Talking about starting up a company and acting on it are completely different. The first steps are usually the most daunting. However, what follows can be just as hard. Add the imbalance of gender norms and other disparities to the entrepreneurial equation and growing your business can become quite the challenge. Helping women entrepreneurs and supporting them succeed in their ventures is one of CIAP’s core objectives.
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Despite potential roadblocks, there are a lot of resources out there geared towards tapping into the potential of women’s entrepreneurship. However, we understand that sifting through the resources and finding things that are applicable to your specific situation can be an overwhelming experience. We’ve put together a lot of resources, tips, tools, and tricks for women entrepreneurs, but this post collates the most helpful ones.
Here’s a list of articles made specifically to support your business ventures
1. Entrepreneurial Highlight: 3 Indian Business Women We Look Up To: In this blog, we looked at 3 Indian business women that we look up to. This is a great read for anyone looking for inspiration to get started. Learning from the community and diving into someone’s story can ignite and propel us in the right direction.
2. Conducting Business in India As A Woman: Whether you are a Canadian Entrepreneur looking to expand your operations into India, or an Indian Entrepreneur looking to start out and understand the nuances, challenges, and workarounds within the Indian Startup Ecosystem, this blog is for you. We addressed the typical challenges and the know-how of navigating within the landscape.
3. Power of Word Association: Women in Business: Social biases and societal norms can sometimes weigh down on women achieving their goals. With things slowly evolving and making way for women entrepreneurs, it is important that we understand the impact of something we might consider trivial, like words. They have the power to turn around stories. This blog post addresses an element of the gender gap that isn’t as plain to see. We believe that this is a helpful read for anyone interested in promoting equality.
4. Imposter Syndrome: The Impact on Women Leaders: A common thread that connects women is the feeling of ‘Imposter Syndrome’. Women often undermine their ability to deliver, perform, and excel because of this. It can also be a big hindrance to starting their companies and advancing their careers. If you’ve ever felt as if you haven’t earned your position, this article is for you. We’ve outlined different ways in which you may be experiencing Imposter Syndrome and some tips on how to overcome it.
5. Defining Success with Iliana Oris Valiente During COVID-19; Defining success can sometimes feel abstract. When Covid hit the world, that just made it a little harder. But how do women leaders stay upbeat and measure success? How do we still make a meaningful difference? Here’s an interview with a leader who breaks this down to give you a reference that may apply to your situation.
6. Women and Entrepreneurship: The Impacts & Challenges: The men to women ratio in the SME sector is heavily imbalanced. This article looks at which challenges contribute to this and how increasing women in the workforce might impact the entrepreneurial space. We think it is an important analysis to build awareness for both ourselves and society.
7. Is Your Startup Ready: Self-Evaluation Checklist: Are you looking to expand your operations into a growing economy like India? Our CIAP program aims to help women scale their market entry. In this article, we help you evaluate your startups’ readiness for international expansion. It is a great resource to go over in general and analyze the status quo of operations.
8. Deep Dive into International Expansion: 3 Successful Case Studies: Do you often wonder what the journey of a fellow entrepreneur was like? What hoops did they have to jump or the compelling reasons behind the idea of the startup was? Here’s a blog post that highlights case studies of 3 of the most successful startups by women.
9. Business Growth: Embracing Risk: Women have been characterized as being more risk-averse compared to men in the same positions. Many companies, especially when starting out, often don’t have risk-assessment strategies in place, and opt to look for the safest routes. Managing and embracing risk can positively impact growth and lead to great opportunities. In this post, we delve into strategies to get you started on setting up risk assessment for your organization so you can have the confidence to pursue uncharted waters.
10. Conducting Business in India: 4 Considerations for Canadian Startups: While there might be a lot of similarities in the start-up ecosystem across economies, there are also stark differences because of culture and the nitty-gritty of socio-economic conditions. They can be deal-breakers and that is why we addressed the most important considerations you need to make and be aware of, as a Canadian Start-up expanding into culturally strong markets like India.
Key Takeaway
We cannot reiterate enough that starting out an entrepreneurial journey is an overwhelming experience. In understanding that, we recommend you take it one step at a time. Collating resources can help you not just sift through and organize action items, but also prioritize them. We hope you have found our summary of resources helpful, and feel like you have found compassion and camaraderie in this space.
What has been the hardest part of starting up as a woman entrepreneur, if you are one? Or what do you think is your biggest hurdle as you start out?