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Publication

BLACK BUSINESS QUARTERLY

Page

18

Date

Fri 01 June 2018

AVE (ZAR)

20935.74

Areyouaguilt-freeSuperwomanentrepreneur?

veryyear,when| handouttheawardin the 'FemaleEntrepreneurof theYear'category,| raisethesameques-

tion.In 2018,isit reallynecessarythatwestillawarda separatetrophy,ina separatecategory,for'womenonly'finalists?

Asa society,surelywe've evolvedbeyondthisandwebothseeandregardwomenasourequalsandus(men)astheirs?Dowe notdiminishtheperformanceof

thefemaleentrepreneursin thesamewayonecanarguethat the performancesofplayersofcolourarediminishedbecauseofsportsquotas?Doesthefactthattheothercategorieslike 'EntrepreneuroftheYear','Best Overall Business', 'Fastest-GrowingCompany'and 'CEO of the Year', wherewealwayshavea plethoraoffemalefinal-ists, not argue that exactpoint. Womenalreadycompeteheadto headwith theirmalecounterpartsin the entrepreneurialspaceand, therefore, don't have to standbackatall.While| raisethequestioneveryyearatthe

awardsnight,| stillbelieveemphaticallythata 'FemaleEntrepreneuroftheYear' awardis valid, relevant and necessary.Womenaregenerallyquiteimpressivebutawomanthat is alsoan entrepreneur is, in fact, theSuperwomansuperhero.Notonlydotheyhavethe usualstrainsandstressesoftheentrepreneurialjourneybut they're oftendoingsowith littleand, sometimes,evennosupportathome.They'reconstantlyjugglingbeingthe mother, homemaker,nurturerandtheentrepreneur...andeverythingelsethatgoeswiththoseroles.Yetmostwomenentrepreneurswalkwith

thisconstantfeelingofguiltthatthey'rejustnotenoughforeveryone.They'reconstantlyremindedoftheirshort-comings,oftenbytheir own inner voice, and experiencetheneedtojustrunawayandhide.Tofixthis,startwiththeseeasysteps:

18 | www.bbgonline.co.za

Ask around; don't trust yourselfIcanguaranteethatyourreality,theonecre-atedbythevoicesinyourhead,isnotthereality.Askaroundandgetfeedbackfromthoseverypeopleyouthinkyou're failing.Askthemthis:"Whataboutmeareyoumostgratefulfor?"Givethemtimetothinkaboutit andaskthemto actuallywrite it downforyou.Theyneedto puttheirgratitudeonpapersothatyoucanreferenceitagainand,possibly,againandagain.Makesureyouincludeyour spouse,children,parents,staff,shareholders,clientsand friends.Theirtruerealitymayshockyouandwillmostcertainlybringtearsofjoytoyoureyes.

SchedulebalanceThereisnosuchthingasawork-lifebalance.It's a fantasywe're tryingto achievebutitdoesn'texist-at leastnotintheshorttermwe'retryingtofocuson.Awork-lifebalancecannotbeattainedoverthecourseofaday, aweekorevenamonth.Useaquarterlyfocusandmakesureyouschedulebalance(i.e.witha diaryentryandreminder)acrossallthecriticalareasinyourlife.If it'sscheduledinadvance,you'remorelikelyto stickto it.Includethe importantthings-not urgentthings-you needto getto andmakesureitspansbothyourbusinessandpersonallife.AmonthlydatenightwithyourspouseeverysecondThursdayevening,forexample,isagreatstart.Oneplaydatewitheachchildperquarter,rollingaroundonthefloorlaughing,isperhapsanother.Fromabusinessperspec-tive, you couldschedulemonthlyfinancereviewmeetings,and so on. Make sure toinclude,at leastonceperquarter,some"me"time.Schedulesometimefor yourselftosimplytakea breather.Younotonlydeserveit, you needit.

Ask for helpNoonewinsif youdonot.Whilstthosewhodependonyou loveall yoursuperpowers,

W. (7Harry Welby-CookeActionCOACH businesscoaching

I'msuretheyloveyouevenmore.Withoutyou around, there would be even morechaos,sostoptryingto doeverythingforeveryone.Askforhelp.EvenSuperwomansometimesneedshelp.Askfor it andthenacceptthehelpgraciously.

Repeatafter me... "NO"Everytimewesayyes,atthesametime,weareeffectivelysayingnoto somethingelse.Youcannotsayyesandkeeppleasingeve-ryoneelse.Whileyoumaynotlikeconflictorevenmildlydisappointingsomeone,it'spartof life.Getusedto it. Youneedto saynomoreoftenandindoingso,you'refocussedonyourprioritiesandnoteveryoneelse's.Theentrepreneurialjourney is difficult

enoughbutwhenyou addthe additionaljoys of being a woman, it becomesasuperheroeffort.Makeyourselfa cupofteaandspendsometimeimplementingtheabovementioned.Itwill revolutioniseyourbusinessandyourlife.E

Take our BusinessHealth Check andmake sure you're looking after yourbusinessasmuch as it is expectedto look after you. Go to www.busi-nesshealthcheck.co.zaand assessyour business'health today.