Women in Business is a series of blog posts created to give female entrepreneurs advice based on my own experience. As I said many times before, I am a big advocate for women supporting women. We’re often encouraged to take a side seat, putting family before everything else. When we go into business by ourselves, we’re often looked over by our male colleagues or more generally, any men we hire to do work for us (think contractors taking advantage of you because they think you don’t know what you’re talking about!). But should you listen to advise — my advice?
What I want to talk about today is knowing what you should do, versus what you want to do. I can only give you my expertise because I have seen how hard it can be for a woman in business. So, I learnt a thing or two about what to prioritise, where to put your money, whom to trust. But are my experiences relevant to you?
I think it’s important you listen to other people. It’s important to find out how people you admire ended up where you want to be. What’s their story, their journey? It can all be very useful information to have. But, there’s a big but.
You’re probably facing different circumstances that I have. All our situations are unique to ourselves and only you know what you want, what your limits are and why you’re doing what you’re doing. At the end of the day, what I think you should do doesn’t really matter. If my advice doesn’t align with your vision, feel free not to follow it.
I am not suggesting to figure it all out by yourself. I think having people around you who know what you’re going through is very important. They might not give you the right advice, but they can still put you in the right direction. Just knowing what to expect is a great push towards your goal.
So, should you listen to advice? I think you should if I can say so myself. It doesn’t mean you need to follow it. But be smart and don’t assume you can do it on your own. You’re strong and you’re going to achieve your dreams, but always listen to those around you. Find out as much as you can about how other people made it. Be aware of the industry you’re getting yourself into. You may do things in your own way, but it’s still important to know how other people are doing it!
Lots of love,
Valentina x