completely different to the studio that is 200 meters down the road, we can attract someone different. And we all have our own ideal customer. So why not? Let's just join together and join our forces together and make it easier. And that's what we're on a mission to do at dance principles United is to join together and support one another. So I read recently in a Forbes article that 2% of female owned businesses ever hit the million dollar revenue mark. That just blew my mind 2% Only a female founded businesses hit the million dollar revenue Mark, we need to change that we need to support women in business to achieve the goals they want to achieve. And it's so much easier to do that when they can see examples of other people who are just like them, who are wives who are mothers, who are other females in the industry achieving those goals. I am so proud that we hit seven figures in our business probably seven or eight years ago. And you know, at the time, I was embarrassed to share that I've got to be honest. And I kept that pretty close to my chest for quite a long time. Because you know, that same thing we get told not to talk about money as women, we get told that, you know, it's not polite, that no one likes someone who big notes themselves, we've all been told that probably as creatives, we've all been told to quieten down a little bit, not be quite so loud. But you know what, men amplify that they are so excited, they pump each other up for that. And that's why we're only seeing 2% of women hit those seven figures. So I'm on a mission to change that I want to be an example, for my three daughters, to my you know, 25 female staff, and to the 1000s of girls who have been through my studio, I want to create a community that empowers women, to dream bigger and know that there's no limit on what you can do. I was so lucky growing up to have my mum as a role model. You know, most of my, my friends mums were stay at home mums at the time, you know, it was a long time ago. And that was predominantly in our area, most of the mums were stay at home mums. However, my mom owned quite a few businesses growing up, always in male dominated industries. And she kicked us she always did so well, she was so proud that she was always beating the men. But that came with its challenges. I know that she, you know, went through at the time, you know, a lot of sexist comments, a lot of men that were horrible and degrading to her as well. But I always saw her as this role model and this this kick-ass powerful woman, and what I wanted to be, and I hope that I can start being that to other women as well in our community, because we need that example. We need to know what's possible for us otherwise, how are we going to achieve our goals? You know, I chat to a lot of women owned businesses, both in my local community, I just tend to chat to women, business owners everywhere I go, as well as online. And I so often get asked about how I managed to do it all by myself.

