The Top Characteristic's Of Women Who Run Million Dollar Companies

By Linda DiMarco

Women entrepreneurs who have pledged their commitment to break the million-dollar barrier and build a successful million-dollar enterprise. Currently, less than 3% of the 10.4 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. generate $1 million or more in revenues annually.

• Have a positive, confident outlook- They've started (or will start) their businesses primarily to be able to better balance their lives (29%), to be their own boss (22%), to build a legacy (11%) or to fulfill a dream or passion (5%) - and for those who have already started their businesses, nearly all (98%) say that "regardless of the challenges, owning my own business is deeply satisfying" and fully 89% say "I have complete faith that I will succeed." Further, a 57% majority say that "Reaching $1 million in revenues is just the beginning for them.

• Balance is a Key Driver, But Remains Elusive: Only 19% of entrepreneurial women say they rarely or never feel conflicted between their personal and professional responsibilities.

• Money Ranks high, but is Not #1: For women seeking to grow their firms to the million-dollar level, there's something even more important than money in propelling them forward - self-confidence. When asked to rank five important factors in their order of importance in getting them to the million-dollar mark, self-confidence came out on top, with money coming in second, Marketing was rated number three, followed by mentoring, and support from family and friends.

• Personal Appearance is Important: women entrepreneurs believe that their appearance affects their business success, and they put energy into looking their best.

• Maintaining the success and furthering the growth of their enterprises is a high priority for women entrepreneurs worldwide: The most important issues cited by women business owners around the globe include maintaining business profitability, managing cash flow and bill payment, and finding and keeping quality employees.

• Gaining access to technology, access to capital for business growth, and government corruption are other issues of concern for women entrepreneurs.

Majority are optimistic about the outlook for their businesses over the next two years. Women entrepreneurs, regardless of country of origin, share many of the same business concerns and the The majority of women business owners' surveyed use some form of computer system in their business: approximately three-quarters of Brazilian and Canadian women business owners are using the Internet-a larger share than their counterparts

• They Make Things Happen- Highly successful women business owners will tell you that they see themselves as being in charge of their own destiny. Things do not happen to them-instead they make things happen.

• Driven and Confident: To be a successful entrepreneur, you must be willing to put in long hours and have an intense commitment to the success of your business. A recent study of women-owned businesses found that owners of high-growth companies have a greater intensity of commitment to their company than women-owned businesses with low growth (Gundry & Welsch, 2001).

• Self-confident and take risks: While they are self-confident, these women realize that they need support from others.

• Intelligent and Innovative-But Not "A" Students: There is no doubt that successful women entrepreneurs are intelligent; however, most of them were not straight-A types in high school or college. They may even have displayed behavior problems in school, because these women tend to be the type of individuals who do not like to play by the rules. As students, they may have created ways to get around the rules or any other obstacle that stood in their paths, constantly challenging and even changing the status quo. These same traits, which are often viewed by teachers as undesirable in the classroom, turn out to be highly innovative and effective when displayed by a responsible, creative adult in the competitive world of business.

Big Dreamers: The most successful women entrepreneurs are those who "dream big"-they see themselves succeeding financially, managing large staffs and running businesses that have multiple branches and locations or that are international in scope. These are women with 100 ideas a minute who do not hesitate to implement the best of the ideas they dream up.

About the author
Linda DiMarco is Publisher at Women Business Magazine. marketing tips, family business issues, and resources to help women to start and grow their businesses. Stories track the Highly successful, entrepreneurial, financially independent, and market savvy WOMEN. How they got there and what they had to go thru to get where they are today...... and women who are coming up in the world. Go to http://www.womenbusinessmagazine.com for more articles and tips on growing your business.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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