Women In The Business Arena

A well-chosen specialist can be a huge boost for your business. A social media strategist, lead-generation guru, or top-notch website designer can be one of the most exciting hires we make as entrepreneurs.   But you have to be ready to hire a specialist – which means the foundations of your business have to be solid. “Specialists are usually hired when you’re much farther in the process – you’ve validated your business, and you know you have a solid foundation.” – Sonya Stattmann  Today, we’re wrapping up this three-part series with an episode about how (and when, and why) to hire a specialist. Laura and I chat a bit more about why your business coach and therapist should be the core members of your support team and what you should have in place before you hire a specialist.  We also talk about the importance of building up your extended support network by investing in community, especially in the early days of your business. And we discuss the benefits of coworking spaces, connecting with

“Entrepreneurs have a higher probability of developing a mental illness. We often push ourselves too far and live in a chronic state of stress.” - Laura Shook-Guzman (2:55-3:29)Many entrepreneurs overlook the importance of their mental and emotional wellbeing. Working with a therapist who understands the unique needs of business owners can be the key to overcoming success hurdles.  Entrepreneurs are often the face of their business. So it can be difficult to open up about anxiety, depression, and other emotional challenges. Entrepreneurs are risk-takers by nature. But when you push too hard, mental wellbeing can suffer, and you may find yourself in a chronic state of stress.  “The entrepreneurship journey will take you to some crazy places. That's why it's so powerful to have a business coach who can help diagnose what's happening.” - Sonya Stattmann (33:33-33:44) How Can a Therapist Help You Grow Your Business? Tending to your emotional needs can have a profound impact on your health. A th

“The right business coach will accelerate your progress and give you the steps to success.” You’re ready to admit that you need help in the business arena. Who should you turn to? What do you need to know before selecting and investing in a business coach? It can be hard to differentiate between the sea of business coaches, mindset coaches, life coaches and specialists, but knowing who to trust your business to is essential to success. Every business owner needs a strong support team to maintain consistency and achieve success. Investing in a business coach who resonates with your vision and goals will keep your business afloat and help you ride out the ups and downs that are inevitable in growing a business.  “There are a lot of people calling themselves “business” coaches, but they are only working with one aspect of business. That is NOT a business coach, that is a specialist.” - Sonya Stattmann (7:35 - 7:43) What are the criteria for a legit business coach?  A business coach is similar to

“You, the modern woman, have something to bring to this present time and place: the next evolution through leadership and business because that is the language of our society.” For many of us, we are here right now, in this time and place, to change the world! Today we close our three-part series on the meaning and importance of the divine, mature feminine. We have spent a few weeks talking about what the divine, mature feminine is and how it is relevant to you, but this week, we wanted to talk about how this part of ourselves can change the world.  Deciding to fully show up as a woman in the business arena will transform the world. “The proper place of the feminine is to guide. It has the wisdom.” - Sonya Stattmann (7:00 - 7:05) In today’s society, the masculine energy is highly overdeveloped and the feminine energy is sadly underdeveloped. As a result, we are missing out on huge amounts of wisdom, understanding, and care that can spark unimaginable change for the betterment of our world.&n

“When I am in my divine, mature feminine, I am grounded and confident with where I am right now.” The journey to embracing your superpower.Every woman is born with a superpower and a lot of women have forgotten how to access it.   It’s called the divine, mature feminine.  In our last episode, we began unpacking the reality of being a woman in a predominantly masculine world. Our greatest gifts as women have been largely ignored or diminished, especially in the business arena.  When you access the divine, mature feminine inside of you, it changes everything.  “There’s no good or bad. We all have both [energies]. But we sometimes have a default that our culture and environment rewards or punishes. As a result, we condition ourselves to fit into whatever we think is best for our survival.” - Laura Shook-Guzman (18:36- 18:53) In business, government and virtually every aspect of life, the male lens has dominated perception and design. It has shaped the way we perceive ourselv

