Get inspired this year on International Woman’s Day
From business consultants and life coaches to small bakery owners and start-up CEOs, to side-hustlers and everything in between, more women are taking the digital lane to achieve entrepreneurial success.
And while the old adage ‘take the leap and the net will appear’ can spur entrepreneurs to take action, every woman knows planning and preparation is the key to ensuring success.
Firstly, you’re in the right place; in 2021, out of 47 countries surveyed, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor* survey found that the Saudi Arabia has the most supportive environment for entrepreneurship and the highest score for empowering female entrepreneurs to start businesses and become entrepreneurs.
For those of you who know you want to start your own business, who have been nurturing an idea and are now researching the tools and methods to make it a reality, you’ll no doubt be considering all the factors and opportunities you’ll need to take advantage of.
To help you use this year’s International Women’s Day as inspiration to get their journey off to a great start, Selina Bieber, General Manager, MENA, GoDaddy shared six key actions to consider:
Lifelong Learning: Owning and running a successful business requires life-long learning and entrepreneurs must learn to move and adapt to a fast-moving business world, to both survive and capitalise on their early successes. Surround yourself with people and chances to learn and build your armory of tools to help get your business – and yourself – through any eventuality. Take advantage of the many great resources available both online through virtual classes, development and learning, as well as in-person sessions, workshops and lectures in the Kingdom. Take a look at Monshaat Academy – the Kingdom’s leading knowledge resource platform for start-ups and entrepreneurs at https://academy.monshaat.gov.sa/.
- Build a diverse support network: Many entrepreneurs are driven individuals, but it’s human nature and a very wise business attitude to have a supportive network or team around you. Seeking support, wisdom and a trusted sounding-board to help you through the first steps of running a business can be invaluable, harnessing diverse thinking and lived experience that helps you look at the obstacles you’ll face and overcome in a number of different ways.
- Become more agile: Now more than ever, and particularly as we emerge from the global pandemic, there’s even more need to be nimble and make critical business decisions with few certainties and with little time. Learn how to think fast and be on your feet, how to avoid getting bogged down and how to go with your instinct, or call on your trusted support team to quickly bounce ideas off before you take the plunge with a tricky issue.
- Just ask the difficult questions: You won’t know the answers to everything that comes your way, and the fear of that might hold you back from doing the right thing. But an attitude of being able to ‘just ask the question’ can be a huge asset to keep you moving. As you start to slowly, but surely, build up your knowledge of what your business needs, and the actions you need to take, you’ll grow in confidence and learn that few things need to stand in your way. Seek experts – whether that’s family members, friends, Facebook groups in related topics, or pick up the phone and talk to someone who’s been there and done it already.
- Dream real, but dream big too: You started your business because you have a big dream that is close to your heart, a vision you want to see realised. But the realities of life may get in the way. Your passion, your story, and how you share it, can have a big impact to inspire others to join you to make it happen. Ask yourself; what motivated you to start this venture in the first place and what you wish to achieve. Have realistic goals, but grand ambitions – and take good people along with you.
- Have a strong online presence: Your audience, customers and influencers are online, so you need to be there too. Create your own exposure, interact and listen to your customers and build and maintain relationships with those who will buy into your idea and product. It’s easy to get started – take some simple steps to build your online presence with a website, even if it is just one page to get started. Register your business’ domain name and use a website builder tool from companies like GoDaddy, which gives you templates, tools and resources that help you make a great impact and take the pain out of getting your digital platform up and running. Now it’s time to start cultivating and building your digital presence with your website and integrated with an online store and engaging through social media posts, and further developing your website with blogs and digital marketing.
So, is 2022 International Women’s Day the day you decide to build your own venture online?