By Kathy-Ann Fletcher

I am surrounded by female entrepreneurs everyday in the art and marketing worlds, my mom and consider myself a budding one as well. Therefore it does not surprise me to read that worldwide female entrepreneurship is on the rise.

Countries like the UK are experience what are reported as phenomenal increase in female entrepreneurship while in some circles the lack of female entrepreneurs is being lamented. However, upon reading, researching and observing I am of the firm belief that there is no such lack, neither is it a  recent phenomenon.

For centuries, women have been developing innovative solutions to our problems and running successful business. From shipping magnates who in the 17^th century flourished in this male dominated world to the creator of Barbie and Ken, women have a rich history in entrepreneurship. In several cases, the female was the pioneer in the industry as we see with Lillian Vernon the Queen of the Mail order Catalogue.

Just like every other entrepreneur, women take risks to get themselves and their families and communities better lives. Madame C.J Walker came from unprivileged circumstances to become the first black female millionaire. She used this fortune to empower other women in business.

In the Caribbean, we have a strong tradition of female entrepreneurs such as the visionary who took the bold step of purchasing a former plantation and turning it into what is now a successful dairy farm operating by the fifth generation of her family.

It is great to see that this worldwide trend of female entrepreneurship is carried on in Barbados with young and experienced trailblazers. From young ladies with a passion for beauty to visionary with a flair for design, female entrepreneurs are stepping up to the plate and taking risks.

Entrepreneurship now and then knows no gender. Where there is a lack in female entrepreneurs that is where we have put the limitations on ourselves. As I consider the example of those who went before me, I am inspired by the ability to persevere in the face of daunting situations to dominate male centric industries. 

Kathy-Ann is a marketing executive with Crimson-Jade Consulting Inc with a passion for communications and strategic planning.

By Kathy-Ann Fletcher

Who do your customers consult before they make a purchase decision? Do they ask friends or associates, or seek the opinion of industry analysts, consultants and researchers for advice or reviews and rankings? Whoever they turn to or whose advice they follow, these are the key influencers. They are the opinion leaders that you need to be in regular contact with and who you need to influence. This is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase your customer base.

1.       Know who they are – Each industry or sector has different people or entities that are the key opinion leaders of that market. Investigate who these are relative to your industry/ies and learn as much as you can as far as who they are what it takes to influence them and what influences them. This will help you influence people in your market that are influential in your circles. Additionally, it will determine the content that you send their way. For instance, you won’t share with the press in the same way that you would share with and analyst.

2.       Follow them – Become their friend on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, subscribe to their blog. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of them and the content that they distribute and those who they influence and the influence they have on their followers.

3.       Develop a relationship with them – Just sending an email with a pitch or calling up an influencer will get you nowhere fast. Take time to cultivate a relationship with them. You should posts comments on their blogs, retweet their tweets and like their statuses on Facebook. These actions will help you gain their attention, so that when you do contact them, there is already a level of familiarity with you and what you have to offer.

4.       Develop a strong pitch – don’t go the way of the generic pitch. Develop something that is personal to each influencer you are approaching so they see the direct benefits they get from introducing you to their followers. You may want to make this pitch a soft sell rather than a hard approach. Ask for the party’s opinion on your product/service so that you could offer the best possible solution to their followers. This is where you can give them a compelling story that they may feel is interested enough to share with their fans.

To our readers do you know any additional steps that can be used to influence the influencers? Chime in as this list is by no means exhaustive.

By Corey Graham 2.0

The truth is that we are all the president of our own personal services corporation. We have 100% controlling interest in our personal services corporation. We can do what we want, make whatever decisions we want. Some of us have been becoming so attached to the idea of a job that, we don’t understand this simple fact.

A job is really just one type of contract under which you provide your personal services. It’s simply an understood way of doing business. Now free your mind and imagine other ways that you can render your personal services and get paid from it. I am sure you have come up with things like freelancer, sub-contractor, self-employed and entrepreneur.

In this case we are looking at entrepreneurship as a way of life and let’s take a moment to define “entrepreneur”:

An innovator of business enterprise who recognizes opportunities to introduce a new product, a new process or an improved organization, and who raises the necessary money, assembles the factors for production and organizes an operation to exploit the opportunity.

Now doesn’t this sound like a job description? It has certain requirements that go along with that job. It’s similar to what you might have to look at if you are being considered for a post in any business whether it be Marketing Manager, Customer Service Representative, Chief Financial Officer or security guard. Once you can appreciate this you are well on your way to making entrepreneurship a way of life.

Yes, Yes, Yes I know what you are saying, “The risk is just not for me”. Let’s talk about that. Entrepreneurship differs from other arrangements for use of your personal services primarily because you have to take on the risk of the venture. There are two key points with respect to this you might need to appreciate. Firstly a job in itself is still a function of how well the business is running. We have seen lots of job disappearing with just one sentence to explain why. This current economic crisis has taught us alot about that. A job does have a bit of risk involved, it’s just a different type of risk. Secondly the risk involved in entrepreneurship simply requires an honest day’s work. It’s not ok to pass the buck and get out of a situation by blaming a colleague. Results matter and they can have an immediate impact. 

Choosing entrepreneurship as a way of life entails you focusing on doing the job well. You have got to be willing to be flexible and ready to make the smart play. It’s also going to be filled with consistent learning and lots of on the job training. It’s scary until you get around other people who are committed to that way of life. That’s the real secret. Associate with other people who are facing the same challenges as you.