You can never know what you are capable of until you try, a saying goes. Many women, today, are trying to make headway in the world of business, but are facing numerous challenges. This article offers some tips on how to navigate this journey of being a successful businesswoman.
Businesses are the lifeblood of the economy of any given society, as you can gauge the economic buoyancy of any country by the strength of the businesses in it. This is why governments across the world try as much as possible to encourage businesses, especially small enterprises.
One demographic of the society that is not very active in the running of businesses or as entrepreneurs is women. There are many reasons for this, but the result is that there are fewer women in business.
Despite, women are not immune to societal challenges that require finance, which everyone faces. However, many of them are simply not in business (pun intended), making it even more important that the ones in business be encouraged.
Ensuring the sustainability of businesses run by women is everyone’s duty. It involves, majorly, the individual (the woman herself) and the society at large. The following are steps that can help ensure sustainability for women-run businesses.
Creating enabling environment
 Traditionally, many women were not allowed to participate much in the society until recent times. However, even the opening of the door to women to participate in areas dominated by men, like the business world, has been filled with its own challenges, with the environment, in most cases, being unconducive for women.
Therefore, the task of boosting businesses run by women starts with making the environment conducive for them.
Incentives
Government should provide incentives to support and encourage women, who either want to start or are already running a business. The basic idea here is to encourage the woman to forge ahead with her dreams and her project.
Build networks
One way to create an enabling environment for women to become and stay successful in business is by encouraging networking among them. That way, they are able to communicate, patronise, sponsor and even bail out one another to succeed. It also gives them a higher purchasing and bidding power.
Commitment
The level of support that a woman gets from her environment will determine the level of commitment she will give to the business.
Starting a business is no mean feat, but keeping the business running is even a bigger challenge. Statistics show that lots of businesses fail in their first or second year. Therefore, it is very important that the person starting the business is fully focused and committed to doing whatever it takes (legal and morally) to make the business thrive.
Seeking support
 Many people fail to understand that at no point can an organisation be said to be absolutely self-sufficient. Everyone or organisation will, at certain points, need something from others. So, if big organisations would ask for help, then why won’t you? Ask for help in your times of need, be it guidance, financial, logistics or even moral support.
Take responsibility
When starting your business, there usually are goals you set for yourself and heights you have in mind to reach. The fact is, you most often than not rarely achieve them all. When this happens, hold yourself accountable, learn from your mistakes and push on.
Know your target
The key secret to building and keeping your business successful is knowing your target and doing your utmost to keep them happy with your services. These are the people who need your services the most and are usually your most loyal customers. Being able to grow this base usually leads to success in business.
Conclusion
Everyone has a role to play to ensure that women-led businesses are sustained. The woman, the society and the environment need to set out strategies that will help the woman achieve her career goals.
As an organisation, Creative space startups, through the GoDo Hub initiative, tries to educate, empower and inform women on how to grow, scale and sustain businesses. It does this through series of women-centred programmes, which are open for partnership, donation, sponsorship and collaboration. You can reach us via: +234 909 990 0115 or [email protected]