What are we choosing to challenge for International Women’s Day?
I’m relatively new to this whole running your own business malarkey, so it’s been important for me to have women in business to look up to that I see forging the way in front. To inspire me, motivate me, and show me that it's actually possible to be successful.
To celebrate International Women’s Day this year, I’ve reached out to some of the women in business that I have been inspired by to ask them three questions themed around International Women’s Day focus this year - ‘choosing to challenge’.
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As you read through their answers, take a moment to think how you will choose to challenge in your own circles of influence.
Alice Benham,
Alice Benham Ltd
“Professionally, I am choosing to challenge the perception around business success.”
What are you choosing to challenge personally and professionally this year?
Professionally, I am choosing to challenge the perception around business success. There's a whole lot of noise around achieving 10K months and getting X amount of Instagram followers, and it's something which easily gets us chasing after the wrong things and assuming there's a 'secret' to fast tracked success. I'm passionate about encouraging people to define their own definition of success and, where possible, giving an honest outlook on what it really takes to reach those kinds of milestones. Hint: 10K months aren't as shiny as they seem!
And personally, I am choosing to challenge my own sense of identity, outside of business. As someone who finds a lot of purpose in work, the last year of lockdown has got me working pretty much non-stop, a rhythm that's both unattainable and unhealthy, for me and my business. I'm keen to change this over the next year and explore more of who 'Alice Benham' is... outside of Alice Benham Ltd!
What advice would you give to someone trying to challenge themselves this year?
Do it for the right reasons! The best change starts with a clear and compelling 'why' so, whatever it is you're challenging, ensure it has a clear purpose behind it that feels important to you. Once that's there - take messy action! You'll never feel 'ready' and challenge often gets us outside of our comfort zones so start wherever you're at and let it go from there!
What would you choose to challenge about the industry that you’re in?
What it looks like to market in a value-driven and ethical way. I see so much scarcity and hype driven marketing, especially in the industry I'm in, and it's something that needs to change. The role of marketing is to support people in making informed decisions, with the value of what they're buying being the core motivation behind their decision. I believe each of us, whether we sell coaching, courses or education, can consider how our marketing can better support this.
PS - editor note. Alice has a fab podcast called ‘Wish we knew’ with Vix (who’s featured further down in the article) which I would definitely recommend!
Carolyn Cresswell,
The Hustle House
“Try thinking about when you’ve succeeded in doing something difficult or challenging in the past and remember how you felt when you actually achieved it.”
What are you choosing to challenge personally and professionally this year?
I’m making a real effort to challenge the way I think about resting. Whilst I’m pretty awesome at falling asleep quickly (and I don’t underestimate what a superpower that is), I often struggle with feeling ok about resting, particularly at the weekend. I feel guilty or think “I shouldn’t be doing this” when I’m letting Netflix play the next episode instead of doing some chores, going for a walk or doing some work. It means that I not only do less, but I don’t even enjoy the resting so it’s doubly frustrating, and I end up feeling fed up on a Monday morning. So what I’m trying now is telling myself that my task at the weekend IS to relax. When the little voice in my head starts calling me lazy, I tell it to get lost as I’m actually doing something that is critical to my wellbeing. And the funny thing is that on these weekends, I still end up doing some of the other things that need doing and am in a much better mood on a Monday, so it’s helping both my personal and professional life.
I’m also challenging myself to think bigger when it comes to work. I co-founded a business with a friend 18 months ago and it was a relief to go from something huge to something that was far more in my control but I think we’re at a point now where we need to think about expanding so we can take more on. This is a little scary as I wouldn’t say I’m a natural entrepreneur! I come from a family of teachers and didn’t make the leap into running my own business until I was in my forties so this is a whole new world for me, but I’m excited about what’s to come and I am very fortunate to work with a brilliant co-founder.
What advice would you give to someone trying to challenge themselves this year?
There’s no doubt that challenge is hard but without challenge we never truly grow. I love the story of the lobster who has to go through the pain of breaking its own shell in order to grow! If we stay in our comfort zone we might feel safe and secure but there is a risk of boredom, apathy and frustration all of which can cause stress. Try thinking about when you’ve succeeded in doing something difficult or challenging in the past and remember how you felt when you actually achieved it. Really linger in those feelings and know that you have the ability to do hard things again. Doing something that challenges us actually helps our brains too – learning complex things can boost new brain cell production which can slow the cognitive ageing process, so go for it, you’ll be doing future you a favour!
