How to find your Superpower and create a Business You Love
More and more, I see incredible female founders launching businesses across a range of industries from photography to design and from finance to retail. Often this happens at a transitional point in their lives - perhaps they have become parents and looking for something more flexible, or they have moved to a new area and want to build their own career and network. In fact, Your AJency works with female business owners across the globe and there is one thing that unites them all. They have all used their experience from previous careers to create a business which they are passionate about, and where people buy into them as much as their brand. So how did they know what type of business to start and how do you launch a successful business as a female entrepreneur? Is there a magical method to find your own superpower so that you can do work you love, and with people you love working with? Read on to find out how you can use what you already know to launch and run a successful business.
Own Your Story
So often, we speak about the need to show up authentically as a business owner and this is never truer than right at the start of a business. Think about what you’re doing now, whether in your personal or professional life, that really makes you tick. Is it caring for others or organising their schedules? Is it connecting people from various networks? Is it cataloguing your life through photo or video? When we choose something that we truly love doing, it can make the hard work of running your own business that much easier. Think about all of the things that have survived through to get to where you are today - which of these could you take forward into a career?
From Nanny to Photographer to Event Space Director
Sarah, from Wildwood Studio, is just one of our clients that took something she loved and turned into a business. Not only is she an award-winning children and family photographer in Chicago, but she has totally reimagined the traditional photography studio with her venue, Wildwood - based in Roscoe Village, Chicago. As well as offering luxury product shoots and family photography, Sarah has used her love (and original college course) of interior design to create a stunning event space in Chicago which is perfect for anything from an intimate dinner with friends to baby showers, product launches or corporate workshops.
But interestingly, this isn’t an industry Sarah ever planned to work in. Rather she had planned of becoming a fashion photographer in New York. However, after working as a nanny and photographing the children she looked after, she quickly fell in love with the authenticity of kids and decided to change track to children’s and family photography. From there she created a studio space that would want people to come back time and time again, and as it turns out, they loved it so much, she has since diversified and hires out Wildwood Studios to other photographers or as a successful event space. We’re excited to see where Sarah and her team go next!
Use Your Experience
No matter what you’re industry you’re working in, you will be gaining valuable transferable skills that you can take into any business that you may want to run. If you’re working in the corporate world, you will know how to work with various stakeholders and manage professional relationships. If you’re in education, you might be excellent at balancing your workload between delivering lessons and planning longer-term goals for your students. And if you’re like our client Gillian Ryan of Rold Design and work in the healthcare industry, you’ll know how to make people feel special no matter what they’re going through.
Corporate Healthcare to Design
Gillian took a leap of faith and left her corporate career and role as CEO of a start up to launch her own business, Rold Design. Now she uses her super power of making people feel special to design experience both digitally and physically that leave each of her clients with the wow factor. From commercial spaces like Suvarna Chiropractic (another of the fabulous Your AJency clients) to residential spaces like this project we worked on together in London, Gillian uses her keen sense of style as well as her background working strategically in the healthcare industry to deliver an experience that makes her clients feel truly special. It’s just as important to think about how you make your clients feel as well as the products you deliver.
Build a Network
Whatever business you decide to launch, finding a network of like-minded people is imperative if you want to be successful. Having worked across multiple continents now, I have had to find networks in each of the places I’ve lived and operated and I’ve truly found that having people to support me mentally and physically has been game-changing for Your AJency as a business. Not only is this network something you can use when it comes to powerful collaborations for your business, but sometimes it’s also the perfect way to find a solution to talk to other female business owners.
Since moving back to the UK I’ve found The Photo Club, run by @withpassionandpurpose. These networking events are truly unique and I always leave feeling inspired by the women I meet and the businesses they run.
At the most recent event, I got the chance to celebrate a huge win for Your AJency by sharing an article I wrote for Brand You magazine and it proved yet again the fantastic way in which we, as women, come together to raise each other up. If you’re thinking about launching a business, or if you’re already running your own company, make sure you take a moment to find a network either in-person or online. Not only could you find a friend to bounce ideas off, but it could also open the door to potential clients or collaboration partners.
Find Your Superpower
So you’ve worked out what business you might like to run, now it’s time to consider your superpower. Every single one of us has a superpower! YES, I said everyone! Sometimes we just need a little help to unleash it and share it with the world. This is where the power of stories comes into action and working with a storytelling marketing mentor.
For Your AJency clients, I go through the process of digging deep into the stories behind a brand and those of an amazing female founder. Often you might not even realise how unique you are in terms of what you can offer as a business! That’s where we come in to find your secret sauce and show you how sharing this in lots of different ways will convert to growth.
Do you know what your super power is? What makes you YOU and what is the thing that makes you and your brand truly unique.
Sometimes you just need someone on the outside to help you see things you can't so if you need support finding out what your superpower is, that is something I can absolutely help with. Reach out via email or DM so we can talk!
For more inspiring stories from female business owners in the Your AJency community, why not read our “Moments to Motivate” series?