Boss Like A Lady – Women Entrepreneur Series – Geraldine Abergas, The Warrior
Continuing after Women’s History Month, I am creating a limited hand-lettered and illustrated series of some women making history. These women own their own creative businesses and make them successful despite many obstacles, including their own occasional self-doubt. I hope they inspire you to make a little history of your own!
What do you think was your greatest mistake? I consider there to be no mistakes, only lessons. A cliché but SO true. You certainly don’t realize something is a mistake until after you’ve made it. And at that point in time, it has already (hopefully) developed into a lesson.
What do you do if you begin doubting yourself? Analyze that doubt. There’s a valuable lesson there. Doubt is a self-inflicted emotion isn’t it? When you’re doubting yourself, you really need to find a way to dig deep and bring that innate confidence to the surface and rid yourself of the false belief that made you doubt yourself in the first place. And if the same doubt keeps coming up for you, then that could simply mean the lesson has yet been learned. Appreciate that doubt. It is allowing for greater self-knowledge and wisdom. (But before you can do this, know that first, doubting yourself is OK.)
Complete the sentence, ‘Being a woman and owning a business is…” So much about balance. Women are natural givers and nurturers. We have a tendency to overextend ourselves, placing everything else ahead of our own needs. Finding that balance and also maintaining a practice of self-care is paramount to owning a business. As in everything in life, in all comes back to Self Care. Another thing I’d like to add about being a woman and owning a business is also about perception. Depending on how you were raised or what your personal story is around the role of a woman in the family or relationships can influence your beliefs. Some cultures or personal stories may not place such value to a woman business owner and this is understandable. But know that this is just a story we have been told and this story is changing. As women, we have an innate ability to adapt, be fluid and empathetic. We are much less linear in our approach and have an ability to see the bigger picture. These are all valuable assets to owning your own business and could be the reason we are seeing more successful women business owners and leaders once we are able to step into our power.