In 2009, I wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal titled: " What's Holding Back Women." It focused on why women-owned businesses despite growing in number at a faster rate than all businesses were lagging men-owned businesses in revenues and size. I had not thought much about that article over the years until a few weeks ago I received an email from a young woman. She wrote that she had read the article when it came out and had kept a copy on her desk as a roadmap. "Have things changed for women business owners since then," she asked.

Although I have been chronicling the changing face of women's entrepreneurship every year with an article about the Enterprising Women honoraries, I had not gone back to compare them to a common baseline.

Frankly, I had to go back and read the article (in fact I no longer had a copy and had to find it on line).

What an eye-opener it was!

Yes! I was delighted to see that there had been changes -- not so much changes in the issues, but a seismic shift in how woman are addressing the issues. In 2009 we thought in terms of barriers.

As women-owned business grew in number, revenues, and employment, we started thinking positively and asking what was propelling women entrepreneurs and their businesses to the highest levels of success.

Women learn best from other women. Over the past eight years leading women business owner organizations including Enterprising Women Magazine, WPO, NAWBO, WIPP, and Springboard have moved us from focusing on the barriers to embracing the opportunities.

Enterprising Women Magazine has always shined the spotlight on the success of women entrepreneurs When. When we see that just a few years ago, we were celebrating that the top revenue category at the annual awards even was $50 million compared to and this year (2017) the top revenue category was over $100 million it becomes clear that we are no longer being held back.

Every year we ask our award winners w about the key factors that are driving their busing. By now we have results from over 500 award winners. These findings are complemented by my y 29 years of research with women entrepreneurs -- creating a rich resource of information on what women entrepreneurs have learned about success over the year.

Leading women business owners focus on what they are dong to be successful rather than on what is standing n their way -- even in the years of economic stress. The responses have been amazingly consistent over the years. Six factors emerge consistently as the propellant to success.

The Six Success Factors

Be values-based
"Your values are your foundation" say successful women entrepreneurs. No matter how chaotic business and life become, say highly successful women entrepreneurs, your values remain rock-solid. Most importantly, women business owners say, " we have e the courage to act based on our values -- no matter the pressures."

Expect to Grow
Highly successful women entrepreneurs fall in love with the business of growing a business. For years women entrepreneurs were told to "think big." Our award winners say this mind shift to "expecting to grow" moves you t to action from day one. It affects the systems you put in place to track the business, the way you organize the
company, who you hire, and how you establish financial and customer relations. Successful women entrepreneurs are solution oriented. They continually evaluate the company's strengths and challenges. They focus on growth options and how to best position the business for high growth.

You don't have to be the best; You have to bring out the best
Your job is not to be the best in every part of the business. Your job is to hire and inspire the best. Highly successful women business owners create and sustain the company culture and then hire the best and the brightest to do the work of the company. The owner is responsible for the health of the company in all ways: financially, technically, politically, and culturally. When the owner stays engaged in delivering the product or service, she become the greatest barrier to the company's growth.

Surround yourself with diverse, smart advisors who have your best interests at heart
Leading women entrepreneurs create a personal circle of trusted advisors who help her be the best that she can be as a leader and a business owners. Take advantage of an informal network of advisors as well as a formal board of directors. They will help you see opportunities you may have missed and pitfalls before they happen.

Become financially savvy
Make financial knowledge and metrics your best ally . Numbers can help you see where your company is on track and where it needs tweaking. Strong financials create confidence when seeking financing -- whether debt or equity. Form effective relationships within the financial community. Reach out beyond your banker to other financial institutions and potential inventors. These relationships go well beyond transactional advice and insights; they can open sources of business advice and connections.

Be Strategic in Building a Web of Networks
Be strategic in joining networks. Networks are a valuable source of connections, information, and visibility for both you and your business, and for personal growth. When asked about their greatest regret, the vast majority of women entrepreneurs say it was not realizing the value of building networks strategically earlier in their career. In additional professionals networks, be sure to join a network of like-minded women who will help you through the tough times and celebrate with you in the good times.

What is propelling women-owned businesses to success? It is the energy, insight and determination of the women whose vision and positive energy go into building and sustaining them!

How will I answer the young woman who wrote to me? I will tell her there HAS been change and that it is positive, inspiring change.

