Women In Small Business

Yesterday I was honored to be invited to an amazing event celebrating businesswomen. Since I knew breakfast was being provided, I didn’t eat and was hungry. But by the time my plate arrived, I was so focused on the panelists I couldn’t take a bite. They were speaking a language that I thought I only knew. But to my surprise every word they said made sense, every phrase and every line spoke to my heart and to my mind. In a world dominated by men, it was refreshing to be among a group of successful businesswomen who understood my pain, my fights, and my gains.

I want to share the top skills that us, businesswomen, are doing correctly:

1. We have a different set of skills than men. We are different, we don’t play the game the same way, and that’s ok.
2. We are more caring and respectful of our employees. For the best and for the worst, this is why why we can’t put money before people because we care.
3. We are honest and direct when we give feedback.
4. We are more creative.
5. We are great leaders, we inspire and we bring people together.
6. We are more aware of what’s going on around us.
7. We are the ultimate multitasked individuals.

And these are the top skills we still need to work on:

1. We need to learn to compartmentalize things and issues. This is how men find solutions. They are great at disconnecting and focusing on a specific task. They can leave their feelings and problems behind and be effective at the one thing they are working on.
2. Since we are still living in a men’s world, we need to learn how men think.
3. We need to stop apologizing! We apologize too much. We apologize more than men do.
4. We need to network more. It should be natural for us!
5. We need to find mentors to inspire us and to help us.

Bottom line is, we are here to stay. We still have a lot to learn, but we are catching up pretty fast! We are strong, we are smart and we are unbreakable.

Written by Victoria Lara.

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I want to thank the Portland Business Alliance for organizing this wonderful event.

I want to thank the sponsors: Alaska Airlines, University of Oregon, Portland Tribune, and CH2MHILL.

And I want to celebrate the wonderful panelist for their amazing and inspiring words:

Tracy Curtis, Oregon Regional President of Wells Fargo.

Debbie Kitchin, Principal of InterWorks, LLC

Tara Kramer, Principal of Ri KY Roofing

Lisa Watson, Owner of Cupcake Jones