There’s not just one method that works for everyone to find success as an entrepreneur or as a woman in business. However, there are some great tips and inspiration we can all learn from successful female leaders.
Barbara Soltysinska, Co-founder & CEO of indaHash Labs
Barbara Soltysinska is the CEO of a digital influencer marketing platform called indaHash. Its purpose is to connect agencies and brands with digital influencers all over the world; more than 450,000 are on the platform. IndaHash has been used for collaborations for brand content, which have included major brands like Coca Cola, L’Oreal and McDonald’s. It was launched in early 2016 and is now in over 70 markets globally.
Soltysinska says she came up with the idea for her business when she saw how effective influencer marketing was for brands to build engagement and awareness, especially when it comes to micro-influencers. According to Maggie Tynes, a business writer at Write My X and Brit Student, “she got the idea to automate the process and make everything easier and more effective. She says what’s most important as a leader is to avoid micromanaging, empower your team to own their work, and make people more responsible.”
Soltysinska’s insight and inspiration come from lessons she learned herself, mainly to prepare for the worst while expecting the best. When you take time to think about all of the worst things that could happen, it becomes easier to face them and handle them. She wants all female entrepreneurs to believe that being female is not a limitation to reaching your objectives.
Jade Holland Cooper, Founder of Holland Cooper
This female leader kicked off a luxury British clothing label, Holland Cooper, at the young age of 21. Nine years later, it’s grown immensely and has over 1200 square feet in Harrods as well as a brand-new menswear line. The company has experienced a staggering 150 percent growth year on year. She says the idea for Holland Cooper came to her in 2008 when she saw a gap in the market for luxury and stylish country attire. She started from the ground up with a tiny booth full of handmade tweed skirts.
Cooper is a manager who’s all about the team and developing internally as a collaborative approach to business. She learned lessons on the way that hard work truly does pay off and it’s critical to be determined and driven, and to stick with something you’re passionate about. She wants other entrepreneurs to know that they can achieve anything if they are willing to work hard for it. You have to roll with the punches; how you can overcome trials will show your strength as an entrepreneur.
Sam Heard, Founder of Tunneljobs
Sam Heard is a woman working in a man’s world of tunnel constructions. She started by working on Tunnelbuilder, an industry magazine and then founded Tunneljobs, a consultancy for recruitment using the website information to find the right people for projects. Allie Gould, a communications manager at 1 Day 2 Write and Next CourseWork, explains to aspiring female leaders that “Sam Heard’s goal was to have the number one magazine in the industry and she was successful at this, so she wants her website to reach the same success. Heard is passionate about changing the way contractors recruit employees.”
Heard says that it took her a long time to be respected in a male-dominated industry and that people just assumed she was a man when they corresponded in writing. Once she proved herself, she became accepted. She is a manager who values hiring people with different qualities and experiences so you can get a real mix of ideas at the table. It can be inspiring being surrounded by creative and intelligent people bouncing ideas off each other and working in harmony and respect.
She would like other female entrepreneurs to just take the plunge and go get what they want. You can join an entrepreneurial program to get support and mentorship. There are so many people in the world that are keen to help and to share their advice, and women should be taking full advantage of these resources.
Mildred Delgado, a marketing strategist for Academic Brits and PhD Kingdom, loves to focus on helping women excel in the marketing world. She is passionate about creating more career opportunities for women in this field and encouraging women to pursues a career in marketing. She also writes for the Origin Writings platform.
