8 Questions for All Women Entrepreneurs

I've realized for a while that this article (and possibly book) needed to be written - it's been percolating in my head for quite some time. Maybe the content is nothing new to you, especially if you're already making what you want out of your business, but my take on it may be. I've been told I'm too blunt, but I want you to really think about your approach to business, life, and your future. So take a few minutes and be prepared for some hard questions.

1) Do you know what it takes to be in business for yourself?

It's impossible to put people into categories, but there are more men than women that are brought up being taught how to conduct business. For those women who were not, starting their own business is a scary, mysterious, almost mystical thing. They don't know where to start, who to talk to, the steps they need to follow, or the (many) different functions they need to fill to have a successful business. It took me years to figure it out and I worked in my father's printing business since I was 14. I went on sales calls with him, I worked with customers and learned good design practice but there was so much I didn't learn, because I wasn't paying attention at the time.

2) Do you know how to say "No"?

I think, looking back, that my father didn't take every customer that walked in the door. He would talk to anyone, but he could judge who was going to be a good, paying customer and who wasn't. He didn't let the negative suck up his time, but he worked very hard to satisfy the customers that he knew would provide what he needed to do the job and then would pay for it. He didn't bring work home and he always took time for himself. When he was ready to retire, he sold his business and had enough money to do whatever he wanted and then to take care of his family. He played golf until he was almost 90 years old.

3) Do you want to retire comfortably without having to depend on anyone else?

If you don't have your own business, you have nothing to sell to retire on. You are dependant on a pension or retirement funds that have practically gone away in the last few years. So I never thought twice about going to work for myself right out of college. It was never a question. My problem was that I wasn't building up a business I could sell for many years. I was doing consulting for Fortune 500 companies, making good money, driving nice cars, living in nice homes, but never creating a business focused on a single market.

4) Do you know your business?

This is a different question than #1. Every business requires that you know the laws pertinent to your business, basic accounting, networking, sales, how to present proposals, close the deals, work with the client on a timeline, complete the work, do the customer training, and then do the follow up with invoicing and keeping in touch to make sure the customer is still happy with what you did or are doing for them. But what else do you need to know to excel at your business? Why would someone choose you over another organization? You have to believe in yourself before someone else will. Facts really help on this one.

5) Do you know how to track your contacts and sales?

You have to keep track of your contacts and follow through with everyone you meet. This requires a lot of time along with the right software that can analyze your sales campaigns and advertising through to conversions. You should also keep track of how much of your business comes from referrals. If you're doing it right, this could be a large percentage of your business. I use software that allows anyone, including sales men and women, to sign up and provide referrals for a percentage of sales - it works well.

6) Do you know every possible outcome of every transaction?

1. Are you using contracts? You should never enter into any transaction without a contract checked out by a good business atto
ey. Make sure that you cover every contingency. This will take some time as you discover there are always new and exciting ways that people will find to screw you.

2. Does it cover the development process? Are your customers required to give you information or product (or anything else) for you to do your job and meet your timelines?

3. Does it have penalties for non-cooperation or non-payment?

4. Does it have discounts for pre-payment?

5. Do you get enough down before you start a job to cover your expenses?

7) Are you taking care of yourself?

Everyone knows you should take time for yourself, but not everyone knows or wants to face the fact that exercise is critical in keeping your mind alert and your body functioning. There is no substitute.

8) What are your goals? Are they realistic? What is realistic?

My opinion is that realistic is whatever you want it to be. But you have to have it in writing. It may be sales, it may be dollars per year, it may be number of customers, but no matter how you judge success, a business plan makes you face the facts. You need to know that your goals are realistically attainable.

Point in fact, I've seen too many women flounder for months and even years, trying to decide if they should jump in there and start their own business. It's certainly not for everyone - the hours are rough and you can count on not making any money for some time. How long is up to your type of business, but no business is without start-up and maintenance costs. You should have enough money saved to cover at least a year's expenses or possibly a partner (or family member) to support you while you begin. You should never go without health insurance for any length of time, not even one day.

But, back to the beginning, if you want to retire with enough to live on without depending on the stock market or the real estate market, you need to have a viable business to sell. You need to get it valuated by an outside party every year to see if your business is worth what you think it is. I tried to buy into a small company where the owners were ready to retire and when I told them their worth to me was the average of the last three years sales, they decided the business wasn't for sale. I knew they were asking too much for it, but I had to make them realize it. You should always be aware of your worth and what kind of retirement it will allow you to have.

Two more things that are critical to business. Get and keep everything you do in writing with any documentation that you can add. A good Job Tracking system can help with that. The other is to provide ongoing customers with a way that they can reach you immediately without totally disrupting your day and your plans. The best way I've found is a Help Desk that will alert the ones responsible when there is a problem via both email and text messaging. Your customers/clients need to know you care about them.

I have many, many examples and stories of the types of people to stay away from, but the most important are the negative ones and the ones that can't say "No". I'm not sure which is worse.

If you have any thoughts or examples that you'd like to add, I would appreciate your feedback. I would like to expand this into a book and I'd like to know if there is enough interest in this subject.

Cassara Systems, Inc. specializes in web based CRM software including Contact Management, Sales Tracking and Analysis, Help Desk and Job Tracking with low set-up fee and low monthly cost. We are also top producers of Internet Marketing results.

Dawn Cassara, Presidentnhttp://www.cassarasystems.com
dc@cassarasystems.com