4 Things No One Tells You About Being a Girl Boss
I never imagined I would become a girl boss. When I noticed a need to combine my teaching background, life coach training, and non-profit leadership experience to help women build and grow their service-based businesses, I realized that entrepreneurship gives women the power to generate more income and more impact that can change her family’s story. Even though we have the ability to create success on our own terms, there are a handful of common challenges that women (as opposed to our male counterparts) face as business owners that no one is really talking about.
We struggle with confidence and feeling like an imposter.
Am I enough? is the voice of doubt and fear that holds women back from greatness. Even girl bosses who are highly educated, creatively talented, and strategically minded struggle with feeling like they need to do more and achieve more before they give themselves permission to start or build their business. In reality, confidence comes when you realize you are enough exactly as you are so you can show up to do bigger and better things.
It’s easy to compare ourselves to fellow girl bosses.
It can be easy to fall into the comparison trap when you see a fellow girl boss excelling when you’re struggling in your own business.What no one tells you is how much hard work and heart goes into running a business because we see the filtered and edited highlights on social media. Each business (and business owner) has its own unique value so when we celebrate our differences and bond over our commonalities, everyone wins. True community among girl bosses can developed when we reach out and support one another and realized that we’re all facing challenges and no one really has it all figured out.
Sales doesn’t have to be sleazy, it can be the ultimate form of service.
Traditional sales tactics can be a turn-off for girl bosses who find aggressive sales tactics sleazy. As women, a huge strength is the ability to nurture, care and serve others. So when we shift our mindset from thinking that we’re bothering people when we sell to giving value to solve a problem that meets the needs of our customers, selling becomes the ultimate form of service.
Work/life balance is honoring your priorities for the season.
Being a girl boss means you have responsibilities at home and in the office and trying to create work/life balance. What no one tells you is that your life and your business will go through seasons of maintenance and growth and you have the ability to choose your priorities for that season. The best way to create work/life balance is to figure out what kind of arrangement works best for you and your family, get the right type of support, and be fully present where you are (because “mom guilt” is real!).
Despite the challenges, the final thing about being a girl boss is that it’s one of the most empowering experiences. The reason why we choose to lead businesses is because we believe in a mission that’s bigger than ourselves. When we can learn to embrace the challenges and rise up over them, we grow our confidence, competence, and capacity to change and set an example of what’s possible for other women. This kind of empowerment is worth talking about.
This article was written by Shi Chen, and originally appeared on Sass Magazine’s website.