She's That Founder: Business Strategy and Time Management for Impactful Female Leaders

024 | 5 Myths that Stop Women from Starting Businesses & Becoming Female Leaders

• Dawn Andrews • Episode 24

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Why haven't you started your own business yet? 

Is it a matter of time? Is it a matter of thinking you're qualified? Is it a matter of money? It could be security or feeling overwhelmed and not knowing what's necessary to get started.  

There are so many reasons that women don't start businesses. Most of them are myths, and we will bust them today.  

In this episode:

  • Uncover the misconceptions preventing women from stepping into the world of entrepreneurship.
  • Grasp the fundamentals of funding necessities for women-owned businesses.
  • Recognize the significance of enthusiasm over conventional business education.
  • Tackle the art of balancing entrepreneurial ventures with full-time jobs and self-nurturing.
  • Triumph over self-doubt and bolster business confidence.


This episode at a glance:

[03:29] At the time I decided to leave my corporate career, there was nothing that would have indicated I would be where I am today - which is generating high six figures in revenue, making so much more than my previous corporate salary 

[04:15] To make a difference for others and not feel like I was just a small part of somebody's larger plan. And sometimes even an invisible part in someone's much larger plan. 

[11:07] Successful businesses,  in this space in the small business space usually are looking at a common pain point or need in the market rather than reinventing the wheel.

[14:50] Everyone who starts a business learns as they go because they've never started a business before. Once you've had one or sold one and started a new one. Then maybe you do things differently. 

[18:01] There are lots of options for getting your business up and started. Don't let a narrow prescriptive view of how you think it's supposed to go or that there's a right way for it to go stop you from getting started.  


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My Good Woman
Ep. 24 |  5 Myths that Stop Women from Starting Businesses

Dawn Andrews:

Well, hello, my good woman. Welcome to another fresh episode of the podcast. And I'm about to just come right at you hot. Why haven't you started your own business yet? Why haven't you started your own business yet? 

Is it a matter of time? Is it a matter of thinking that you're qualified? Is it a matter of money? Maybe it's a matter of security or feeling overwhelmed and not knowing what's necessary to get started. It just feels too big. 

There are so many reasons that women don't start businesses. And most of them are myths, and we are going to bust them today. 

This episode is about busting the top five myths that stop women from starting our own damn businesses. 

If we haven't met yet, I'm Dawn Andrews, the founder and CEO of Free Range Thinking, a boutique business consultancy that helps service-based business owners and beyond with business growth strategy and leadership training. We help our clients go from founder to CEO to lead their businesses with the confidence that ensures future growth, big profits, and happy clients because successful companies start with inspired leadership. 

One specific group of people that I love to help are women who are in high-profile corporate gigs that want to leave and start their own businesses. But they're stuck. They're afraid to go for it. And so we're going to talk about that today. We're going to bust the myths that are keeping you trapped. 

Quiet quitting, silently suffering in your corporate job. When, you know, you've got what it takes to start your own business. And you know there's so much more out there for you than the reality that you're currently living day to day. So let's talk about it. 

I want you to know that I wouldn't be urging you on to start your own business if I hadn't already walked in the shoes I'm asking you to walk in. 22 years ago, I began Free Range Thinking, and I was completely unqualified to start a business, at least to the naked eye. 

I didn't have anything that most people associate with business success. I didn't have an MBA. I had no experience running a business. I didn't have a revolutionary idea. I had only worked in corporate. And yet I was excited to start a life coaching practice. And this was before the phrase life coach even was a real phrase.

In fact, it was even before being called a life coach became a joke on sitcoms on TV and then became a legitimate profession. That's how early it was. 

Once I figured out that I wanted to do this and didn't want to be in corporate anymore, it was like I was filled with the spirit. I could not be contained. I remember telling my grandfather, who had started his entrepreneurial career buying and flipping houses, that I was excited to launch this life coaching practice. He looked like my head had just flown off my shoulders. He could not understand what I was trying to accomplish and where I wanted to go. And he was deeply concerned about me leaving the safety, stability, and seeming predictability of my corporate career. 