The answer is I don't, I don't do it by myself. It takes a team, it takes a village. You know, being a business owner is lonely as hell. You know, you often hear that entrepreneurship is lonely. But it's not till you are really in it that you get that you really understand. On top of that, the faster you grow, the more lonely it gets. It can be rough, and you know, I've had my ups and downs, my trials and tribulations and I've had some really shit times being a business owner, as I'm sure you guys have to, there's been a lot of tears. But you know, it can. It's a combination of so many things, you know, often your friends just don't get it. And it's not because they're not great friends, but it's just how it naturally happens. You know, they don't get that you can't go out to that dinner, or that you didn't return the phone call. And it's not because you're being a dick, and you don't want to be their friend anymore. But because you have your head down, and you're solely focused on building your business. You know, people don't always understand the stress that comes with it as well. And it can affect our personal lives. You know, and as studio owners, we are all invested in our business. I don't know any studio owner that's not thinking about their business 24/7. And it's because we're not only, you know, invested in our business, but we're invested in the lives of our students, and we want them to succeed. We want them to grow into these amazing humans, and it's taking every single ounce of us and we're putting it straight back into our business. But it can be rough and it can be lonely. You know, people don't always understand the stress that comes with it as well. And it can definitely affect our personal lives. You know, not only is being a business owner, you know, lonely in that regard. But even more so when there's a crisis. You know when something happens when we have a staff member quit, or when something isn't working, and you know that the buck stops with you. You're the one that has to make all the decisions. And it can be incredibly lonely not having anyone to go through that with you. But you don't have to do it alone. And that's what I want my take on what your takeaway to be from today's podcast is you don't have to do it alone. Business is so much more fun. When you build a community around you. You know, you need a community of women and like minded business owners, that can be there to help support you through those hard decisions, and build you up. And sometimes just hear you when you want to vent or have a bitch because sometimes we just need to do that. And we need someone that gets it. There are so many communities that you can join. And if you haven't joined a community, yet, I highly recommend that you do that, you know, there's big huge, you know, women, entrepreneur, companies and communities like you know, something like business chicks, which is incredible. I'm a member of business chicks. And I do love that. There's organizations you know, in terms of if it's a syllabus organization, or a program organization, there's, you know, women's specific communities. And then there's more specific dance studio owner, owner communities as well. I'm, of course biased to the dance principles, United tribe, you know, we are all about building each other up and supporting each other. But regardless of which community you find, you need one that works for you. You need a community of business owners and friends that can support you and be there for you. I'm so proud that in the dad's principles, United tribe, so many people have found their business besties, you know, people that they can reach out to, in a crisis, ask for help, ask for a little bit of advice for and just be there to catch up. You know, there were three women recently who told me that they've been competitors for 20 years, but are now having monthly breakfasts, because they've met through the tribe, and oh, my gosh, that just makes my life so happy. Because they've said they don't know why they were competitors. They're, you know, they're 510 minutes apart. But there's, they're in a huge saturated area, there is no reason why they need to be competitors. And one of them message me saying they had the best time at their, you know, monthly lunch, because it was so great just to get together and chat with people that get it because not everybody gets it. Being a dance studio owner can be tough, and we need people that get it. So not only do you need your community, but you also need mentors, whether it's through mentorship or masterminds, or whatever have you, you know, it is so so important to also have a business advisor that can give you advice when you need it, that can tell you which track to move forward on. You know, I've been able to grow. By having amazing mentors, I've had mentors in my business for a long time, you know, the first one being my mom. And you know, that has allowed me to scale and grow my business to where I want it to be. But I've always had that support around me. But you know, there's not only the business communities, we definitely need that business community, with women or other studio owners that just get our world that get how hard it can be to be juggling studio owner life with mom life with, you know, being a partner, being a friend, being a daughter, all those things. But you don't just need that you need a team, you need your team around you, a team that believes in your vision, you know, most of you have a vision to make an impact on your student's life. And you want to do incredible things in your studio. And you want people that are going to rally around you and support you through that mission. And you know, that is why it is so important to build an incredible team. So you're not alone. It is so much more fun with people around you. My team is absolutely everything. I'm so lucky to have them on board with me at my studio, I would not be able to grow and scale without them. But you know, what you need to do is you need to let them in. You need to share with them your vision, your goals, you know what's coming up and what you want of them. Because so many studio owners keep it close to their chest. They're worried that that teacher is going to leave and open a studio down the road, or whatever that is for them. And they don't share with them what they want to achieve and what they want to grow in their studio. But you know what? If you don't share it with them, it's going to do you more harm than good? Because having that team around you is absolutely everything. So if nothing else I Absolutely, absolutely suggest that you, you know, have a meeting with your team and talk to them about where you want your studio to go in five years time in 10 years time, what you want people to feel like when they walk into your studio, and the vision, you have to create, you know, the studio of your dreams and make sure that they understand your vision, and they're on board with your vision, so that they can help support you and help your studio grow into exactly what you want it to be.

And lastly, you know, we need that team, we need that business owner community, but you also need your friends and your family to support you in a life outside of business. Because if it's business only, you're going to get burnt out real quick. And I've been there I've done that, I need to check myself quite often because I do find myself slipping back into that all the time. So you know, it is so important that you still have those friends and those family and that support around you. So that you can get away from it being all about business sometimes, you know, you can enjoy some quality time with your friends and your family. You know, I have young children and making sure that I spend quality time with my young children is absolute paramount, where I'm not spending time with them. But also, you know, checking my phone, thinking about what's happening at the studio, thinking about what's happening in dance principals, united, you know, all of those things, I need to make sure that my time with my kids is quality time. And I would suggest that you make sure that you're allowing enough time in your week to spend some quality time with your friends and family as well. Because if not, you're going to get burnt out and you can't, you know, support anyone, you can't be the best business owner, you can't be the best teacher, the best studio owner, you can't lift those students up that you want to if you're burnt out, because you burning out doesn't help anybody. So you know, I am so all about that, you know, entrepreneurship can be lonely, but you need to get a circle of people around you a big circle of people that are cheering for you. And if your circle aren't the ones cheering the loudest, it's time to find a new circle. Because you want those people who are going to build you up and support you. And be so proud of every single thing that you do. But also be there when times are tough, and you need them to lift you back up. You don't need to go it alone, find yourself a business bestie lift each other up. I would love to see more women hitting that 2% Club, the 2% of women that finally hit the million dollar revenue mark. But we need to do it together. Have you heard the saying if you want to go fast, go alone. And if you want to go far go together. That's what we need to do. We need to lift each other up. We need to amplify each other's voices. So we can all be role models, to our daughters and to our dance students so they can see what is possible in the world. If you have loved this show, we so ask you to leave us a review because that's how we grow or like or share or tag us on social media on your story. Because that's how we can reach a bigger audience. Make sure you get your circle around you. Make sure you're starting to find your people to lift you up. I hope you have an amazing Monday. Thank you so much for joining me

 

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