6 Female Entrepreneurs Share How They Overcame Their Fears to Succeed in Business
The following post is from Nekutta Capbell’s website, which defines itself as: My Mission
Nothing makes me happier than helping women build and grow a profitable business they’re passionate about, using strategies that fit their introverted personalities.
Seeing my clients communicate their value, grow in confidence, and create the life they dream of, without feeling like they have to be loud, pushy, or change their ways, is the reason I’m here.
Because I know you don’t have to be loud to be successful. But you do need to be visible and connect with the right people.
Fear is a major factor when starting a business.
No successful entrepreneur would say they started their business without any fear and with absolute confidence.
However, as the saying goes: you don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great!
So, how do you face your fears and start a business?
Recently, on my blog, I’ve been analyzing some of the biggest fears new entrepreneurs have when starting a new business and have set out to offer helpful tips for overcoming them.
But today I’m excited to share something truly impactful with you: real-life examples from six successful female entrepreneurs living in Switzerland.
You’re about to:
– learn what it takes to overcome your fears and succeed in business,
– gain new perspectives on what it’s really like to run your own business,
– gain new inspiration, and
– be encouraged by the advice and experiences of women who have been in your same situation, taken the plunge into entrepreneurship, and never looked back.
Grab your coffee, notebook, and pen, and get ready for an inspiring read!
Successful women share how they overcame their fears to start their own business. Prepare to be inspired!
Tulia Lopes
Tulia Lopes – Europe’s leading expert in communication, public speaking, and leadership for women who want to stand out, speak clearly, and lead.
«Before starting my own business, my biggest fear was not succeeding. I think the fear of failure is present in most people, not just entrepreneurs.
«However, I did have one virtue: I’m quite resilient and determined (you could also consider it stubbornness :-o), so even though I was afraid, I knew I wouldn’t give up so easily.
I’ve learned that running a business isn’t a bed of roses, but rather a roller coaster! Tangible rewards often take much longer than expected to manifest.
It can also be a lonely road if you don’t surround yourself with people who share your entrepreneurial journey.
In addition, you have to learn to juggle many things at once, manage your personal and business life on different levels, and, very importantly, be prepared for continuous learning and investment in yourself, honing your skills.
«But overall, it’s worth it!»
I’ve learned that running a business isn’t a bed of roses, but rather a roller coaster. – Tulia Lopes. Read Tulia’s best advice for new entrepreneurs… Click to tweet.
Tulia’s best advice for new entrepreneurs.
To have a successful business, you need to start by developing clarity. You need to know where you want to go, what you want to achieve, and how you plan to do it. A business should be profitable; however, if you’re only driven by money, you won’t get very far.
At the beginning of your journey, I recommend asking yourself:
Clarity
Clarity: What do I want to contribute to the world? What impact do I want to create? Does my business idea align with my talents and values?
Assessment
Assessment:
– Where do I want to be with this business in the near future?
– Where am I right now? What resources do I already have?
– What resources do I need?
– Where will I find them?
– Who can help me with that?
– Who are my customers?
– Where can I find them?
Strategy
Strategy (Business Plan): Where am I going? And how do I plan to get there?
Once you have clarity and have assessed the type of business you want to develop, it’s time to create an action plan to get started and set clear goals and deadlines.
It’s been said that «we overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in three years…»
Ever since I heard that, I create my own business plans with a three-year goal. And I suggest you do the same.
Quoting Stephen R. Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People), «Begin with the end in mind.»
Once you’ve defined where you want to be in three years, work backward to identify the steps you need to take to get there.
The more specific and precise you are, the better.
Try to get to the point where you know that every small task you do today is part of the larger whole that will get you to your goal in three years. That’s incredibly motivating!
About Tulia
Tulia believes that communication and collaboration are key to developing and expanding any type of business and excelling in all walks of life.
She is an award-winning speaker, passionate about inspiring and empowering women and bringing greater diversity to stages around the world. Her annual event, the AWE Summit, gives women a voice and promotes collaborations and alliances.
Tulia is also the founder of Speak Up Lead Academy, a system focused on strengthening women’s confidence by developing their communication and leadership skills. She is also the author of Leading in High Heels, a step-by-step guide to help women assess their leadership skills and find techniques for further improvement.