“We are going to make far more change by who we are being, not by what we are doing.”  The greatest superpower you were born with.Did you know that being a woman in the business arena is actually a superpower? The feminine energy is a highly creative force with rich value. However, many women have been indoctrinated into thinking otherwise. We often go against our nature and function in a masculine way to attempt to fit into a predominantly masculine world. The result is catastrophic.  Embracing your divine, mature feminine energy will unleash your real superpowers.   “A lot of women are burning themselves out by trying to operate their business in a way that isn’t aligning with who they are.” - Sonya Stattmann (6:16 - 6:23) Most women are naturally more inclined to the feminine. When we stop attempting to operate solely in the masculine part of ourselves, we have far more success and freedom in our businesses and in our lives.  There are key differences between the masculine an

“If over-owning or under-owning is your pattern, one of the first things you can do is prioritize self-care, self inquiry, and space for yourself.” - Sonya Stattmann (13:40-13:51) Some business owners struggle to know when they need to step in to take over and when they should take a step back. The line between under-owning and over-owning our responsibilities can be subtle and hard to see. But when we’re able to step back, we become more aware of the patterns that are playing out in our work and at home. Identifying the different roles you play in life can be the first step to finding a balance in your responsibility to others.  There are some roles you play that make you feel like you’re in a state of flow. Other roles might feel heavy and weigh you down physically, mentally, or emotionally. That heavy feeling can be a sign that you’re overburdened, which may be linked to a pattern of over-owning. The more aware you become, the better you’ll be at choosing where to focus your attention. This c

“If we're over-extending ourselves into other people's circle of power it’s exhausting to us and frustrating to them. It’s disempowering.” - Laura Shook-Guzman (31:24-31:36) Proper ownership of responsibility is a major factor in your ability to achieve success. But it’s possible to over-own and under-own those responsibilities, which can have a detrimental impact on our wellbeing and limit your success. We often over-own our responsibilities when it comes to taking care of our families and others. We over-extend ourselves. We enable others. Out of care, we give way too much. We can also under-own responsibility by not properly taking care of ourselves. We need to recognize when we’re over- or under-owning responsibility and find the balance we need to meet our needs and those of the people we love.  “The only power we have with others is to create agreements or to communicate… that’s it. We can’t make them decide, act, or feel a certain way.” - Sonya Stattmann (30:41-31:02) We often struggle t

“Women are so notorious for putting their oxygen mask on everyone around them. Family. Parents. Kids. Clients. Once everyone is good, THEN we’ll put our own oxygen mask on. But that is so the opposite of the way it needs to go.” Sonya Stattmann & Laura Shook-Guzman Women in the Business Arena The epidemic of saying yes way too much. Are you juggling to fit everything in the day? Staying up late to sew your kids’ costumes for the school play? Getting up early to send off business emails? Driving your emotional tank until empty, and then some more?  You… and many other women in the business arena.  The truth is, you can’t do it all. Nobody in the universe can! We have to let go of unrealistic expectations and look at how to bring more responsibility back to the care of ourselves.   “Over-owning by extending ourselves beyond capacity, giving more than we actually have to give, draining, exhausting, and overwhelming ourselves to give even more… that is self-harm.” -Sonya Stattmann

“Stability comes in baby steps - slowing down, being more deliberate and strategic. Sometimes it just takes tiny tweaks to really shift the income you’re making.”Sonya Stattmann & Laura Shook-GuzmanWomen in the Business Arena The logistics behind creating more revenue in your business. You are aware of some of the challenges you face in the arena! So what can you do about it? In the last two weeks, we have discussed both the external and internal challenges that hold women back from reaching financial stability. Now it’s time to implement the logistics that will empower you to move towards success! “Real change begins with us. We do have so much power to change our experiences and to tweak things that will allow us to have more profit, revenue, and time to invest in our business.” - Sonya Stattmann (3:31 - 3:52) It may feel like there is a lot holding you back from financial stability. But you can initiate change!  Here are some steps to shift your financial future and step into a place o