What would you choose to challenge about the industry that you’re in?
I think businesses that provide the kind of people development services we do need to work hard to really partner with their clients, and focus on how they can help them measure the return on their investment. There are still providers that deliver and run, rather than caring about the longer term impact and sustainability of learning. This is harder to do, but it pays dividends as organisations can see the tangible impacts and hopefully continue to invest in developing their people.
Given that my life before running a business was in HR, I would encourage HR professionals to work harder to understand the businesses they’re in, rather than setting themselves apart. HR has a vital role to play in organisational success but often shoots itself in the foot by only showing up in a transactional or compliance capacity to put the brakes on something – it’s no wonder it sometimes has a bad rep! The skill is to capitalise on the central view an HR function has to help the organisation work together more effectively. Now that is valuable.
Inge Hunter,
Inge Hunter Ltd
“The only limitation you have are your own thoughts and beliefs. If you want to challenge yourself them make sure you are also challenging your limiting thoughts and beliefs.”
What are you choosing to challenge personally and professionally this year?
My professional word for this year is ‘growth.’ I am very happy with my business techniques and the results I get for my clients and I would like to be able to affect that change for more SME founders.
This doesn’t mean financial growth though. This means a growth of audience and amount of people that I can inspire, educate and reference for.
Personally I want to work on my relationship between my mind and body. As a business owner my mind works at a million miles an hour and I often find that my body is just trying to catch up.
I will often neglect my body’s needs to satisfy the needs of my mind and I want to mend that relationship.
I am working on slowing down my mind every day to tune into my body. And I am working hard to take care of the physical needs of my body over my minds ‘less healthy’ preferences.
What advice would you give to someone trying to challenge themselves this year?
That anything truly is possible. The only limitation you have are your own thoughts and beliefs. If you want to challenge yourself them make sure you are also challenging your limiting thoughts and beliefs.
If you commit to yourself first and your commit to your goals first then you can do anything.
This doesn’t mean neglecting your life or those around you but it means making a conscious decision to put yourself first and concentrate on what you want to overcome over other things that don’t impact how you live your life.
What would you choose to challenge about the industry that you’re in?
Regulation over everything else.
I think too many people flood the business coaching industry with a lack of qualifications and a lack of personal experience.
When you are trying to help others build their business and work on achieving their business goals you need to come at it from a point of view of what’s best for that client based upon my experience and my education. Not what’s best for that client because they might pay me.
The egocentric business coaches that flood the industry give us a bad name and often use manipulative and destructive techniques to make money from people. They only teach what they do, what works for them and the systems they use without any thought for the individual nuances of business growth.
Kerry Lyons,
The Imperfect Life
“We should be helping women connect those dots in whichever way we can, not rubbing them out!”
What are you choosing to challenge personally and professionally this year?
After one of the most transformative years of growth and activity in my business, alongside insane working hours and home-school madness, my word for 2021 had to be EASE! Granted, that had been set before we knew schools were going to be closed again so I haven't felt able to lean into it YET (!), but being in a highly energised state of progress and growth for the best part of 2020, this coming year is very much about facilitating that same growth, but doing so with far more 'space'.
How that looks personally is more space to just 'be'; be with my daughter and husband, be with my wider family, and just the vision of being surrounded by friends laughing again just fills me up so much and gets me so excited! Also having that space in my week to run, to dance, to cook, to be creative. After turning 40 last year, they feel like they've become more important than ever, y'know?
How that looks professionally is really pouring my heart into service above all. Supporting my clients in achieving their vision is my #1 priority. I've invested a lot in my own up-skilling, and will continue to do so too, as much like my design career, I very much see my coaching practice as a craft. Like an artform that requires, and deserves artistry.
What advice would you give to someone trying to challenge themselves this year?
Don't make it mean anything about you – whether you reach your target, or not! If you get the outcome you want, it doesn't mean you're ace, if you don't get the outcome you want, it doesn't mean you're not good enough. #justkeepswimming
Aim higher than what you think is possible too – make it a 4/5 on your impossibility scale. Not crazy-impossible that you don't actually believe you can do it, but if everything clicked into place, you just *might*.
And remind yourself it's actually not ABOUT reaching your goal itself either. When you have a five year vision of where you want to be, the yearly goals are just minor pit-stops, they're not something to hang your worthiness off. Plus, challenging yourself and setting big goals is far more about the person you get to become in the process of working towards it, than it does about specifically reaching it.
