Women, more than men, appear to not push their businesses to their full marketplace potential. Women appear to be more conservative than men in making business growth decisions. Part of the reasons include:
- A more conservative posture to business risk;
- A lack of knowledge about the financial management skills necessary to implement strategic growth objectives;
- A lack of confidence in judging positive vs. negative business growth potential.
You’ve taken the business risk self-assessment, so now let’s take a look at expanding your comfort zone and helping you past this bend in the road. Complete the following exercise, giving some thought about how your business is currently and how you envisage it in the next 2-3 years.
Think of a business expansion strategy that will require you to “stretch” beyond the current capacity of both your business and yourself as CEO.
- What makes this stretch attractive to you?
- What makes this stretch unattractive or frightening?
- Are you limiting the growth potential of your company for unresolved personal reasons? What are they?
List five things that you can take action on now to minimize the perceived risk of this stretch and help you achieve it.
Need someone to talk to about these “stretches” and the implications to your business? Join us in the Info Exchange and share ideas with other women business owners and business professionals with similar experiences.
