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Thank you, Cascade Business News (CBN) team, for this annual feature on Women in Business. Throughout the year, CBN does an excellent job of highlighting the incredible, brilliant and powerful female forces in our tech, service and business industries.
Who composes the multitude of women excelling in business? Over one-third (31 percent) of all U.S. small-business or franchise owners are women, up from 27 percent last year.
Their ages vary:
- 50 percent are Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980)
- 31 percent are Baby Boomers (1946 — 1964)
- 17 percent are Millennials (1981 — 1996)
- 1 percent are Gen Z, born in or after 1997
They’re educated:
- 8 percent have earned their doctorate
- 27 percent have earned a master’s degree
- 34 percent have earned a bachelor’s degree
- 11 percent have an associate degree
Why did these bold women start their own businesses? There are many reasons, yet a survey by Small Business Trends indicates that 29 percent started their own business because they were ready to be their own boss. Twenty percent wanted to make an impact by pursuing their passion. Thirteen percent were dissatisfied with corporate America and 13 percent found the confidence to bravely accept an opportunity that was presented to them.
What will the coming year bring for these small business owners? Eighty-three percent plan to invest in digital and/or traditional marketing, 44 percent will expand or remodel their business and 43 percent intend to increase their staff. Irrespective of 2020’s challenges, female business owners have and will continue to move forward vigorously.
Female business owners and leaders continue to make waves in corporate America as well. Our nation’s richest self-made women increased their 2020 income by 31 percent according to Fortune Magazine, notwithstanding 2020’s obstacles.
A record 26 female entrepreneurs have now joined the billionaire club, including pop star mogul Rihanna and 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki. Two-thirds founded or co-founded their company and 26 are CEOs. Fifteen newly named billionaires are newcomers, including singer and investor Dolly Parton and former model Cindy Crawford.
To what do these brilliant women attribute their success? What can women in all levels of business learn from their philosophies on business and leadership? Let’s look at a few.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, with an estimated net worth of over $500 million, says a large part of her success was in being open to feedback. Wojcicki used to be defensive when she was told what she was doing wrong or what people disliked about her performance. But she cites changing this approach as valuable lessons learned, adding that “As you get more senior, your job is to hear what’s not working so you can make it better. Business always feels personal, but you can learn from criticism, and it’s often more well-intentioned than you might think.”
Rihanna’s key to success was in focusing upon diversity and inclusivity. When Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty in 2017, she sought to create a cosmetics company that made “women everywhere feel included.”
According to General Motors CEO Mary Barra, her key to success also includes diversity. “You need the right people, the right culture and the right strategy. To be truly great your team must have a diversity of thought and be willing to collaborate constructively.”
Additionally — and this is a challenge for many of my female clients — Barra learned early in her career to speak up in meetings, not let men interrupt her and to stop saying ‘sorry’ about things she shouldn’t be sorry about.
Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, which sold to AOL for $315 million, suggests: “If our primary goal is to be approved of, then we are not going to take risks, we are not going to speak out, we are going to try and blend in.” Fearless is one of Huffington’s favorite words. She considers fearlessness as a muscle, the more you use it — the stronger it becomes.
Carol Tomé, the first female CEO for UPS, describes her leadership philosophy as an Inverted Management Pyramid. Leaders are at the bottom of the pyramid, bearing the weight of the company so that they can empower their employees to serve customers better. Thus, servant leaders work on the frontlines rather than sitting at the top of the corporate ladder removed from the company base.
Why do women excel in business and leadership? As you can see from small-business owners, they are visionary, willing to take risks and are enthusiastic about creating a better life for themselves, their employees, customers and their families.
Women in business at all levels are emotionally intelligent, socially adept, superb listeners, decisive, intuitive and skillful at sizing people and situations up for what they truly are and need. They make a difference by pursuing their passion, knowing the money will follow.
For those of you women in local businesses, I congratulate you for all that you’ve created. I encourage you to take whatever you’ve learned from these inspiring women to make your business and thus our world a little better.
And for you men smart enough to hire women on your leadership teams, congratulations to you as well. A very smart and lucrative move on your part. You have much to learn from your female business counterparts.
Executive and Leadership Coach Ann Golden Eglé, MCC, has steered successful individuals to greater levels of success since 1998. Ann is President of Golden Visions & Associates, LLC, can be reached at 541-385-8887, ann@gvasuccess.com or GVAsuccess.com. Subscribe to Ann’s internationally acclaimed ‘Success Thoughts’ e-zine on her website.
