Take your next steps in entrepreneurship with these 3 tips from Sara Alter, Founder and CEO of The Moment Group.
The Moment Group is a business consulting agency supporting mom entrepreneurs throughout their business journey. From early stage start-ups to mid-size brands, they efficiently offer services across 12 business functions, all under one roof. From copywriting to website design to financial planning, they have cover it all. You just found your dream team!
With two decades of entrepreneurship under my belt, I’ve talked and listened to hundreds of business owners as they share their strengths, weaknesses, excitement, fears, and everything in between. The success stories of women entrepreneurs are hands down the most inspiring. Why? Because we know how much they overcame to make it all work.
I don’t think we need statistics to tell us how many moms leave the workforce after having children. Just look around your group of friends and the answer will be clear. You had a career before you had kids, but if you stepped away to focus on family life, the most talked about question is most likely popping up on the regular: when the time feels right, what do I do next?!
It’s often during the pauses and shifts in motherhood when new ideas about career emerge. For so many women, those ideas lean towards entrepreneurship.
On a recent podcast, Jane Fonda described looking at her life in acts. The first act is childhood and adolescence. The second act being middle age and parenthood. The third is becoming an empty nester through the end of the show.
Welcome to your second act!
What do you want it to look like? What do you want to accomplish? If entrepreneurship seems enticing, as it does for many moms in this stage of life, you’ve come to the right place.
3 ACTIONS ITEMS TO SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
1. Pursue a Problem
In order to find success with a new business venture, you need to make sure you’re pursuing a problem that needs solving. By responding to the pain points and challenges faced by your potential customers, and factoring in issues you yourself have experienced, your business can offer a solution that meets your customer’s needs.
Responding to a problem or unmet need is the best approach regardless of whether the business is product-based or service-based, brick-and-mortar or online. Figure out the ways your business will provide value that your customers can’t find in the marketplace as it exists today.
2. Survey the Scene
I believe in the benefits of early-stage research, surveys, and consumer feedback before you settle firmly on your business concept.
Gathering information from friends, family, and potential customers in your target market, will help you better understand their needs, preferences, and pain points.
These perspectives can help you refine your business idea, validate your concept, and increase your chances of success before you commit to a less-than-ideal strategy.
Before I started my consulting business I created a list of questions about my potential services and pricing. I emailed those questions to a handful of friends in my target market, gathered their answers, and built their feedback into my launch strategy.
You might not expect, or like, what you hear, but crowdsourcing feedback provides is deeply valuable [deleted the next bit].
Talk to people you trust, have them sign NDAs if you’re concerned about confidentiality (I’ve done this too!) and start refining your strategy.
3. Craft your Credentials
There’s no one else in the world with your precise mix of experience, expertise, credentials, and background.
Your job is to figure out where and how that background offers you a competitive advantage—a set of skills that makes you the best person to run the business you’re deciding to run.
When you communicate the fit between who you are and your business, your customers are far more likely to support, trust and buy from you.
Write down your credentials, making sure not to leave off anything that might be even loosely relevant. If you find you need extra skills, continuing education, or support to move forward, now is the perfect time to get started.
By taking these steps in the early planning stages of your business, you will have the clarity to create, communicate and deliver products and services that people want and need.
The days as a mom can feel LONG, but life is short. Believe in yourself, take the risk, and create a second act worthy of a standing ovation!
Written by: Sara Alter – You can find Sara at The Moment Group @the.moment.group on Instagram or www.themomentgroup.co
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