At the time I decided to leave my corporate career, there was nothing that would have indicated I would be where I am today - generating high six figures in revenue, making so much more than my previous corporate salary and even the top earners in what would have been my career track. 

Making more than my husband's and my salary then. And having the freedom to drop my kids off at school. To leave and start work when I want. To exercise during the day, if I need to and to totally take off and binge-watch Netflix when I feel like it. 

The financial upside is glorious, and it's necessary. But it is more about the freedom and flexibility to run my days in a way that feels right and good for me. To be able to make a difference for other people. To not feel like I was just a smaller part of somebody's much larger plan. And sometimes even an invisible part in someone's much larger plan. 

But to be able to connect and see the difference made both in the eyes and through the conversations with my clients and the people that work with me and for me. Through my collaborators. And then through the results that are created in the real world. 

And I also love being able to bet on myself. It can be nerve-wracking, to be sure. But being employed is nerve-wracking these days. We are no longer in an era where you park at a company for 20 years, collect a gold watch, and go home. That's just simply not the way things work. 

Change is inevitable. Being let go from your job is highly likely. And in the world we're living in post-pandemic, things are already flexible anyway. This is why the great resignation has happened and why quiet quitting is such a thing. Why not bet on yourself? 

So clearly, I feel very strongly about owning your own business. If you're somebody that wants to chart your own course, that values your freedom and flexibility, that wants to have an incredible financial upside or at least the possibility of that. There's no better way to do that than starting your own business. 

So, let's break down what's getting in your way and how you can get some support to speed through the process of getting your business on its feet and earning income and giving you that flexibility you're looking for. 

Here are the five myths that stop women from starting businesses. 

MYTH #1 — starting a business requires a lot of money. 

I can understand why this myth feels real. Most examples we see are unicorn companies like Airbnb or Uber or, you know, really unique companies that have gotten started. They're receiving hundreds, you know, millions or hundreds of millions in funding. And I can totally appreciate those examples. That's extremely intimidating. 

However. Most businesses started by women are small service-based businesses funded out of our own pockets. 

In 2019, pre-pandemic, AMEX did a study on the state of women-owned businesses. It was called the State of Women-Owned Businesses Report. They found that the number of women-owned businesses grew 21% over the five years prior. And the majority of those businesses were started with less than $10,000 in startup capital, out of your pocket. 

A 2017 study by SCORE found that women entrepreneurs were more likely than men to start businesses with less than $5,000 in startup capital. And they were also more likely to use personal savings to finance their businesses. 

Free Range Thinking was started with $2,000 in savings and a small severance package. It was scary. It was a nail-biter. But I figured it out, and you can too. And depending upon the kind of business that you're starting, there may be grants or loans or crowdfunding that is an option. 

You'll find the best way for you. But this goes back to that betting on yourself option. The easiest way to get started with the least number of hoops to jump through is diving into your own pocket. 

That gives you the space to focus on leveraging your skills, knowledge, and other resources to start small and build over time. 

MYTH #2– I need extensive business experience to start a business.

I get it. And this one drives me bananas. And I think the reason it makes me so crazy is because it's a distinction that I see between men who start businesses and women who start businesses. Men start businesses almost on bravado alone. They sell an idea, and they bullshit and fake it until they make it. 

Women feel like they need to be pretty, polished, and perfect, have all of the answers, have everything planned, and all their ducks in a row before they take the first step. And true confessions. I know that in the first four years of my business, my earnings were significantly hampered because that's how I operated. 

I wanted to have everything perfect. And to do it the right way and have all the answers before I took any steps. And it slowed me down significantly. And the more ridiculous part is why on earth would I have any of those right answers? I'd never been there done that before. 

Just sidebar nugget. Like this is the $5,000 nugget in this podcast today. The sooner as a potential business owner. You are willing to take a risk, make a mess, clean it up, make it better, and start the whole process over again, the shorter your timeline between where you are now and six figures. Truth. 

Business is an iterative process. This is not brain surgery like an emergency 9 1 1 television show. Yes, I get that you're considering leaving a job and switching up what you perceive to be your financial security to start your business. But business is iterative. It's “start it, fix it, improve it, do it again, fix it, improve it, do it again.” 

