Mom Entrepreneurs – Knowing the “WHAT” is More Important Than the “HOW”
Sometimes we hesitate to move forward with our business because we’re afraid that we just don’t have enough experience or skills to implement our ideas.
Have you ever found yourself thinking I don’t have enough experience to...
• Launch a website
• Send out a press release
• Set-up a joint-venture partnership
• Speak at a networking meeting
We all have doubts about our lack of experience running a business or expanding in some way. And, while experience is important, resourcefulness has a BIGGER impact on your long-term success. If you know WHAT needs to be done, you can always get help on HOW to get it done.
Let me share how I discovered this to be true…
My career began doing product development and merchandising for the Gap, Banana Republic and J. Crew. About 13 years ago, while in-between jobs, an old boss and mentor asked me to take on a project that was completely outside the scope of my expertise.
He wanted me to open and run high profile stores around the country. It meant negotiating real estate deals, signing leases, overseeing the design of the space from fitting rooms to bathroom locations, to which computer systems we’d use, to actually purchasing the product. The scope was huge, overly awesome, nothing that I’d ever done before and crazily enough I was the only person he wanted for the job.
Why I wondered? What did he see in me that he had such trust I could do this?
For a month or so I felt like a deer in the headlights as I kept encountering new things that I was responsible for that I knew nothing about. I had notebooks upon notebooks with questions that I needed to get answered about all the parts of running these stores. Then, about two months into my job, a light bulb went off for me.
I finally understood why he chose me. I realized what my gift was and why I was the right one for this job. I am very capable at knowing and figuring out WHAT needs to get done. I may not know HOW it’s going to happen and how to do it (and in this case I clearly didn’t) but I am resourceful and can connect with others who do have the expertise I may be lacking to get the job done.
This skill has served me well as an entrepreneur. Because there’s nothing that truly prepares you or gives you all the experience you need to be an entrepreneur. You have to be willing to jump into unchartered waters, and trust that other experts can fill in your gaps. As women, we realize that it takes a village and we relish the fact that we can reach out for support.
(Metromom provides members with access the Connection Café and Search & Connect to help women reach out for support. Metromom’s got a community for entrepreneurial women who can start using these valuable connection tools.)
Tags: Kim DeYoung, Mindset, women entrepreneurs