Kristin Engvig
Kristin Engvig – CEO and Founder of WIN and WIN Conference
Perhaps the hardest thing for me when starting out was deciding which of my many ideas to choose. I was talked about so many projects, but I knew I had to choose just one, or I’d end up doing nothing!
I also wondered about funding my project, the loss of the security and status my job offered, and managing my workload.
I’m a hard worker, but I knew that as an entrepreneur, I would have to work on many things. I had business training, skills, and so on, but even so, when I took the leap—as I felt I did—it was a small step into an unknown future, and I had no idea how things would unfold.
However, I felt a deep commitment to creating a more feminine world by empowering women and connecting leaders, so I decided to found the Women’s International Network (WIN), a social enterprise and global conference to help women prepare for the future. My passion for this vision and my compassion for humanity have allowed me to dedicate myself to this cause for over 20 years. What I found interesting was that as I began my outward journey to create something new in the world, a more conscious inner journey was triggered.
I started with yoga, meditation, writing, and a lot of creative work through theater.
My conscious journey, which is still an ongoing process, began with taking the risk of starting something new, sharing my story, and promoting positive and sustainable change in the world, doing so from within.
This inner strength has helped me face the challenges of being a passionate pioneer and manage moments of stress.
Through WIN, I am leading a movement to promote feminine qualities in the workplace.
This wasn’t always well received, and I have received criticism, even from women.
Aware of how much this inner work has helped me, I begin every WINConference with a mindfulness exercise. This is very normal now, but at first, it was revolutionary.
With WINConference’s growth, I manage a global team that requires extraordinarily hard and meticulous work.
My biggest challenge today is maintaining my energy and personal balance.
I realize this is something I must consciously create, although my family and friends are a great help; they give me the opportunity to relax and enjoy a good laugh.
In retrospect, I think my biggest challenge has been the anxiety of not always knowing when the money will arrive, if the participants will join, etc.
I simply have to calculate and follow my intuition. As an entrepreneur, it’s essential to be in touch with your senses and trust them; we can’t know everything with traditional planning alone.
As an entrepreneur, it’s essential to be in touch with your senses and trust them; we can’t know everything with traditional planning alone. – Kristin Engvig, WIN. Click to tweet
Kristin’s Top Tips for New Entrepreneurs
Commit and then go for it. Keep in mind that you must be very dedicated to your cause; otherwise, it’s easy to give up when things get tough. That said, be sure to do your research before you start so you’re fully prepared and ready for success.
Get started! Prepare for a lot of hard work, which will grow along with your business. If you’ve chosen the right business and approach, this hard work won’t feel like an obligation, but rather a passion.
If you’re committed to staying in business for the long term, you also need to constantly find ways to learn, grow, and be creative. This will help you innovate, be inspired, and feel alive, even many years after starting your business.
If you’re committed to being in business for the long term, you need to continually find ways to learn, grow, and be creative. This will help you innovate, be inspired, and feel alive. – Kristin Engvig, #WINConference. Click to tweet.
About Kristin
Kristin has dedicated the last 20 years to women’s leadership and organizational change, inspiring others to create a world where business and society thrive, so that all people can prosper.
She is an expert in creativity, feminine and authentic leadership, and in creating incredible group learning experiences. She uses this experience to organize innovative conferences that offer deep learning experiences to promote lasting positive change.
Kristin is responsible for the design and coordination of the entire annual WIN Conference, as well as attracting the right participants. She is also actively involved on stage, sharing her own story and experience, and interviewing global leaders from multinational companies, NGOs, and the UN.
WIN’s flagship offering is the WIN Global Conference, which has contributed to the development of authentic and feminine leaders since 1998. To date, more than 1,000 scholarships to the event have been offered to women in developing countries.
The next WIN Conference will take place in Rome on September 26, 27, and 28.
Lynda Heffernan
High Performance and Mindset Coach and Founder of A Kaizen Mind
Lynda Heffernan – Millionaire Mindset Workshop
My biggest fear when starting my business was not having the necessary skills.
My key skills lie in person-centered coaching and designing and delivering coaching programs. However, I was keenly aware that other facets of business, such as finance and marketing, were essential.