“Women are struggling to make more money in their business because they’re hitting a lot of mindset blocks.”Sonya Stattmann & Laura Shook-GuzmanWomen in the Business Arena This week we wanted to talk about the internal factors holding women back from reaching financial stability. Last week we began a three-part series discussing the reasons for the following statistic: Only 12% of women-owned businesses are making over $100,000 a year in revenue, including expenses and taxes. Last week we addressed the systemic issues that are getting in the way of a woman’s entrepreneurial success. This week we wanted to address mindset, value and the internal blocks that keep us from reaching greater financial goals. Sometimes we sabotage ourselves. It is time for us to reclaim our power. The sooner we become aware of our internal struggle, the sooner we can identify and remove the mindset blocks that are standing in the way of long-term sustainable success and reaching our goals. “It’s so important to pause a

“The world is designed for a man and we need to change it. We need to shift it. We need to redesign it.” - Sonya Stattmann (34:22-34:29) Only 12% of women-owned businesses are making more than $100,000 in revenue per year. That’s total revenue. It doesn’t take into account business expenses such as taxes, labor, and overhead costs. And when businesses have low profit margins the money taken home is so much less. Many entrepreneurs paint a picture of how easy it is to make millions of dollars starting your own business. But that’s not reality. When 88% of women-owned businesses are earning less than $100,000 a year, we have to step back and look at what’s really happening. “It really starts with us changing ourselves and how we operate, committing to something, using our voice, and being an example to others.” - Sonya Stattmann (21:17-21:30) There are systemic issues keeping women-owned businesses from thriving. It’s easy to compare ourselves to others. Women often see themselves as failures when they don

“It’s better to focus on minimal momentum for consistency rather than maximum effort towards exhaustion.” -Sonya Stattmann (28:16 - 28:24) Maintain minimal consistency for the success of your business. The culture in which we live in loves to perpetuate what we like to call the “work, work, work, collapse” model. You start pushing yourself and feeling great. But it’s only a matter of time before you collapse. Sound familiar? You’re not the only one running in the hamster wheel. Many entrepreneurs fall into this cortisol roller coaster of the highs of productivity and lows of burn-out. But the systematic thinking of “toughing it out” to get the job done is both debilitating and inhibiting you from actually finding balance. It’s time for a shift from giving your maximum effort to maintaining a minimal consistency for the success of your business. “Every time we have to pick back up our momentum it takes twice as much energy... Whereas, if we maintained a momentum it’s so much better energy-wise.” - Son

“You CAN run your business on 10 hours a week if you’re strategic, you set realistic expectations and you really focus on what’s essential” - Laura Shook-Guzman (37:09 - 37:17) When we have a limited amount of time and energy, and an endless list of tasks, what do we prioritize to keep our business running, while staying sane?   In this business journey, we will all come across times where priorities must shift, and the majority of our time must be spent away from the business. For many of us, this occurs each summer when our children are out of school for break. Last week, we discussed the mindset needed to successfully navigate these seasons of life. This week, let’s take a deeper dive into the fundamentals that will allow you to keep your business moving forward during these busy seasons. Planning is key. When your time is limited, planning is a key discipline to implement into your days. When you take the time each week to prioritize your tasks, when an unforeseen circumstance arises the stru

“Our businesses don’t stop for life, and life does not stop for our businesses. It’s inevitable that you’re going to hit something... that takes a huge amount of your capacity that is not your business.”- Sonya Stattmann (4:43 - 5:00 ) How do we maintain momentum in our business when it is impossible to operate at 100%? Throughout life, it is inevitable that we will come up against circumstances that require us to dial back the energy and momentum of our business. Many of us our business owners and also mothers. When the summer months hit, and our children are running free for a few months, it can be difficult to manage the shift in day-to-day responsibilities while still operating a thriving business. Even if you don’t have to navigate the challenges of children and summer break, I feel confident to say that at some point there will be responsibilities that demand your time - ailing parents, health issues, health issues with family members, etc. The question isn’t whether or not there will be a time when

