As a female entrepreneur, you may find that, while you have the motivation and drive to start your own company, the resources and opportunities needed to make the first move aren’t easily accessible. Networking can be a useful tool for maximizing opportunities, but if you’re starting from scratch or have no business background, networking can feel like an impossible task — especially seeing as the business world is a notorious boy’s club.
There are many free resources online with tips for starting an e-commerce business, although many only cover the basics and lack in-depth information on the complexities of the start-up process, as well as any sort of community or support system. So what’s a woman to do? Here are five resources for women who are not sure where to start when it comes to their entrepreneurial journey.
1. Businesswomen should empower one another.
Online Women Biz has a wealth of courses and business resources, exclusively provided to women. As a businesswoman, having a community of likeminded women with similar aspirations can be exactly the kind of support system you need to get your company started. Online Women Biz has specialized business courses for first-time small business owners.
This institution is run by female business owners, and the courses available are based on real-life experiences and lessons gleaned from working hard and succeeding (and sometimes falling down, as well). Online Women Biz has specialized business courses for seller. Whether you’re an e-commerce company with an online store or you have a traditional brick-and-mortar store, they can give you the knowledge that you need to start your business and facilitate exponential growth. The courses offered by Online Women Biz work by giving you access to video tutorials, worksheets, testimonials, and experience-based industry knowledge, all while providing women a space to connect and support one another on their journies.
Other popular websites that provide free courses may claim to have similar information and results, but these lack the personalized knowledge provided by Online Women Biz. OWB’s founder is experienced in running multiple eCommerce companies and, simply put, she knows the ins and outs of the biz. If you’re a woman looking to start an small business, don’t hesitate before taking advantage of the resources made available by OWB.
2. Know when to outsource.
One of the more complicated and stressful aspects of owning a small business is finances. Using a third-party bookkeeper can be helpful, but it can also be pricey, especially considering that bookkeepers have a specific and limited role. Fully Accountable is an eCommerce accounting service that can handle all of your small business’ financial needs. Their specialized accounting software takes care of balance sheets, budgeting, cash flow, and forecasting, so with Fully Accountable you can have all your finances taken care of in one place, rather than outsourcing to each specific area of your finances to a different company. By managing each step of your finances, they are able to work in real-time to track your cash flow, give you daily updates and provide feedback to help you make informed business decisions.
Fully accountable offers full-service eCommerce accounting services to all kinds of digital and online businesses in the United States and Canada. As an eCommerce business owner or any kind of online seller, you may be looking into hiring a bookkeeping service or a CPA. Fully Accountable consolidates the roles of the two, and they do it affordably. They’ll provide you with daily financial reports covering things like payroll, sales tax, and other expenses so that you can work with them to closely monitor all your financial statements to eventually optimize and grow your eCommerce business.
3. Never stop learning.
As an owner of e-commerce business or an online store, it may be easy to outsource all the tasks that you are unsure of how to complete on your own. But outsourcing can become expensive. As a motivated businesswoman you should constantly be seeking out additional information on how to optimize and innovate for your company. One way to do this is to learn how to code.
One of the most popular programming languages among business owners is Python. This is because Python is considered to be the programming language with the cleanest, clearest, and most manageable code base. When using Python as your default data type, it is crucial that you learn NP Arrange. But what is np arrange, anyway? NP Arrange, NP Array, NumPy.arange, etc. has been described as being: “fundamental for numerical and integer computing [within Python].” By learning NumPy.arange you will be able to more efficiently read and code within Python, and therefore expand your independence and capabilities as an online business owner.
4. Think about incorporating.
An aspect that is often overlooked when first starting your own business is creating an LLC. Most people believe that it is best to wait until your business is really becoming successful, but in reality, it’s better to get it done right as you are getting started.
An LLC is a Limited Liability Company, and the reason that it is best to incorporate so soon is that an LLC provides you with extra benefits while protecting your assets as an individual. After all, what will you do if someone sues your business before you’re turning a larger profit? Without creating an LLC, this will mean that you personally will be liable, and therefore responsible for any damages and resultant payments. So go ahead and look out for your future self — set up that LLC.
5. Don’t let fear and self-doubt stop you.
Have you ever heard of Imposter Syndrome? It’s likely that you have, because it’s said to affect about 70% of people at some point within their career. Thinking that you don’t belong, that you made it to where you are by chance instead of merit, or that you are not as smart or talented as others have made you out to be, these are all common thoughts brought on by Imposter Syndrome.
The best way to shake these thoughts is to unlearn them. Track your accomplishments, reward yourself, foster better and more positive self-talk. It is also important to surround yourself with like-minded and supportive people who will also acknowledge your accomplishments with you. By learning to not doubt yourself and the progress you’ve made, you will have less fear when it comes to making the next big step forward with your business.
