3 Tips for Female Entrepreneurs from Circular Board Founder at SXSW17 Dell Experience
If you are going to ask someone for tips specific to female entrepreneurship, you want to ask Carolyn Rodz. Carolyn is the founder of Circular Board, a collaborative accelerator for growth-oriented female entrepreneurs. They are a 100% virtual accelerator that has worked with women across six continents offering sources of capital and mentorship to help them build their businesses. I met up with Carolyn at SXSW 2017 at the Dell Experience to ask what her top three tips for female entrepreneurs would be.
Check out this video and keep reading below for Carolyn’s tips:
Carolyn Rodz’s Top Tips for Female Entrepreneurs
1. Don’t Stop Until Your Get a ‘Yes.’
Many women are hesitant when talking to media or investors because they do not want to ‘pester’ them. That tends to leave them without the outcome they desire. Instead, women need to be relentless and strong when looking for a ‘Yes’ in their business. Just do it tactfully and respectfully.
[Tweet “3 Top Tips for Female #Entrepreneurs from @CircularB founder @CarolynRodz – #DellExperience / #SXSW”]2. You Have to Network
Networking is a huge part of growing a business, whether you are a male or female. You need to go out and network and then work those connections and then the connections of those connections. Once you build a strong network, you will be amazed to find out how many people you have access to.
3. Be True to Your Mission….Really True
You must be true to the mission of your business. After all, it is why you started in the first place. You will get tons of advice from outside sources along the way, and you may experience setbacks that make you question the mission – but don’t waiver. Know what you are willing to budge on and what you are not. Your mission should be something you are not willing to budge on.
We closed the conversation expanding on Carolyn’s last tip about being true to your mission and how that affects an entrepreneur’s need to pivot. Here’s what she has to say:
The pivot is real. But the pivot is holding one foot planted and moving the other one. Recognize what you have as a value and what sparked the company and move around that. The mission should not change. If it does, then maybe you need to scrap the idea and start over.