“If you‘re running a business, it’s going to shift and change. You’re going to shift and change. Let it change, and evolve, and grow with you.” - Sonya Stattmann (16:29-16:48) Every business evolves over time. But how can entrepreneurs change and pivot their brands in ways that reflect their own personal growth? Business owners often worry that changing their business will compromise their integrity. But if you want to succeed in the long run, you have to give yourself permission to evolve your business in ways that align with who you are at any moment. This can be especially difficult for lifestyle brands built around a person’s identity or single focus. When these entrepreneurs face the possibility of rebranding, it can feel like an identity crisis. But changing your brand’s message lets you take things in a new direction. We just need to be careful when deciding exactly how we want to show up. “There are millions of people who don’t know who you are and don’t care what you did a month ago. They only care

“There’s a middle ground where you can be clear and upfront with your agreements, and still come from a place of caring.” - Sonya Stattmann (15:42-15:52) As business owners, we have to make a lot of agreements. We make agreements with our clients, with other service providers, with our spouses and our families. The problem is that many people, especially women, struggle to set boundaries and make clear agreements that support them to succeed. Women tend to over-own their responsibility, give in too much and let broken agreements slide. But what happens when promises are broken in our business relationships? Or how about when the agreements we have made no longer serve us? How do we honor our integrity and handle these tricky situations? There are things that happen beyond your control. This is why one of the ways to handle broken agreements is to prepare for them before there is an agreement in the first place. This way you can take steps to protect yourself and your business when someone you've made an agree

“Entrepreneurship is not just one skill. It’s a lot of different things you learn along the way.” - Laura Shook-Guzman (8:17-8:22) The desire for personal and professional freedom is pushing people of all ages to start their own businesses. But there’s an impractical reality that’s setting in. A lot of would-be entrepreneurs think they’re going to strike it rich with nothing but a laptop and an idea. The reality is that you need so much more to build and maintain a profitable business. Success requires you to consider the things you need to do and the skills you need to learn to achieve your goal. The path to entrepreneurship has ups and downs. Your ability to carry out your vision depends on a solid foundation built on much more than a dream. The truth is, the experience of running a business provides the real lessons that lead to future success. In my Women in the Arena™ program, I focus on experiential learning, helping women work “in” their business to understand through experience what works and what d

“Divine timing is about surrendering to a certain current or energy that is unseen. It takes a lot of trust and communicating with those around us and giving ourselves permission to say, ‘I think something is off." - Laura Shook-Guzman (28:44-29:04) What does it mean to yield to divine timing? There are those times in our business and our lives when things just work and flow and are easy. And then there are those times when things we really wanted to work just aren’t working. So what do we do? Should we yield to divine timing and trust the things we can’t see? Or should we stick to our original plan and take more action to make it happen? When things aren’t coming together, we need to honor that the disruption means something. It is a great time to stop and reassess. Perhaps we need to move more slowly until things come back together again, or it could be time to go in a different direction. These are options to explore when something isn’t moving fluidly. It can be challenging to let go of the steering w

“Realize that you are absolutely going to confront fear if you’re trying to grow your business.” -Sonya Stattmann  (5:38 - 5:43) As entrepreneurs, we are used to using our rational mind to build our business, but when faced with “paralyzing” fear, we have to use different tools and skills to effectively navigate it. Rationalizing ourselves out of fear doesn’t work. We need to first realize that fear is normal. It’s a big myth that we have to be fearless to be an entrepreneur. The truth is that If we’re moving into new areas, moving up to a new level, or growing something we’ve never grown before, fear is inevitable. “If you’re going to go into a business venture without fear, you’re losing one of your best assets, because fear has the ability to tell you if something is changing or needs attention.”  - Laura Shook-Guzman (6:48 - 7:01) If we don’t experience fear, we’re probably not moving in the right direction. We’re staying in our comfort zone, which won’t get us very far. Knowing tha