And men seem less uncomfortable doing that than women do. So let's close the belief gap between I need extensive business experience and I'm starting a business. The greatest things that are required to start a business are creativity, passion, and a reasonably decent idea that people want to pay for. And those qualities aren't necessarily tied to extensive business experience. Most successful entrepreneurs start their businesses based on passion and interests. 

They've learned the necessary business, sales, and marketing skills along the way. You have to be courageous enough to believe that you deserve to have freedom, to make more money, and to have the [00:10:00] flexibility of running a business that is exciting to you. Okay. Let's talk about

 MYTH #3 – I need a unique idea to start a business.

You may need a unique idea to sell your company for $1 billion. But if we look at HELLO SUNSHINE, if we look at Kylie Jenner. I mean, Kylie Jenner is in the beauty space. That is not a unique idea. What's unique is Kylie Jenner and the personal brand and family name that she's built it on. If you look at HELLO SUNSHINE, it's in the arts and media space, but what's unique is Reese Witherspoon. 

So, the ideas themselves are common. It's the approach that was unique. If you'd like to start a small, service-based business that pays more than what you're making now in your corporate gig, gives you flexibility, freedom and fun, and the opportunity for growth - business and personal growth, and consistency. You just need a reasonably good idea and a good sense of yourself. 

What you're looking for is a business idea that already exists that you can deliver in some unique way and possibly better than your competition is delivering it. Successful businesses in the small business space usually look at a common pain point or need in the market rather than reinventing the wheel. So if you've been stuck getting started because you're trying to find that needle in a haystack moment, let that go and think about what bugs you the most. Where are you annoyed? 

 I like to call it Mrs. Betterway. When you look at that situation, you're like; there's definitely a better way of getting that done. And if you see the better way to get it done. And it's an area you feel strongly about, 

Focus on a common problem or pain point and provide a unique solution in a way that people care about.  I get that, that might be a little easier said than done, but it's a hell of a lot easier than trying to come up with a unicorn of an idea and raise hundreds of millions of dollars from a venture capitalist. 

And especially if it's slowing you down from leaving your corporate job, that you don't want to be in any way. So that we can blast this myth off the map. Here are a few ways that you can take what might be a very simple idea and do it differently. Look at that common problem or pain point. And what is your unique solution? What is special about you or how you see the problem or the solution that will help you innovate? 

Is there a new or unique way to deliver that solution? Does anyone remember when they started doing rockstar band camps? Some people were very excited to meet rockstars or to be able to learn to play instruments and play in a band that we're never going to be touring musicians. And so they went to band camp. They got to play with their favorite musicians. They got to learn how to play their favorite instruments and fulfill their dreams of being a rockstar. That's a unique way of delivering a solution, or even right now, J-Lo is partnering up with Richard Branson and Virgin Cruises to be able to provide self-improvement self-empowerment workshops for women along with self-care, a unique delivery system. 

I know I'm giving you big people in big businesses, but what's the small version you can do in your backyard? You may narrow your niche. 

We have a doggy daycare service that we used to use. And they focus specifically on entertainment clients. They understood the crazy schedules of people working in entertainment that sometimes they would be leaving very early, out very late, or going for multiple weeks at a time and then dropping in for a day. 

They would organize drop-off and pickup and even visitation with the pets so that people could maintain their connection. They would have zooms with the pets. They had a live stream feed so that people could see their pets. They sent out messages every day. That is a small business doing something unique for a particular group of people because they understand the pain points and challenges. 

This is something that you can do. It's not about the unique idea. It's about the uniqueness of how you deliver it. 

MYTH #4 — I need a formal education in business to start a business. 

I like to call this the fear and conditioning myth. And we might be back to the right answer thing a little bit. We feel there's a right or wrong way to start and run a business. There are best practices—things that make things easier, things that help you make sales faster and earn more. 

But most of those things are very basic. They don't require a formal fancy education to get started. 

For those of us, especially those over 40, we grew up believing we could complete a formal education and enter the workforce. The better our education, the better the outcome for our careers. I get it. And it's not necessarily true when it comes to entrepreneurship, especially small business entrepreneurship. 