What would you choose to challenge about the industry that you’re in?
Great freaking question! Hmmmmmm...I genuinely don't want to perpetuate what I'm trying to challenge here (and I get the irony of me saying this!), but I think women in business can do a way better job of raising their fellow women in business up. I think there's a lot of work to do here, because comparatively, it's just not an issue for men in business. I think if more female business owners just focused on their OWN lane, honing their OWN craft and providing a stellar service for their OWN clients, rather than feeling like they need to be righteous and critical of what someone else is doing, we'd get through 'the work' there is to do a hella lot quicker! More women with more money is ALWAYS a good thing! We should be helping women connect those dots in whichever way we can, not rubbing them out!
PS - editor note. Kerry has a FAB podcast called ‘The Imperfect Life podcast’ which you should definitely listen to!
Tig Hodson,
Authentig
“Don’t try, do! You have a very limited amount of time on this earth and you were put here for a reason!”
What are you choosing to challenge personally and professionally this year?
Personally, my biggest thing that I come up against is that I have a million gazillion ideas all at the same time and my head is always going a million miles an hour. If it’s not ideas, it’s who I need to talk to, who do I need to help, what do I need to do. So my mind is constantly FULL. I’m trying to get much better at managing my time and I’m choosing to challenge my personal ability to create that space in my mind and that structure for myself, giving myself the most balance I possibly can to be successful. There’s more things coming into my life (like a puppy!) and I need to prioritise my other business (StrongHer Women) too, alongside the new business (Authentig), so I’m setting myself up for success.
Professionally - I’m choosing to challenge the way that ‘it’ looks. I’m tired of seeing professional women feel like they need to look a certain way. Just because someone looks a certain way, has tattoos, crazy hair and feels comfortable in themselves, doesn’t mean they’re not able to read a contract, do a deal, or organise a partnership. The stigma around what a ‘professional businesswoman’ looks like needs to change, because they can look like GOD DAMN ANYTHING!
What advice would you give to someone trying to challenge themselves this year?
Don’t try, do! You have a very limited amount of time on this earth and for me personally (other people might have different views), to live in an existence where you’re just going through the motions - it feels like it’s a wasted life when there’s so much you could do. You were put on this earth for a reason!
The challenge doesn’t have to be massive. It could just be having an extra glass of water a few days a week when you don’t usually. Anything that is pushing you out of your comfort zone and your usual remit is a challenge.
What would you choose to challenge about the industry that you’re in?
I’m part of two industries right now - but my mission is the same. To give women their power back through whatever tools that might be. Through StrongHer Women, it’s through confidence in strength training. Through Authentig, it’s through the self belief, to make something of their own lives, and not having to work for someone else’ life. To follow their passions!
Fitness industry - I am challenging it head on! I’m at my wits end with people being fed the wrong information and being sold that ‘quick fix’ and short term solution, rather than thinking of it as a lifestyle. I want to challenge the way women are marketed to in the industry, the way the fitness industry looks and the way it makes women feel. The fact that there’s some AWFUL PT’s out there that are exploiting people that are vulnerable and not empowering their clients with the information they need! I could go on forever! haha!
Within Authentig, I want to challenge the lack of representation for black women and women of colour. Personally, I can’t pick a UK based female entrepreneur that I was inspired by growing up. I’ve never been exposed to those women, if they existed! I know for a fact that there will be young black or mixed race girls out there who will feel that they don’t fit in to a business environment because they can’t see anyone doing it. I want to change that. Also, generally, the undermining of women’s capabilities in business just really pisses me off! Women will talk themselves out of starting a business because they have been led to believe they are not capable, when they ARE!
Vix
Grow with Vix and Founder of Grow and Glow
“More women are taking up self employment but the support they get in terms of funding and infrastructure in the home to support their dreams is lacking.”
What are you choosing to challenge personally and professionally this year?
I’m choosing to challenge the female entrepreneur gap by providing training, support and resources for women looking to build their brands online. More women are taking up self employment but the support they get in terms of funding and infrastructure in the home to support their dreams is lacking - we can provide that support with networking.
What advice would you give to someone trying to challenge themselves this year?
I’d advise those looking to challenge themselves by becoming self employed or by taking their ‘side hustles’ more seriously is to join a networking, support and training community like Grow & Glow so you can be surrounded by people who get it, work collaboratively and learn new skills.
PS - editor note. Vix hosts a fab podcast with Alice called ‘Wish we Knew’ and I’d definitely recommend it!
