As a Woman, Make 2012 the Year You Break Free in the Business World

With the New Year just a couple of weeks away, have you thought about where your career is going?

For many women, 2012 could be the year they break out and go into business for themselves.

Tired of the daily rigors of the 9 to 5 scene under someone else, they could be just a move away from taking over as their own bosses, setting their sights on accomplishing a long-held dream.

According to a recently released American Express study, the number of women-owned businesses increased 50 percent when comparing it to a similar report more than a decade ago. Numbers show that there are more than 8.1 million women-owned companies nationwide, with annual sales of $1.3 trillion. Those same businesses employ some 7.7 million individuals.

If you’re a woman who wants to make 2012 the year you broke from free from everyday work life and started a new venture, keep these factors in mind:

• What are you afraid of? – Too many women (men for that matter too) just get by in a daily 9 to 5 job because of the ‘comfort’ factor. It is all they have essentially known for years now, so why rock the boat? One of the major roadblocks to getting started in your own business is telling yourself you can make a go of it in the first place. Do you want to look back 30 years from now and wish you had started a business, only to find yourself fearful of failure? Even if your business venture fails, you had the courage to try it;
• What do you want from life? If your idea of life is to just to essentially make ends meet, then a 9 to 5 job can oftentimes be the solution. Yes, many women are in such roles because they need the money and the economy has been less than stellar in recent years. But if you want more out of life than just this? Are you willing to give up what seems like the guaranteed paycheck to take a chance? We all know that the U.S. economy is driven by small businesses, here is your chance to get in the driver’s seat and not just be a passenger;
• What kind of support system do you have? The stereotypical days of women staying home to raise a family while the men go off to work have long since come and gone. Many couples today find it necessary for both participants to work in order to meet expenses. Are you in a relationship where your significant other will back you 100 percent should you choose to open a small business? If not, are there means available to you to rectify this matter without upsetting the relationship? Reassess the support system in place for you so that you know the man and/or family in your life backs you through good and bad times;
• What are your strengths and weaknesses? – There is not one self-employed worker (male or female) out there that knows it all. As you sit down to consider opening a business, look at what you do best and where you need some help. As an example, if you’re going to open a social media/SEO consulting business, where might you need a little assistance? Will you end up having to hire one or more people to work on your Web site presence efforts? Will you require some help when it comes to marketing the business and/or obtaining sales? Look at what you can handle and where you may need some assistance so that you can offer customers 110 percent quality and satisfaction;
• What are your goals a year from now? – Haven’t you always hated the dreaded question on job interviews of where do you see yourself a year, two years, five years from now? If we all knew the answer to those questions, we’d be working as fortune tellers and not in our current occupations (no offense to fortune tellers). As you embark on a possible small business of your own over this next year, be able to answer that question so that you are looking ahead and not in the rear view mirror. Could you see your small business expanding if things go well? Do you want your small business to remain just that, small? Are you simply planning to try and run a business for the valuable experience that will come with it, with no plans to make a career of it? These are all things to consider so you have a plan B should it be required;
• What makes me think I will be successful? – This is a question that you should have thought about and need to be able to answer before starting a small business. As a simple matter of fact, many women still get judged to this day in the workplace as second-class citizens. Can you handle running a small business from an emotional standpoint? Will male clients respect you as they likely would other males when it comes to business propositions? Does my family have what it takes to support me through this venture, especially when I am putting in long hours? These are just a few of the matters that you need to put in play as to the chances of being successful.

As the numbers from the earlier mentioned study show, millions of women are more than efficiently running small businesses nationwide.

With 2012 just a short time away, will this be the year that you count yourself among them?