Capturing the spirit of Women's Entrepreneurship Day we're proud to share advice from five women in business that we admire from their business journey's so far.
Catherine Keenan and Amanda Slaats, owners of Vivian Pharmacy
Knowing what you know now, what advice would you go back and tell yourself on the first day you started your business?
“Knowing what I know now, my advice to my younger self would be to be patient and not try and do everything too quickly. Building a successful business takes time and energy and you definitely need to think of the long journey or you can exhaust yourself. Also, delegating and empowering others is a really good skill to learn as early as you can.” ~ Catherine
Stephanie Murray, owner of Stephanie Murray Mortgages
Knowing what you know now, what advice would you go back and tell yourself on the first day you started your business?
“try to only sweat the big stuff. Think about whether something will matter in one year and even five years and react accordingly, and take time to process thoughts before reaction
always make every decision alongside the vision and core values of your business. The alignment to this is the answer to the decision
people are everything. Relationships are everything. Your team around you is everything. Only do what you are great at and love and get a professional to do the rest
take as much time as you can to support the growth of the community around you Whether that be other business owners, charities, sports or whatever you are in to. We are all in this world together
Without community we have nothing”
Dr. Lisa Connelly, owner of Integrative Dermatology
Knowing what you know now, what advice would you go back and tell yourself on the first day you started your business?
“Knowing what I know now…I would advise myself to trust my gut, as my instincts were right. It takes time to build a business so be patient. Track your progress over time, not on day-to-day changes. Set really high far-reaching goals and smaller more attainable goals to achieve over a shorter period of time.”
Sam Tyson, owner of Climate Plumbing and Gas
As a female entrepreneur and business owner Sam has successfully overcome many challenges in business…
“I am only the second women to make it onto the Master Plumbers board since its establishment 120 years ago and believe I have earned the right to be there.
I brought a heating business 11 years ago, knowing nothing about the plumbing industry. I built my business from 7 to 35 employees, winning the 2015 Master Plumber of the year award, and the local 2018 Chamber of Commerce medium-sized business excellence award.”
Mandy McGregor, owner of Smokeylemon
As a female entrepreneur, have you had to overcome specific challenges in business? If so, what advice would you give other women business owners who might be facing the same?
“The biggest challenges are around feeling like an imposter all the time and self-doubt about your own ability. This is something that never goes away as new challenges are faced every single day: you have to negotiate the best path forward for that moment and hope like hell it is the right decision.
If I were to give anyone any advice, it would be to back yourself and the decisions you make, no matter what the outcome. If it doesn’t go the way you expect, then there is an opportunity to learn from that. If it does, there is an opportunity to learn from that too. Either way, it is a win-win. Focus on what you believe is right for you and your business, that is the right path.”