Everyone who has started a business is learning as they go because they've never started a business before. Once you've had one or sold one and started a new one. Then maybe you do things differently. 

Even people who have completed an MBA still may never have run a business. And I'm sure we all know what it's like when you've had a textbook education, and then you go out and live your real life. There's so much more than the world teaches you that you can't learn inside an educational institution. 

Entrepreneurship is one of those great equalizing opportunities. So, how do we fill the gap between feeling like you need a formal education and starting and running your own business? 

The University of Google. Nearly everything you need to know to start and run a business is online. If there are specific technical questions, you can find the answers online. 

From there, you can look at what your transferable skills are. If you've worked in other industries and other roles- marketing, and sales, maybe you've been a project manager. Maybe you've been in customer service. All those skills are hugely valuable when you bring them over into your business. 

And then, of course, you have podcasts. Like the one, you're listening to. There can be short courses or workshops. Online training, webinars, masterminds, which you'll hear more about later. And then you have friends and family members who may have walked this path before you that can give you answers, mentorship, or guidance. Whatever you might be missing. 

You're surrounded by resources. You don't need to know it all in advance. Like I mentioned before. Learning on the job entrepreneurship is a process of continuous learning and growth. Most successful entrepreneurs learn their skills on the job through trial and error, mentorship, and networking. Venture capital firms often hire me. And by startup founders who have had great ideas but needed to learn how to run their businesses. And they are learning on the job with me helping to mentor them. Myth number five that stops women from starting businesses. 

MYTH #5 –The belief that I need to work full-time on my business from day one. 

Well, that's super limiting. Most women that I know that have started small businesses started small. They maintain their full-time job. They started validating their idea and began learning how to sell it on the side so that they didn't have to quit their job immediately. And as the business grew, they eventually transitioned out of their role. 

Another approach women have taken that I've helped start businesses is to build the business on paper while they were saving their jump money. They worked at their full-time positions so that they had some runway once they left their job. And by the time they left their job, they already had a plan in place for how they were going to launch the business. 

You don't need to work on your business full-time from day one, but you do need to prioritize your time and set aside specific times for working on your business, the design of your business, and the plan for your business. And then, make sure that you schedule time for self-care and personal priorities as well. That's always a juggle for us. 

And you can gradually transition as your business grows and becomes profitable. You can potentially reduce your hours at your day job and focus more on your business. When I was laid off, I first turned myself back into a contractor for the business that I left. They became my first client. 

There are lots of options for getting your business up and started. Don't let a narrow prescriptive view of how you think it's supposed to go or that there's a right way for it to go stop you from getting started. So now that we've busted these myths about starting a business. Are you feeling excited to start your own? Are you feeling a little overwhelmed about where to start and what steps to take first? Don't worry. I got you covered. 

If you are a female corporate executive director level and above looking to launch a service-based business and consistently hit 10K months and beyond. 

I'm inviting you to join the wait list for the executive transition mastermind. This is a pilot program. You would be the first through the door to join the six-month virtual program designed specifically for women like you who want to leverage your skills, talents, and relationships to build a successful business. 

The mastermind provides the guidance, support, and resources you need to make a smooth and successful transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship with your own service-based small business. 

By joining the waitlist. You'll be the first to know when the program opens for enrollment and have exclusive access to early bird pricing and bonuses. 

So, what are you waiting for? 

I asked you if you were ready to start your business. 

Join the waitlist now by visiting the link in the show notes and take the first step towards creating the business and life you have always dreamed of. I can't wait to see you there. 

Thanks again for spending precious time with me and for investing in yourself. 

I'm so glad to have you as my listener for this episode of my good woman. 

Thank you for joining me this week. To view the complete show notes and all the links mentioned in today's episode, visit mygoodwoman.com. And before you go, follow or subscribe to the podcast to receive fresh episodes when they drop. And if you're enjoying my Good Woman, leave us a review on Apple Podcast reviews are one of the major ways that Apple ranks their pods.

So even though it takes only a few seconds, it does make a difference and helps our show grow. This episode was produced by Julissa Ramirez and me. Thank you again for joining me, Dawn Andrews, in this episode of My Good Woman.