by Solange Lopes | May 26, 2016 | Career
You see them in the media, on your Facebook or Twitter feed, through the books you read and the shows you watch. Those women, those “corporate entrepreneurs” who’ve hustled and grinded their way out of a “normal” job into the business and life of their dreams. The Oprahs, the Sara Blakelys, the Barbara Corcorans, the Sallie Krawchecks of this world…
Think about it, Oprah used to be a reporter before her big break! Sara Blakely was a fax-machine saleswoman before her Spanx invention took off! Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran had about 20 jobs, including diner waitress, before founding her multi-billion real estate company! Ellevate’s Sallie Krawcheck was a corporate executive and research analysts before becoming an entrepreneur!They were once the “corporate entrepreneur” you may now be, dreaming of success, time, flexibility, and maybe…more sleep!
If you’re a corporate entrepreneur working a regular job while building your business, being inspired by those who did it before you, dragging yourself out of bed at 5am and surviving on excessive caffeine, you’re not alone. Looking at some of the most famous women entrepreneurs who bootstrapped themselves from corporate, normal gigs to their own empires, here are 7 of their most prominent traits:
- Vision. You know when your little cousin from back home tell you you must have fallen and hit your head to come up with that crazy entrepreneurial idea, that you’re a visionary. If others think you’re crazy, yet you can see beyond the way things are, then you have a vision. If you’re bent on doing a new thing others think is impossible, and the thought of burying your vision under your cubicle desk the rest of your life makes you throw up in your mouth, that’s Vision!
- Grit. It’s hard to wake up at the crack of dawn to chase a dream, only to turn around, put your suit on and go earn your paycheck. It’s challenging to do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do. That’s called grit, that inner conviction, that hunger, that self-fueled energy that pushes you to work twice as hard than everyone else.
- Passion. Along with the grit, comes the passion. That red-hot, fiery sense drive to accomplish your goals, no matter what. It’s what makes you smile when you want to cry, what pulls you out of bed in the morning, and what makes you want to change the world!
- Comfortable with change. Pastor TD Jakes said it best: “Growth is [..] uncomfortable.” Pursuing your dreams will make you shake in your boots, introduce you to new territory, and make you stretch beyond what you thought possible. And when you combine that with holding down a job, raising a family, and doing the best you can, you’ll grow comfortable with being uncomfortable most of the time.
- Determination. I’ve never met a corporate entrepreneur who’s not determined to make it happen. Despite the moments of weakness, despite the failures, the setbacks, they’re bent on finding whatever means it takes to accomplish their objectives.
- Self-awareness. You’ve got to know who you are before you can stretch yourself to the end of who you are. It takes self-awareness to keep yourself grounded when battling on the career and entrepreneurial front at once. It takes knowing your strengths so you can capitalize on them, and realizing your weaknesses so you can forgive yourself and keep pushing. Most importantly, you must have charity about your purpose in order to have a true, meaningful impact.
- Love. This may just be the most important trait a corporate entrepreneur can ever have. You’ve got to love yourself, love others, and love the journey! Without it, you won’t have the strength to forgive yourself, start over, appreciate the good, learn from the bad, and keep your happy as you make it happen! Without it, you won’t learn to collaborate with others in a way that makes all parties fulfilled. And without it, you won’t enjoy the process. And isn’t that really the point of it all?
How many traits of a corporate entrepreneur do you have? Please chime in…
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates!
To your success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 25, 2016 | Career
For todays’ corporate catwalk, my pick is this Halston Heritage short-sleeve V-neck top from Neiman Marcus. The silver tone hardware on the surplice neckline is the detail that takes this easy summer top up a notch.
Loving the flattering slim silhouette and straight style of this versatile top that can be paired with pretty much any bottom, from a pair of easy slacks to a classic straight pencil skirt.
I’d pair this easy top with a trendy pair of culottes like this pleated Wayf number, or this gorgeous fuschia Apieceapart silk linen pair.
Which combination is your favorite?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates!
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 25, 2016 | Career
If you’re a “corporate entrepreneur”, you know how challenging it can be to build and run your business, while holding down the fort at your day job, in addition to dealing with the rest of Life. You know how limited your time is, and how much there is to do all around. And that cutting on your sleep isn’t going to help with your sanity or those pesky under-eye circles either…This is where apps comes into play…
When I started blogging while working full-time, I was frankly overwhelmed. As my caffeine consumption shot up, so did whatever sanity I had left at the time (in addition to there not being enough concealer in the whole wide world to fix that look of exhaustion). Something had to give…
If you can relate to late nights, early mornings, and constant bursts of caffeine, here are 10 apps that can help running your business while working full-time, keeping some of your sanity, and even finding time to shoe-shop online:
- Evernote: This is my “backup brain”, as I like to call it. You can literally store all kinds of information into Evernote, in the form of notes organized in notebooks with tags and references. This app helps you sync notes across your mobile and desktop platforms. Great app if you’re bombarded with information and want to keep all of it in one safe place!
- Fuze: Videoconference much? This app helps you host online meetings for all devices and operating systems. It’s free for up to 25 participants, and jumps to less than $15/month for up to 125 participants. There’s also a free 30-day trial period available.
- Pomodoro: This productivity app has changed my life! It incorporates the principles of the Comodoro technique, and helps you create tasks, set up breaks, and track your entire productivity throughout the day, week or month! Ah-mazing!
