Let's debunk, once and for all, the myth that to succeed as a female entrepreneur, you must hide the very qualities that make you an individual, including your struggles. In fact, it's the opposite. These things can become your greatest business assets, and leveraging them is exactly how women can unleash their uniquely female entrepreneurial potential.
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Take the example of my friend and client Susan Peirce Thompson. To say Susan had a painful journey with food would be an understatement. Susan was overweight in her teens and obese in her twenties. As a teenager, she used drugs like crystal meth and crack to manage her diet and weight. When she hit the drug line at age 20 and got clean and sober, her food addiction skyrocketed. She was diagnosed with binge eating disorder at the age of 23 and spent almost every spare moment binging, recovering from a binge or throwing her heart out in another attempt to lose weight.
Susan has spent decades struggling with her weight, dropping from her ideal size 4 to a size 24. When she was lost in this battle with food, Susan had no idea her shero's journey had begun and would culminate in discovering the secret to losing her. own weight. This discovery led Susan to obtain a doctorate. in brain science and cognitive science, become a full professor of psychology, and ultimately mentor hundreds of thousands of people around the world to break free from food issues. Ultimately, she founded a wildly successful company:Bright Line Eating, LLC.
Susan's struggles and the transformation that followed gave her insight into what women in similar situations would need to heal and experience transformations themselves. Her story is a powerful example of the miracle of allowing your deepest struggles to become the springboard for your business and its message.
Our struggles make us who we are. In business done the women's way, we don't have to hide it. In fact, these very wounds and vulnerabilities prepare us to make a greater contribution. In what I call the "Life Ph.D.", life presents a program of challenges through which we grow and transform. Our business message, our core promise and our brand – the thing we most want to bring to the world – more often than not lies somewhere at the heart of this painful transformation we have experienced. It's the thing that — when we do bring to the world – will turn heads, gain loyal followers and attract repeat and paying customers.
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And that's exactly why it's not only possible, but also incredibly powerful and promising, to leverage our greatest struggle to become our greatest business asset. initial spark of inspiration to marketing and sales. Here's how.
Ask what hurts make your blood boil.
Think about the greatest personal challenges you've overcome. Which sparked a raging passion that still makes your blood boil today? It's the fodder that will lead to successful business ventures.
Reflect on the wisdom, abilities and skills you've learned on this journey.
Perhaps you've recovered from this journey. addicted to drugs or food and found a way to help others, like Susan, do the same. Or maybe you're enraged by a medical system that allows breast cancer survivors to suffer painful scars and have discovered a practical method of pain relief. Whatever your journey, use the wisdom you have gained to help others. Also document the process. This is the first step towards creating a map for others and a valuable service you can sell.
Share the story of your injuries with your audience.
The world hungers for more vulnerability, for leaders who have stopped pretending to be perfect, who don't wear a mask, and who possess their own imperfect humanity. Opening up and sharing your own human side will help you connect with people, grow an audience, and earn their trust.
Fold that story into your marketing.
To convert an audience into customers, you need to demonstrate how the wisdom you have gained on your journey will help their . So when you share your story, do it in a way that others can learn from it and be inspired by it.
It's the key to building a successful business:authenticity, vulnerability and sharing. in a way that shows your subject matter expertise. When you share from here, your customers will thank you and your business will thrive.
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