6 Challenges Female Founders Face... And How To Solve Them (Part 1)

Have you ever created a plan, followed it, and seen the exact outcome (or close to it) that you wanted come to life? 

Over the last few months, I’ve been reflecting on my and my clients’ journeys from corporate careers to start-up entrepreneurship to multi-six figure ownership, and I’m noticing a growing - and startling - trend. 

Business owners aren’t happy. 

They’re exhausted and frustrated.

The thriving businesses that they imagined - the ones where they’d have more freedom and flexibility to do work they love while making meaningful change in the world - isn’t quite the reality. 

This was my story when I was in corporate, and ironically, it’s been my story as an entrepreneur. As a female service-based business owner, you know how to be successful. You know how to keep a million balls in the air and get all the things done. You are a master obstacle-overcomer (is that even a word?),, but let’s be real, it’s draining and not a whole lot of fun.

Over the next 3 weeks, we’ll explore six common challenges facing female founders with seemingly successful businesses, and I’ll provide actionable tips to help you address them head-on. By taking proactive steps to address these challenges, you can ensure that your business continues to thrive - on your terms - and achieve even greater success in the years to come.

Challenge #1: Lack of work-life “balance”

Running a service-based business often requires long hours and intense workloads, which as you likely know, leads to burnout and poor work-life balance. I’m not of the school of thought where work-life balance is actually a balance. At best we’re striving for aligned integration of all parts our lives - family, fun, and business. 

As the leader though, we’re often sucked into all the day to day tasks or pressed to take on work that we might like but don’t have the team or bandwidth to take on in the quest for continued revenue growth. This constant push and chase, over the long term, leads to chronic stress and burnout, which is the opposite of what you were going for when you started your business in the first place.

SOLUTION:

1. Reconnect with the purpose and mission of your business. When you are deeply connected with the WHY behind your work and the meaningful change you want to see and be a part of in the world, it helps you prioritize your time, so you can focus on what’s truly important in your life and business.
   

2. Set clear boundaries. The best boundaries work is rooted in your mission and values. Once you’re clear on your priorities and the impact of your work, lock down your calendar, communicate with your team about the business’s priorities, and yours as well. More often than not, your team will honor the boundaries you set if you communicate what they are and why you have them.
   

3. Delegate tasks and consider outsourcing non-essential tasks to free up time. On the surface, this seems easy, but you and I both know that delegation takes practice and trust.
   
   We have been conditioned to do everything and avoid asking for help, so it takes time to build this skill, especially when you’re bringing on team for the first time or struggling to find people who get your vision and how you like to execute. This is where strong documentation, robust job descriptions with clearly defined and articulated competencies and skills, a solid interview process, and clear performance expectations and management is essential.
   

4. Prioritize self-care. This is probably one of the most challenging areas of business ownership. There’s ALWAYS something more to be done, and it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex and work around the clock. This doesn’t serve and is a recipe for serious burnout. Identify ways to recharge and rejuvenate. Take breaks and full days off. Get out in nature. Do something fun. Treat yourself to a spa day… Whatever it is that allows you to reset, renew, and thrive is essential to your personal and professional health.
   
   I know it’s trite and overdone, but there’s real truth here: put your oxygen mask on first. You can’t run and grow your business if you’re out of commission. You can’t support your team or make the impact you want if you’re exhausted all the time.
   
   It’s time to take care of yourself.

Challenge #2: Business Stagnation

This is a big one. Long-term business survivability requires innovation, continuous improvement, a strong link to the impact you’re trying to make, and more importantly, you, as the leader, learning how to shift out of the doing and into the leading. 

Most small business owners are trapped in what’s known as the “self employment trap,” where their day is completely overrun and consumed by the day-to-day tasks and they lack the space to focus on the strategic growth of the business. This is where you become the bottleneck in the business, your exhaustion and stress ramp up, and your business growth slows.  

Business stagnation leads to decreased revenue and market share, as well as a disconnect from the clients you’re trying to serve. It also results in you having a job as opposed to a business, which I can almost guarantee is not what you wanted when you started this journey. 

SOLUTION

1. Reconnect with your mission and the change you want to see in the world. The act of reconnecting and regrounding yourself and your team in the vision inspires new ideas and innovation and helps keep the business fresh and relevant in a changing market.
   
   This is especially true as more and more consumers want and expect businesses to do good in the world. There’s a sharp demand for better environmental sustainability, social impact, and governance practices. The sky's the limit, but it takes knowing WHY you’re running this business in the first place.
   

2. Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. There’s always room to improve your systems and processes, especially when it comes to client service.
   
   Your onboarding, service delivery, and offboarding practices are ripe with opportunities for tiny upgrades and improvements, as are your back end systems.
   

3. Encourage experimentation and risk-taking. This one can be tricky, especially given what we talked about above, but when you’re willing to push the boundaries or your team is empowered to take calculated risks (rooted in purpose and strong communication practices), this is where businesses can really shine.
   
   More often than not, what got you here, will not get you to the next stage of business growth. You have to be willing to take calculated and informed risks, experiment with new service delivery models, or try out new offerings. It may also mean that you chop off the most profitable parts of your business - like I did - in order to move the business forward.

Do you see yourself in these two challenges? Can you identify opportunity areas where you can address work-life “balance” and stagnation in your business?

Reconnecting with your mission, actively setting boundaries for yourself and your team, and building a culture of innovation and continuous improvement can dramatically change the landscape of your business while also lifting the heavy weight that comes with entrepreneurship. 

You don’t have to be burned out and frustrated to build and lead a successful business. 

By addressing these two challenges and building a plan for the four to come, you can achieve sustained growth and success over the long term without the constant hustle and threat of burnout.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Are you on the road to entrepreneurial burnout? Take the assessment.

Time Blocking: A Guide To BETTER Productivity In Your Business

10 Questions to Reconnect With Your Mission and Align It To Your Business Strategy

The Purpose Scorecard: How clearly defined, articulated, and embedded purpose is in your business?