However, I must also tell her that despite all the documented success of women as entrepreneurs and leaders, we are still plagued by the issue of f unconscious bias. This manifests itself in barriers especially in access to equity and d entry into the tech world.

This won't go away until men join with women and become part of the solution.

The issue is not about social justice; it is an issue of national and international economics. Research affirms that having women in leadership positions and on boards results in higher performance. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagard estimates that increasing the participation of women in the US economy -- including entrepreneurship -- would increase the gross domestic product by 5%.

This is our next frontier. I hope when another 8 years has passed, and I am asked whether things have changed since I wrote this article I can, as I did this year, say yes!

Parts of this article were previously published in the Wall Street Journal.

By: Sharon Hadary

For more than two decades women have started  businesses at 1.5 to 2 times the rate of men.  Today nearly 4 million women own high-growth businesses.  Over a third of women business owners want to grow their business by five or more employees in the coming  year.  

High growth requires access to capital --  credit and equity.  At first, many believe the success of women's start ups would give women credibility in the credit and equity markets.  Research has dashed that belief! 

Women-owned and led business lag similar men-owned and led businesses in obtaining both credit and equity even when their financials and business plans are as solid as those of the men.  Women get less money and more rigorous terms.

For many years the onus has been on women to change to fit in with the male dominated capital markets.  Women learned to speak, present, and interact like men. Success rates improved somewhat, but a substantial gap persists. 

It won't go away until men join with women and become part of the solution. 
This is not about social justice; it is an issue of national and international economic impact.   Research continues to affirm that having women in leadership positions and on boards of .  IMF Managing Director Christine Lagard estimates that increasing the participation of women in the US economy  -- including entrepreneurship -- would increase  gross domestic product by 5%. 
How do we create change?  Experience and research with successful women entrepreneurs as well as men and women investors identifies  key factors.     

For women:

• Believe in yourself  
• Get to know the players -- both bankers and investors -- and learn to talk their language
• Explore emerging alternatives funding sources -- including the a number of women-led investment funds   
• Benefit from associations focused on women with high growth businesses(e.g. Springboard; Women Presidents' Organization)
• Seek out banks and investment firms with women in decision-making positions; research shows they are more likely to invest in women-owned/led  enterprises

For men:

• Review your portfolio.   How many companies are led by men and how many are  women-owned or have women in leadership ?   Are you missing out on potentially lucrative opportunities?
• Is your level of investment in women-owned enterprises at the same level as similar firms owned by men? 
• Ask yourself what characteristics you associate with successful entrepreneurial leaders.  Do these expectations (such aggressiveness) unconsciously lead to evaluating women leaders as having lower potential?  

• Recruit women to join your firm.  Ask for their evaluation of women-owned firms.   They may see opportunities where you do not.
• Become involved in the non-profit organizations that are preparing women to seek credit and equity and contribute to building a strong pipeline of women-owned and led businesses.  It is good for your busines. 

 

This article was originally published in The Wall Street Journal.
 

By: Sharon Hadary
​
The highlight of Enterprising Women's annual conference is that gala dinner honoring highly successful women business owners.

For over a decade, this gala celebration has showcased women business owners who have built highly successful business. Honorees are selected based on both business growth and their commitment to using their success to make a difference in communities around the world.

One of the most impressive trends over the years is the growth in revenues. The top revenue category has grown from $10 million in the early years to a whopping $1 billion this year. What is impressive is that making money has not changed women business owners' values and their commitment to giving back to their communities. Equally as impressicve are the women business owners who are achieving success in revenue categories from $1 million and up and in every instance, also giving back to their communities. 

We honor women business owners success for three reasons:

• To celebrate their success as business owners and community leaders;
• To re-enforce to corporations that women owned business are a substantial market and a rich source of vendors and supplies; 
• ​And, we do it to share lessons learned with all women who aspire to business growth.

Every year, we pour through the honorees' award applications to find the lessons learned; the challenges overcome; and the best advice they want to share. There are similarities over the years, re-affirming the basics. And, every year we gain new insights that all woman business owner can embrace.

This year one of the top honorees said that the best advice she would give other women business owners is "expect to grow." For years, women business owners have been urged to "think big." It is critical to recognize the difference. "Thinking big" and "expecting to grow" are two different aspects of business growth and to achieve high growth the business owner needs both.