Nevertheless, I was determined to start my own business and believed I had something unique to offer that would benefit many people. As my business grew and my budget increased, I was able to outsource these areas to professionals.
As a single mother, I’ve had to learn to balance my professional ambition with the demands of my first priority: taking care of my family and my health.
I have excellent coaches who have helped me develop the right processes at different stages to support this.
My days can be very different from one day to the next. But if you can embody the business, it moves forward with you. I believe having a growth mindset is also essential for success.
New entrepreneurs: When starting out, make sure you know what you want, what that would do for you, and then ask yourself what’s stopping you. – Lynda Heffernan
Lynda’s Top Tips for New Entrepreneurs
Keep your thinking simple and develop your plans from a few simple questions:
– What do I want?
– What will that do for me?
– What’s stopping me from achieving my goals? and…
– If you ever find yourself in a boardroom wearing your pink Hello Kitty slippers… keep going! (…and yes, that really happened to me!)
About Lynda
Lynda is an experienced international NLP and psychodynamic coach. A trained psychotherapist and behaviorist, she works primarily with executives, businesses, and individuals in Switzerland and the UK. She has developed two approaches: Conscious NLP and Cognitive Kaizen. She always works with one goal in mind: empowering each client to reach their full potential. She achieves this by exploring two key questions: What do you want? And what’s stopping you from achieving it?
Lynda has a unique ability to detect where and how a person limits themselves by listening carefully to their beliefs. Her clients identify their goals, create a structure to achieve them, and leave with tools that will serve them for life.
Lynda resides on the Swiss Riviera and is passionate about chocolate, snacks, and chicken.
Isabelle Litzler
Isabelle Litzler – Expat Career Specialist, Geneva
My biggest fears before starting a business were the lack of income and paying clients. I was also afraid of failure and having to return to the corporate world. Failure in Europe is not easy to deal with culturally.
Despite my fears, I was very motivated by the idea of not having a boss and being able to become my own project manager. Making my own decisions brought me great satisfaction.
I had developed my business plan during my master’s degree, although it took me a long time to launch it because I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.
There’s no right or wrong approach to starting your own business. Some people may be a little more spontaneous when starting a business, but I’m a very analytical person. I like to weigh options, compare them, and analyze them carefully.
As I said before, failure scared me, so I wanted to be well prepared for a successful launch. My planning and preparation also allowed me to avoid unpleasant surprises and weather the waves of shaky starts.
There’s no right or wrong approach to starting your own business. You have to follow your heart and do what feels right to you. – Isabelle Litzler.
Isabelle’s top tips for new entrepreneurs.
Be prepared: study your market and test your ideas. If you have doubts, start your business while you’re still working.
Surround yourself with like-minded people; this support is important and will help you in many ways.
Keep your expenses to a minimum.
About Isabelle
Isabelle is an expat career specialist based in Geneva, Switzerland. She is passionate about developing her clients’ skills and potential.
Bianca Kux
Switzerland’s Most Positive Strength Coach
Bianca Kux – Strength Coach, Zurich, Switzerland
I always dreamed of running my own business, but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to handle the complexity.
The to-do list was overwhelming: marketing, sales, accounting… I had no idea what it would be like to manage these important tasks.
It was like wondering what it’s like to be married. The truth is, you’ll never know until you take the first step.
What prompted me to start was my employment situation. I was lucky enough to have my dream corporate job as a trainer, but when the company I was working for was sold, the trainers were the first to be laid off. I was offered an alternative position, but it wasn’t one I was passionate about, so I decided to take a few months off and embark on my entrepreneurial journey.
At that point, I just took each step as it came. One thing that really helped me was having a business mentor from the beginning; she has guided me along the way and always helps me overcome any fears that arise. With her help, I’ve managed to stay the course, keep going, and enjoy the journey.
I had no idea what life as an entrepreneur would be like, and I still often find myself in new situations—it’s a fascinating journey!
Every day there’s something new to discover or a new challenge to face. Knowing why I’m in business and the difference I want to make has made it much easier for me to overcome obstacles, enjoy each new challenge, and continue learning.
I work a little harder than I expected, but otherwise, I love the reality of being an entrepreneur. I can meet inspiring people, choose my work schedule, and partic
