Resilience is a valuable asset for women in business. Understanding why resilience is essential and how to achieve and enhance it is important for business growth.
The ability to bounce back, adapt, and recover from challenges, setbacks, or stress are all key elements of resilience. You must withstand difficult situations, maintain your mental and emotional wellbeing, and continue to function effectively as a business owner. However, resilience isn’t all about enduring difficulties; it’s also about learning and growing from them.
What are the key aspects of resilience?
- Solving problems – Resilient business owners approach challenges with a constructive mindset. They look for solutions rather than focus on the problems.
- Adaptable – When you are flexible and open to new approaches, you become resilient in responding to changes or challenges.
- Optimistic – A positive outlook and believing in yourself and your business is vital to resilience. Staying optimistic helps you persevere through the tougher times.
- Self-care – Your resilience is linked to self-care. When you look after your mental, physical, and emotional health, you build and sustain resilience.
- Support – A strong support network, including family, friends, and the Woman Who community, can strengthen resilience. Your connections provide emotional support, guidance, and a sense of belonging.
- Learning – Resilience often comes from our past experiences, including failures and challenges. Instead of focusing on the setbacks, resilient business owners use them as a learning experience to grow and thrive.
It’s important to understand that resilience is not a fixed trait but a skill that can be developed over time. As solopreneurs, it’s essential to actively work on building your resilience through self-awareness, coping strategies, and asking for help from your network.
Resilience plays a huge role in helping women in business navigate challenges in both a personal and professional capacity.
What are the benefits of resilience in business?
Overcoming difficulties – Resilience equips you with the mental and emotional strength to overcome any difficulties that come your way. You all know how hard it can be to run a business and that setbacks and challenges are inevitable. Those challenges come in all shapes and sizes, from losing a client to marketing mistakes to financial issues. Being a resilient solopreneur means you will bounce back with a renewed determination and a better understanding of your business.
“Resilience is very different than being numb. Resilience means you experience, you feel, you fail, you hurt. You fall. But, you keep going.” Yasmin Mogahed
Building better relationships – Resilience doesn’t only benefit an individual but also impacts relationships. When you are resilient, you are better equipped to cope with conflict, handle negotiations, and maintain a strong network of connections who know, like, and trust you. Your extended relationships also strengthen, and you open yourself to collaboration opportunities.
Innovation – When you are resilient, you become more adaptable and flexible when faced with challenges. You learn to change your mind or make decisions with confidence when necessary. Embracing new technology and exploring other strategies to stay ahead in your niche comes from a place of resilience. You incorporate space into your business planningto allow for that flexibility in thinking.
Resilience isn’t about avoiding failures and challenges. It’s about bouncing back stronger! I’ve broken more bones than I like to admit, but each setback has given me the time and space to focus on the Woman Who Community. I like to think that the members gain even more value each time I bounce back.
Let’s explore three ways you can become more resilient in your business.
Develop a growth mindset – Resilience and a growth mindset go hand in hand. When you nurture that growth mindset, you trust that each challenge is a lesson that drives your business forward. Embrace challenges as new opportunities. Learn from each setback or failure. Continue to learn new skills and stay curious.
Understand your emotions – When faced with any problem, it’s inevitable that you will feel despondent or overwhelmed. You can enhance your resilience by developing a sense of self-awareness around your emotions and those of others. Reflection is a great tool to check in on your emotions and how they impact you. Good communication skills also help you build that understanding. Learn to express yourself clearly.
Build a support system – When you surround yourself with mentors who can offer guidance, support, and a new or different perspective, it makes a huge difference to your resilience. Join the Woman Who community to benefit from shared experiences, collaboration, and an abundance of opportunities to make your business more visible. Connect with like-minded women in business who share your passion and purpose.
Unlock your full potential and thrive in business by nurturing your resilience. Use any challenge or setback as a stepping stone toward success.
Woman Who Inspires Events
Each month, Woman Who hosts the Woman Who Inspires Online Network, and tickets to our September event are now live. With Woman Who events, networking, inspirational speakers, and learning will be included with this month’s theme, Resilience.
In business, we need to network to increase our contacts and our pipeline of work for the future. Whether you network online or in person, you can share your networking tips and learn new ones.
If you are looking for an in-person network event, join us at Zen Metro in Birmingham for our Woman Who Live and Lunch event on Friday 22nd September, 12pm – 4pm
Join us for an afternoon of networking, inspiration, and learning over a three-course lunch in central Birmingham. I will also announce the Finalists of the Woman Who Achieves Solopreneur Awards 2023.
“I have been part of Woman Who for three years – initially, new to the area, I went to network and build up relationships. The networking was fabulously organised, then I was given the opportunity to speak!! I never let that sort of opportunity go! Since then I have entered Woman Who Achieves Awards, have been a sponsor of the Networking Award, WON an AWARD, and now I am proud to be in the Woman Who Achieves Academy – Why? because I still learn so much, have wonderful support from the other professionals in the group and its fabulous to give back and share skills. Woman Who is for all Women Who know they can be and will be amazing.”