"Thinking big" is characterized by your vision, values, and goals. That vision is critical -- it is what inspires you every day. "Expect to grow" is the action plan to achieve your vision.

Thinking Big

Exponential growth starts with thinking big. Thinking big is about your vision for your business. The vision may includes being a game changer for your industry, for your clients, and, for the employees who work with you. Take the time to learn about the potential in your industry and then set goals that exceed those projections. Thinking big is a projection into the future -- as far out as you can think.

"I wish I had realized how much growth potential there is in my industry when I first started," said several of the women business owners in the highest revenue categories. The game changers see the possibilities others miss.

Don't dismiss your growth aspirations because others say they are unrealistic. The value of setting high goals is not merely a motivational myth; business owners who set high goals are very likely to achieve high goals.

Your vision for the company extends to your role -- seeing yourself as CEO and visionary rather than the top sales person. "Don't let others perceptions of you define who you are," urge the honorees with the largest businesses.

Expect to Grow

Expect to grow is the practical side of the equation. It is one thing to have high aspirations for growth. The next step is to set up an infrastructure to facilitates that growth. Your growth goal drives the way you set up your business practices, invest in infrastructure, and select staff. Highly successful business owners establishing and maintaining an enterprise that is can accommodate high growth from day one.

Own Your Culture

High growth starts with you, the business owner. You are the only one who can create the culture for your company. Your job is to create and sustain the culture, engaging every employee and service provider in embracing that culture in every action and decision. This is the one thing you cannot delegate. As the business grows, it becomes increasingly critical that you continue to "hold the culture in your hands."

Hire the Right People -- and Let Them Do the Their Jobs

Hire people who can do the work and then get out of their way. It is very easy to fall into the trap of believing the only way to maintain the quality and service that is the hallmark of your business is to stay personally involved in the day to day operations. When you do that, say
highly successful women business owners, you become the greatest impediment to your company's growth.

Build Teams of Advisors and Supports
Surround yourself with a senior staff and outside advisors who have different skills and experiences than you.

Manage Infrastructure

From the beginning figure out how you will measure success and what the most important metrics are measure progress. Identify the systems your business needs to deliver product and services and vest in an infrastructure that can grow with the business. Anticipate the need to upgrade before it becomes impediment to growth.

One of our award winners learned this lesson the hard way. When the company grew faster than the infrastructure could accommodate, they intentionally stop expanding for a full year to upgrade their infrastructure. Fortunately by managing customer expectations, they were able to resume growth after the infrastructure upgrade.
​
Continually Explore Growth Opportunities

"Don't rest on your laurels," say the most successful women business owners. Never stop thinking about growth.

Consider whether the best path to growth for your company is to expand organically or to expand through acquisition of another company or a new product line. Don't let your company's size hold you back from considering this option -- with the right growth plan in place, a smaller company can successfully acquire and integrate a larger firm into the business.

"Be alert to those unexpected opportunities that come your way when you are least expecting them. They are often the a real game hanger."

Have Confidence in Yourself

The most frequent advice we hear from our honorees every year is to believe in yourself and have confidence in your instincts.

"It's not rocket science," they say. "You can figure it out. You can learn to do anything."

Has your business reached a plateau and are you having trouble re-starting  growth?  Do you have a new business and you want to grow exponentially from day one?  Or is your business doing okay -- but you are ready to transform it into a high growth enterprise?

For almost three decades I have been conducting research with entrepreneurs studying amongst other issues what distinguishes the larger, faster growing businesses from the smaller, low growth companies. In surveys and interviews, I ask the owners of the larger business what their secrets to success are and what advice they would give someone starting and growing a business. Here are the top five strategies that I hear time and again.      

1.  Think big from the beginning
The value of setting high goals is more than a motivational myth. Research shows that the only statistically significant predictor of business growth is not the size of the business, the industry, or the length of time in business -- it is the owner's goal for growth.

From the beginning, entrepreneurs who establish high goals make decisions differently; talk about the business differently to customers, suppliers, contractors and employees; and  establish  systems to capture the performance and financial information they need to track progress.  

 2.  Focus on where you want to be, not where you are today
Create an image in your mind of the business you aspire to have. Develop a growth-oriented business plan and when you achieve your goals, ratchet them up to the next level. Continually scan trends and imagine the possibilities and potential for your business. There are many ways to approach this. 

You can do this by yourself, taking time to muse, reflect and think about the change you want to make through your business and what the business will look like when you are achieving this change. 

