Post by Ceylan Boyce, Co-Founder and Lead Coach at Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, a platform for women founders to access efficient, affordable training and coaching – as well as a network of other supportive women entrepreneurs.
Solopreneurs
Even though men outnumber women 3 to 1 when it comes to entrepreneurship, women make up the majority of solopreneurs. Research has revealed that one of the key reasons women choose to set up businesses of their own is because of the flexibility around family life that it provides. However, this also means that more women than men work part time, and from my work with women entrepreneurs, it seems many of these women-led businesses simply become an avenue for a ‘bit of extra income’, rather than being given the time and nourishment they deserve.
In fact, COVID has laid bare that as a society we still seem to view the ‘role of woman’ as being the caregiver. Several women I have spoken to shared that they took on most of the caregiving, home-schooling and increased domestic chores in the lockdowns we have experienced.
Barriers
The barriers for women who have great business ideas and want to grow them – turning a side hustle into a fully-fledged business – do not end at institutionalised beliefs about our domestic role but extend to issues around securing investment, accessing networks and upskilling through business training or coaching.
However, many of these barriers can be mitigated against, and it is possible for any woman with a fledgling side hustle to turn it into a fully-fledged business.
Here are my top tips for making your business fly:
The Mindset
Business growth can only happen if the entrepreneur is ready mentally. If you are in the mindset of ‘earning a good income’, I would suggest switching this to ‘building a profitable asset that survives and thrives without you being in it’. This is part of the famous ‘work on the business’ mindset.
The main ingredients for this to happen are:
- Conviction (that it is possible, and you can make it happen)
- Desire (you really want this)
- Commitment (you are ready to give 100% and find solutions to all challenges)
The Plan
Your energy and motivation will fluctuate day by day. The only way to keep things moving in the right direction and to help you prioritise actions is to have a great strategic plan in place. A strategic roadmap, with a detailed and timely action plan, will get you to your tangible end goal. Don’t have one? Then get this sorted!
The Profit
When transforming your side hustle into a real business, cash flow can be two very anxiety inducing words, but they don’t have to be.
Cash is the oxygen of your business so make sure you are totally on top of it and in control. Know how much you will have in your bank account at least 3 months in advance and don’t be afraid to get a brilliant accountant involved from the start to ensure peace of mind when it comes to money.
Growth is only possible if you have the headspace to invest in it and it is likely you are growing the business to generate greater income and alleviate money worries, not start them.
The Marketing
Marketing, in my opinion, is about much more than a few sporadic posts on social media.
For solopreneurs and/or microbusinesses who are serious about transforming a side hustle into a full business, 50% of their efforts (time, energy and budget) should be dedicated to activities of growth. Note you should be tracking, measuring, and adjusting all marketing activities strategically as you go.
Finally, within the marketing, I want to also include access to networks. People buy people, so as a business leader get yourself involved with likeminded networks. For me, these have been where I have found all the people I now pay for business support services, and they are also where numerous members of Academy for Women Entrepreneurs have come from. From a marketing perspective, networking remains a vital tool and even in these ‘online’ days, it’s still totally possible.
Your People
When it comes to people my mantra is: ‘Focus on building trust based, long term relationships’.
The first aspect of this is your relationships with your customers. You need to build and nurture these relationships as if they were for life… because they are. Happy customers are the best advocates for your business and word of mouth recommendations plus repeat business is the perfect recipe for long-term success.
The second aspect is your team. This is the biggest leap of faith between side hustle and business ownership but can pay dividends if you get the right team of business support around you. Not only do they too become advocates for the business within their networks, but they also free up your time so you can invest in effective methods of marketing and growth.
Bio
Ceylan Boyce was recently crowned as one the UK’s Top Business Advisors by Enterprise Nation for her work with women founders. To find out more about Ceylan and the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, click here.
