Https://www.Nytimes.Com/2019/11/19/business/women-entrepreneurs-advice.Html Starting Your Own Business Is Hard. Here’s Some Advice.

These women are shaking up their industries around the world by making bets on their vision and on themselves. They have started their own businesses to solve problems, to follow dreams and passions. While they have doggedly kept their businesses moving forward, they have reached back to counsel and invest in other women.

One big factor in a rise in female entrepreneurship is the increasing number of role models and leaders, said Joanne Hession, founder of The Entrepreneurs Academy. They are “important, observable examples of what can be accomplished by women,” she said.

They talk about how they launched their organizations, the challenges of fund-raising, and they provide some advice.

As a young girl, Ms. O’Sullivan spent Saturday mornings watching her grandmother deftly chat up customers at the counter of her sweet shop on Merrion Row in Dublin. “Granny was quite a character,” said Ms. O’Sullivan, founder of GiftsDirect.com, the largest online retailer in Ireland, and TheIrishStore.com, which sells Irish products globally. “She loved running her own business. Customers would walk blocks past other similar stores just to spend a few minutes with her.”

In 1987, Ms. O’Sullivan embarked on her own journey as an entrepreneur, selling teddy bears and driving a moped to deliver them. She took off with start-up capital of 2,000 pounds funded by her friends and family — and the soul of her grandmother driving her forward.

Seek out women-friendly initiatives and supporters. "Going for Growth is an initiative to support female entrepreneurs in the Republic of Ireland. Look for funders who support women-owned businesses. Enterprise Ireland, for example, has a special fund for female entrepreneurs.”

Keep learning. “In 2009, the opportunity to attend an intensive yearlong program sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, Leadership 4 Growth, held at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, boosted my leadership, strategic capability, and confidence. It was like an M.B.A. with no exams, thank you. This was a game changer in the business. It allowed me to step back and say ‘hang on a second what is it we really need to do to get to the next stage?’”

Build a strong team. “Hire the right people around you. You don’t need to be sitting in every meeting. Delegate, and take time for self-reflection. Have an excellent financial person beside you. I was all about sales and marketing and a beautiful website, and I had to learn that one. Know what you’re good at and not good at to fill the gaps in the leadership team.”

Core leadership traits for women entrepreneurs. “I look for perseverance and creativity because you don’t know what will be thrown at you the next day. Finally, being an entrepreneur requires you to be an optimist. You can say that’s a disaster because of x or y. It is really about how can we maneuver our way through this and keep going?”

Ms. Adeyemi, creator of London-based Career Ear, discovered the challenges of trying to find a job and a career path when she didn’t have resources or role models. She lived it and was determined to make that transition easier for others, so in 2016 she launched her own online career advice and networking app and website.

Think bigger. “I’m still learning this myself. Most women and, certainly, women of color, often don’t dream as big as men. If you’re thinking of a particular problem that you want to solve, or business you want to launch, be thinking of how that can be done at its biggest possible scale.”

Take action. “If there’s a cause you care about, or an issue that you want to resolve, do something. Maybe your project will turn into a hobby and not a business venture, but you get into the habit of making a start. You will learn along the way and impact, no matter how small, is still impact.”

Core leadership traits for women entrepreneurs. “Putting the ladder down behind you is a key quality of a female leader. You must mentor others and be visible to encourage and support others. Share your story, nurture and develop others to become leaders. That’s what leaders do.