​But most entrepreneurs find there is value in bringing together a diverse group of advisers  -- for example leaders  who work in your business, fellow business owners in your industry and in other industries, your banker, and customers. If you can afford it, consider working with a business coach who can help facilitate groups discussions and work with you on turning the ideas from the group into a growth oriented business plan. 

Keep the group small -- no more than five or six people. This group may become an informal advisory board for you, meeting regularly to review your progress and adjust your plans. Many entrepreneurs tell me they find the process of preparing for advisory board meetings very helpful.  "It gets you away from day-to-day operations and forces you to take a really good look at what is happening in the business -- to evaluate progress against your goals" they say.  
 
3.  Fall in love with running the business rather than doing the work of the business
If you believe you have to stay personally involved in day-to-day operations in order to sustain quality and service, you become the greatest road block to the growth and success of your business.   

Establish a culture that promotes quality, hire people who align with your culture,  and engage every team member in delivering the highest level of performance. This frees you up to focus on strategy, engage with customers and strategic partners, and evaluate infrastructure and operations. 

4.  Use numbers to drive strategic results
Don't be hemmed in by traditional business reports. These reports usually focus on cost of goods sold,  expenses,  sales revenue and the bottom line: profit and loss. While these are very important measures both for you and the bank, you need to go these high level metrics.
    
Figure out and track the factors that are critical for your businesses' success -- measures that can give you a heads up before performance is disrupted and help you identify areas for improvement.     

​For example, if you are selling on line, you probably already track the time from order to arrival at the customer's location.  But what can you learn from measuring each component separately? You may find there are some comports that are so critical you should review them regularly -- even daily -- while others may not tell you anything of importance.  Apply this level of examination to all aspects of your business. 

Your success comes from knowing what to measure and how often. Having the right metrics enables you to measure progress toward your goals and make timely adjustment along the way.  They keep you grounded and focused.  

5.   Believe in yourself
Trust your instincts and judgment. Successful entrepreneurs see opportunities where others see pitfalls; see challenges as opportunities; and have the courage to dismiss those who say "it can't be done."
  
Sharon Hadary is an international speaker, author, and coach.  She is the co-author with Laura Henderson of How Women Lead:  The 8 Essential Strategies Successful Women Know, blogs for The Wall Street Journal's Small Business Forum, and is an adjunct professor in the doctorate of management program at University of Maryland University College.  

This year, Enterprising Women Magazine celebrates its 12th year of recognizing highly successful women business owners.

The world of women's entrepreneurship has changed substantially since those early years.  The top revenue category for the Enterprising Women Awardees was $10 million, and only a few honorees were in that category.   Over the years,  women-owned businesses have flourished -- both in numbers and size -- and today, the  top revenue category has more than doubled to $25 million and up.  This year, nearly  9% of the winners have businesses well over $25 million.  In fact, the top winner has revenues of $660 million dollars!

Women Thinking Big Business
While access to capital, markets, and networks has been critical in the growth of women-owned businesses, the most important factor is the transformation in the mindset that women bring to their businesses.  Women are thinking BIG!  They have high expectations and high growth goals from the first day.  "Don't let others' expectations or what your competitors have achieved limit your aspirations," our winners tell us.  "Your goals should be to surpass them all." 

The value of setting high goals is not just a motivational myth!  A study by the Center for Women's Business Research found that the only statistically significant predictor of whether a woman business owner will be successful in obtaining expansion capital is not the size of the business, the number of years in business, or the industry -- it is the woman owner's growth goals. 

Women business owners who start with a big vision make decisions differently from the beginning. The way they talk about their business to employees, customers, vendors, and financial institutions is different.   Their  business plans are growth oriented, and they establish the infrastructure to run a growing business.   Our winners tell us they keep their eyes on the horizon, focusing on where they want to be, not on where they are.   

Further, when highly successful women entrepreneurs achieve their goals, they ratchet up their expectations.  Almost all of the 2014  winners including those in the top revenue categories project  strong double-digit revenue growth this year.

Learning from the Award Winners
Every year, in addition to honoring these highly accomplished women business owners, we ask what we can learn from them to help other women business owners achieve their highest aspirations. 