- Skype: Despite all the competition, Skype is still the Queen of videoconferencing. It lets you hold calls all over the world, share files and photos, as well as your computer screen, with groups of up to 25 people. The basic plan is also still free!
- Paypal: This app is really convenient to process payments from customers on the go. It lets you link your debit, credit and other bank accounts to your Paypal platform. Now, it also lets you use a tablet or other device, as well as Paypal’s card reader as a portable register (mostly as a way to compete with Square).
- Wave: Accounting and invoicing giving you headaches? This easy app helps you do it conveniently, and for free!
- Dropbox: No room to store and share files? Dropbox helps you do just that by storing your files on the cloud. Especially useful for telecommuters who need to access their files on the go, or share them in one central location. The basic plan is free, and there are trial periods available as well.
- Wunderlist: If you’re a fan of to-do lists and checking things off like myself, then Wanderlust is your go-to app. It’s an oldie but a goodie, that helps you check off the holiday vacation planning just as well as that big contract to draft!
- Facebook Messenger: A lot of business is being done on Facebook these days. This app lets you communicate with your Facebook contacts without having to be on the social media network (read: no excess browsing). Talk about effective and time-saving!
- Mail chimp: If you’re looking to use email marketing in your business (and you should), this app helps you create easy newsletters, manage your mailing lists and track your subscribers. You can use this information to learn more about your customer base, and market to them more effectively!
What tools do you use to run your business while working full-time?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates!
To your success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | May 24, 2016 | Career
Photo credit: shop style.com
Loving this linen shirtdress from Ann Taylor for our corporate catwalk pick today! Everything about it, from the fresh spring/summer pattern, to the classic silhouette, screams elegance and comfort!
This dress is perfect to go from the office to after-hours, right down to Sunday brunch. I’d pair it with an elegant pair of heeled sandals for a classic yet refined look.
Yay or nay?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates!
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 24, 2016 | Career, Start Your Business
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Remember when they asked you the question, as a young kid. And you’d let your mind wander, your eyes shining with anticipation as you imagined all the possibilities. Astronaut, circus clown, superhero, doctor, soccer player, pianist…
Then life happened, decisions were made, and you found yourself behind a crowded desk doing a “real” job in the “real” world . Yet you haven’t forgotten the original question/dream, and after years of “adulting”, you’re still going for it. Working nights and week-ends, rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn to try and make things happen…
Hence the new generation of “corporate entrepreneurs”, those countless brave souls building full-time businesses, going after their dreams, while working full-time, taking care of their families, and doing the rest of the “adult” thing…With so much on their plates, and so little time, they’re tempted to quit their jobs, jump ship and just go for the Dream. This is especially true for women who may be over the gender politics at work, or moms who may want more time and flexibility with their kids…
In the best case scenario, they’ve saved a bit of money to weather a few months, as in the example of ex-marketing executive Sonia Thompson who left her cushy corporate gig to build a business bringing in only a quarter of that. or are relying on their partners/families to help them out. Or they just may end up writing this type of post...In all cases, it’s never the easiest of decisions…
For a few years now, entrepreneurship has been the new Women’s Movement. Instead of flocking to corporations as happened in the 70’s, they’re now fleeing form the limiting prisons of corporations to build their own empires. Millennial women in particular, are burning out at work by the time they hit…30!
While research shows women will create over half of the new 9.72 million jobs by 2018″ from the comfort of their home offices/closets/smartphones, the question remains: Should you quit your day job to build your dream? Or should you do it while logging in your regular hours?
There’s a lot of advice out there telling you when to quit your job to start your business, or how to transition from your job to your business full-time, or what kind of tequila to buy in case things go south. And for women, especially those with families and children to support, the decision is never an easy one, no matter what Wikipedia may say.
And there’s no one-fits-all solution either, as every female corporate entrepreneur deals with their own very unique set of circumstances. Whether you’re divorced, married, single, with or without children, making the leap into full-time entrepreneurship will probably be one of the most nerve-wracking decisions of your life.
While no one but you can tell you what you should be doing, here are in my opinion, the 3 most important (albeit, unconventional) questions to consider as you sip on that tequila while contemplating the current state of your life:
- Are you happy? Ok, happiness may not pay the bills at first. Yet in the long-term, being satisfied and fulfilled can help you make more money. Ask yourself if you’re happy and fulfilled. If your career is among the factors decreasing your happiness, it may be time to consider a change. It doesn’t mean you have to turn in your resignation letter today, but it may mean you have to push the pedal towards turning your business into an alternative way to pay your bills.
- What does success mean to you? Is success intimately tied with your $200,ooo cushy salary? Or does success mean more time with your family? Is making a quarter of your salary but being able to travel and have more time off your own definition of success? Find out what being successful means to you, without any influence, interference or nagging doubts. That may lead you towards making the right decision for you, not for anyone else.
- What can you put up with? Of the 3 questions above, this one is by far the most unpleasant. There will be quite a bit of struggling involved in building your business, whether you decide to jump ship from your corporate job or hustle on the side. That’s not the question. The question is, how much can you put up with? What’s your resistance factor? Are you ok surviving on a quarter of your current salary? Are you ready to use whatever spare time, including nights and week-ends to build your business while working full-time?
Based on your answers to these questions, you’ll know whether you’re ready to tender your resignation or if you need more time to secure your bases. Or if the Dream has changed for you, or is very much alive…
So let me ask you this, should you quit your job to follow your dreams, or build your business on the side?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates.
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
