What Does It Take to Become a Successful Businesswoman?









As a business woman, the time has never been better to scale the corporate ladder and bust right on through any remaining glass ceiling. We are still face some obstacles that can be tangible when we are trying to both advance career and have a personal life.

Many female in business today state that discrimination in the workplace is still an obstacle in their way and the fact that half of their man colleagues agree with them is telling in its right. So, as a business woman have to learn the key tips for become a succesful business woman right now.





Here are several tips for woman to get ahead in business:

Know yourself,

Know yourself, Your true motivational level, the amount of money you can risk, and what you're willing to pay the price to be successful businesswoman. Absolutely, we all want to make millions of dollars. But what are you willing to give up to reach that goal? How many hours a week will you work on an ongoing basis? How far out of your comfort zone are you willing to stretch? How far will your family stretch with you? To be successful in business, keep your business plans in line with your personal and family goals and resources.





Make it a habit to step outside of your comfort zone

All set to settle into a comfortable, no-surprises career as an actuary when the opportunity came along to be a part of the start-up that now bears her name. There was very little about being part of the start-up effort that wouldn’t be outside her comfort zone. The most taxing challenge would be to go door to door selling subscriptions to the service.

Taking leaps outside of comfort zone may make you feel uncomfortable. But it will also unveil hidden talents and interests you may never otherwise had the chance to see within yourself.

Try to make the most out of your time by learning new things to help you in business. It will also impress your colleagues by showing you are not afraid to take risks and be a trailblazer.

Look outside the office for opportunities

This is one of the best tips for become a successfull business woman that is most frequently overlooked by women today. It is building a relationship with colleagues outside of work that eventually results in new opportunities for leadership during work hours.

Whether your ultimate goal is to sit in the comfort office, start your own enterprise, consult in your industry or something else, By being willing to put yourself forward, mentor other women, share your talents, and do your best work, you can build your own dream business.

The old formula – find a need and fill it – still works. It will always work. The key to success is finding needs that you can fill, that you want to fill, and that will produce enough income to build a profitable business.





Research your competitors.

No matter what type of business you are starting or running, you will have competitors. Even if there is no other business offering exactly what you plan to sell, there is very likely to be other products or services your target customers are using to satisfy their need. To be successful, you need to research the competition and find out as much as possible about what they sell and how they sell it. Competitive research is something you should plan on doing on an ongoing basis, too.





Be sure there really is a market for what you want to sell.

One of the biggest mistakes startups make is to assume a lot of market will want to buy a particular product or service, because the business owner likes the ideas or knows one or two people who want the product or service. To minimize risk for loss, never assume there is a market. Research the idea. Talk to real potential prospects to find out if what you want to sell is something they'd be interested in buying, and if so, what they'd pay for the product or service.





Become a strong negotiator

So often in the past, women have been relegated forcibly to subordinate positions both at workplace and in the home. But today, with so many barriers already overturned or in the process, the time is ripe to negotiate and advocate on your own behalf for what you want in your business and in life. Examples include negotiating for business merger and benefits, negotiating flex time hours for work/life balance, continuing education and business advancement opportunities you want.

As a woman there are 2 key areas where women still don’t advocate nearly strongly enough on their own behalf – taking credit for their work contributions and supporting women in business throughout the company and industry.





Be Assertive.

One of the most enduring stereotypes about women in business is that they are weak and emotional. To overcome these stereotypes is to disprove them. In order to gain respect as a formidable businesswoman, it is important to be assertive.

You can convey assertiveness through both your actions and your speech - have confidence in your decisions and don't second-guess yourself. Speak authoritatively, in a clear, confident manner and people will have no reason to doubt your decisions.

When faced with criticism, try to be as rational and collected as possible. Consider what has been said and decide whether you can use the criticism constructively or whether you should just disregard it. Whatever you do, don't let it be a trigger which causes you to doubt yourself and your abilities





Be confident.

Having confidence in yourself and your skills is important in becoming a successful businesswoman. People will view you as you portray yourself. If you project confidence, people will believe that you are confident.

Remember that you are where you are because you're good at what you do.





Project confidence through your body language. You can do this by keeping your head held high and standing tall. Greet people with a firm handshake and a smile. Most importantly is make eye contact with the person you're speaking to. Try not to glance at them before quickly looking away, remember to hold their gaze, as this is a sure sign of confidence. If you have to address a room of people, try to make eye contact with every person in the room for at least a second or two.

If you're having a bad day where your confidence feels shaken, try to reassure yourself using positive affirmations. It may feel stupid, but looking at yourself in the mirror and repeating something like

"I am determined to reach the top"or

"I am great at what I do"

can really help you to rediscover your confidence and determination.

Read about successful women.

There are many successful women out there in business and in other fields. Learning and researching about their background and career paths will help to inspire and motivate you. Knowing their experience will give an idea of what the path to success looks like and what obstacles you might encounter along the way.

Internet is a great resource for researching successful business women.

You can also read the memoirs or biographies of a number of successful women and gain an insight into their professional experiences - both good and bad.

Determine how to balance work and family.

Perhaps the greatest concern for women in the business is how to balance business and family life. Women are usually in their key childbearing years while simultaneously trying to advance their business.





Remember, you don't succeed in business just by completing a list of tasks. Nor will your business be a success just because you think it's a good idea.

At one time, we have all questioned whether we have what it takes to make it in business. There are countless checklists and personality assessments available online to supposedly help you determine your natural business aptitude. They can be fun and interesting, but it would be best to ignore the results. Most of these tests ask questions like“are you a good leader? “are you an optimist?” They pose the cliché and superficial questions “do you work well with people?”and “are you creative?”So how do you learn if you can be a successful entrepreneur? Learn this tips on determining your leadership potential and qualities of a strong businesswoman you can develop with some effort.Becoming a successful businesswoman requires a good education in the field. You may have a great business idea and the capital to invest in it but have no idea where to get started.Proper education, such as an MBA program, is essential to teach you everything you need to know about doing business. You’ll learn how to understand market trends, the most important principles of starting a business, and how to transform your business idea into a successful company.There are 3 qualities entrepreneurs should have, or be willing to develop that are meaningful assets for starting and running a business successfully. Notice the keyword here is “develop,” not “already have" the willingness, desire, and ability to learn new skills and habits can contribute to any businesswoman’s success. One of these qualities is an attitude you can adopt, one is a skill that can be easily learned, and the third is a personality trait few of us come by naturally but which can be mastered with a little practice.Most Valuable Skill: Networking. Networking. Networking.Best Business Attitude: A refusal to quit when things get tough.Strongest Personality Trait: Having thick skin (being objective).Business SkillFew things will help you establish and grow your business faster than creating a strong network. No one person knows it all or can do it all, so if you isolate yourself and your thoughts, you isolate your business as well. Having access to a variety of resources can increase your knowledge of your business’ publicity and efficiency, , and your chances of succeeding.If you do not have much face-to-face contact with others in your field, you can still work on building a business network in other ways. Start by joining professional groups online, developing press releases, brochures, and other written communications.Simply participate in forums, e-mail discussion lists, and chat rooms that somehow relate to your business or the type of customer you want to attract. Use personal and other social opportunities to network yourself and your business and always have a business card handy when an opportunity to make business connections presents itself.Why do you want to become an entrepreneur? This is a very good question that you should answer o help you stay motivated and focused on your goal. Being a business owner comes with a number of challenges and responsibilities, and the road to success won’t be easy all the time.