The  award winners offer proven, practical lessons and insights on what it takes to launch and lead a fast-growing successful business.  We ask them to tell us about their challenges, how they overcame those challenges, what they know now they wish they had known earlier, and what advice they would give others.  For the past five years, I have had the privilege of analyzing the responses to these questions and sharing the results with the Enterprising Women Magazine's readers. 

Agility is Key to Success
This year the winners stressed the importance of agility.  In today's fast-paced, technology-driven world  characterized by rapid and often unpredictable change, the successful business leader must be agile. 

Being agile means continually evaluating the match between your business operations and reality.  Be alert to emerging mis-matches and be open to changing.   "Avoid falling so much in love with the way you are operating  today that you do not for-see the need for change," say our winners.  Agile leaders are alert to new patterns and are willing to shift with their industry, move into new industries, and adopt new ways of doing business.   

Identify your company's unique strengths -- build on them.   Be on the lookout for ways to apply those strengths in new ways.   One company among this year's honorees knew their strength was in recruiting, but  the industry where they had made their name was on the decline.  Their response:  apply the  company's strengths to move into an industry that was  just beginning its growth cycle.  The result:  the company now is in the over $25 million category.

Another company, with expertise in the IT industry, foresaw a declining need for the business services they provided.  In this case, the business owner saw the opportunity to build on the company's established reputation in the industry while re-vamping its products and services to get ahead of the  industry's emerging needs.  The result:  another of the over $25 million honorees.

Agile leaders also are continuously evaluating internal infrastructure and operations.  While fast growth is very good, growing faster than you infrastructure can handle it can be problematic.  It takes courage to pause growth while the company re-engineers its systems, policies, and procedures to accommodate that growth.  Yet that is what one of this year's winners did.  The result:  once the company resumed growth, it more than doubled its size and revenues. 

New technologies are opening up new ways of operating -- delivering the same services to the same customers but more efficiently and profitability.  A former Enterprising Women winner with many years in business recently transformed her operations from the traditional model with employees housed together in one or two central locations to a distributed model.  Today, the majority of employees work remotely.  The new model not only reduces overhead significantly but also improved responsiveness.

These are just a few examples of agility.  Being agile is similar to rotating a kaleidoscope.  Each time you rotate it -- even slightly -- the  glass bits come together in new and, often, unexpected patterns.  The agile leader keeps rotating her view to discover possibilities and is open to change -- whether a little tweaking or a business transformation.  

The Perennial Seven Fundamentals of Successful Women Business Owners
Although the specific challenges the award winners have overcome may vary from year to year, these  seven fundamentals of  success have remained consistent year after year. 

1. Know your values. Your values are your core say highly successful women leaders.  Have the courage to act consistently with your values in every decision and action. This is the foundation of women 's strength as business owners and leaders.
 
2. Own your company's culture. Successful women leaders create shared values, mission, and goals.  You can delegate everything else but you must always hold the culture in your hands. 
 
Hire people whose values align with your company's culture and who believe in you as an entrepreneur.  Research shows that no matter how smart and experienced a new hire is, if the individual's values do not align with the company's culture, overall productivity will go down.
 
3. Build high performing teams. Show people you value and trust them.  Share the goals, engage everyone in delivering the highest performance -- then step aside and let them perform.
 
4. Learn from failure. In fact, say many successful women business owners, failure is the best way to learn what works and what does not.   Separate the failure -- whether yours or an employee's -- from the individual, figure out what happened and why, learn, and move on. 
 
5. No "would-a, could-a, should-a."  Don't obsess about missed opportunities or past mistakes.  Turn to the future and move forward with confidence.
 
6. Never underestimate the power of your networks. Networks are an important source of knowledge and support.  In addition to your industry networks, seek out  networks of like-minded women who come together to share advice,  pay it forward through causes such as mentoring, support one another in the tough times, and  celebrate each other's successes.     
 
 
Sharon Hadary is the co-author with Laura Henderson of How Women Lead: The 8 Essential Strategies Successful Women Know. Sharon, former and founding executive director of the Center for Women's Business Research, is an adjunct professor in the Doctor of Management Program at the University of Maryland University College,  and blogs for The Wall Street Journal's  Small Business Forum.  She is a recognized thought-leader on women's entrepreneurship and leadership.  She also is a proud member of the Enterprising Women's Board of Advisors and a supporter of the Enterprising Women's Foundation. 
Originally published in Enterprising Women Magazine.