The document shares entrepreneurial lessons from various female founders. Some of the key lessons mentioned include: having strong faith and conviction in your purpose; understanding your product's value through market research; learning to accept criticism and improve; finding support through networking with other entrepreneurs; and being patient as success takes time to achieve. The document provides these lessons to help other aspiring female entrepreneurs.

1. Top Entrepreneurial Lessons from Female Founders
EnrichHER Asks:
What's your biggest entrepreneurial
lesson to date?
?

2. We asked female founders to share
their biggest entrepreneurial lessons
with other aspiring female founders.
Top Entrepreneurial Lessons from Female Founders

3. "As an entrepreneur, you must have strong faith, conviction, and tenacity
towards your purpose in work. Allow that purpose to be the source of
everything you do."
Alanna Loren Cooke
Founder of Loren Investments
www.loreninvestments.com
"Although, it is vital to do everything from a place of passion & purpose,
don't forget to set-up a financial model that will sustain your vision and
your team. "
Cierra FLY Bobo
Founder of FLY Life Inc.
www.theflylife.org
"Trust your team - I have a tendency to micro-manage which leads
to 80 hour work weeks. I've learned that my team is made up of
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and they just need a little nudge.
That's it. I learned to delegate and its kept me from burning out."
Barbara Jones
Founder of Freeing Returns
www.freeingreturns.com

4. "It’s important to understand that what you’re building actually brings value to the
customers and makes a difference. Many entrepreneurs fall in love with their ideas. They
refuse to see if their product is actually useful or not. I was also one of them at one point.
But instead of sticking to that one idea, I decided to move on to something that is more
meaningful." Shahzeen Rehman
Founder of SeatCheck App
www.seatcheckapp.com
"Continue to be creative."
Robbie Walker, Ph.Dc
Founder of Reklaw Clothing
www.reklawclothing.com
"Market Research is never a waste of time. In fact, it is the most essential part of your startup
process. It may take a while, but it will not come back to haunt you if done correctly. You will
learn more about yourself and your goals, and you will gain so much clarity. I would go as far
as to say market research is the runway to success. It's the wind beneath the wings of your
dream."
Kiara Thomas
Founder of Konnectic Energy
www.instagram.com/konnecticenergy

5. "Entrepreneurship (specifically in the beginning) can be very uncomfortable.
The sooner you embrace and lean into the discomfort, the unknown of the
journey the easier the early days will pass on your road to growth."
Ashlee Ammons
Founder of Mixtroz
www.mixtroz.com
"Don't let anyone, not even you, talk you out of
accomplishing your goals and dreams"
Shawntel Asemota White
Founder of Dose of Om
www.doseofom.com
"My number one entrepreneurial lesson is to always be open to criticism. My
entire career is based on this application, since most of my work is in the
creative field. We take our work seriously and it becomes our child, and we
become defensive if someone doesn't like it the first time they see it. So,
learning how to accept criticism and grow from it is a valuable asset to any
business owner."
Lynsey Weatherspoon
Founder of Lynsey Weatherspoon Photography
www.lynseyweatherspoon.com

6. "That feeling like an imposter is normal"
Casey Stewart Upton
Founder of The Emotional Labor Union
www.theelu.com
"You can't do it alone! Find and cultivate your networks of other
bosses who can support you along the way."
Maggie Germano
Founder of Maggie Germano
www.maggiegermano.com
"Trust yourself and your vision, always. Listen to advice and be open, but if you
have a clear vision that you know is the right path for you, do not let others
cloud it with their agendas or their own definition of what is needed to be
successful. There are many ways to be successful in this world."
Julie Yoder
Founder of The English Teacher Collective
www.englishteachercollective.com

7. "So many people will give you advice about your business. Always stay true
to what you are doing and trust your gut."
Veronica Berry
Founder of Tru Diary
www.trudiary.com
"START - I've spent the past years thinking and dreaming about the businesses I want to create and the
change I want to see in the world, but it took me a while to realize no one else is going to make my dreams
come true. Even if there is competition, there is something unique about myself and everyone else that no
one has. Start. Stop if you must, but start again. Once I started actually putting my notes and thoughts into
action, I quickly began seeing results and validating my ideas (or learning not to waste more time on certain
ones). Even if you already have a business or project, there are some big ideas you have that will probably
make a huge impact on your business, but seem like a lot of work or something you can't do. Just start."
Shanelle Roberson
Founder of FreeTruth Financial Solutions
www.freetruthmvmt.com
"My biggest lesson to date has been understanding that no
matter how saturated the market might seem there is always
room for your gift."
Sharnikya Howard
Founder of Life Abundantly Coaching
www.lifeabundantlycoaching.com

8. "Time and health is limited so need to be choosey of who and when to
spend time with. Always take care of yourself (mental and physical) no
matter what is happening."
Jessica Tunon
Founder of Netwalk Global
www.netwalkglobal.com
"My biggest entrepreneurial lesson to date has been the importance of team. So much of
entrepreneurship is depicted as a one (wo)man show. Long hours, 24/7 hustle and celebrating
team no sleep. Although there is some truth to this I have learned that I can't build a empire
alone. I understand that if I am the only person in the company doing every the company will
not grow and I can not do what I most desire to do which is create jobs and opportunities for
others."
CherDon Reynolds
Founder of She Prints It
www.sheprintsit.com
"You're always selling something. Every day you're selling your product/service to customers or media contacts or startup
accelerators or competitions or bloggers or seed investors. You should be micro-pitching all day every day. You should bring an
excitement to the conversation every time, because initially you are the entire marketing and sales team. You're also selling
yourself every day--to investors, to pitch competitions, to startup accelerators, to your landlord, to your friends/family who will
put in sweat for love or equity. If you don't want to sell, if you don't embrace the excitement and love for what you do, yourself
and your customers, reset your mindset. Learn to love talking about what you do and telling that story and how it changes
customer lives for the better. I do this in every phase of my career--whether I'm starting a business, selling a product, helming
operations for a big company, or practicing corporate law. Learning to love what you're doing and enjoy telling that story, and
seeing how what you're doing ties into solving the problems of everyone around you, that is how you will win in your current
business, and every other venture or career step you make. Bring that lesson with you from now until the end of your days."
Juliana Neelbauer
Senior Associate at Drew, Eckl, Farnham Law Firm
www.deflaw.com

9. "As a newbie entrepreneur my biggest lesson to date is to ensure that prior to the official launch of a new
business, business insurance is a necessity despite very little equipment an entrepreneur has acquired
during its start-up phase, and/or the little risk that your business may or may not have. Business insurance
is a must as it is a means to ensure that entrepreneur's earliest business investments are protected, as well
as their clients/customers are covered should anything unfortunate happens while in the entrepreneur’s
service or care."
Kelli Mumphrey
Founder of MilkSpace
www.milkspaceusa.com
" The conversation you've been putting off, for whatever reason, is the one you most need to have! I had a
client who had wrapped up an engagement with me and we had talked about doing additional work together.
When it came time to nailing down the details, she was evasive and not as responsive as she had previously
been. Rather than assign my own reasons as to why that might be (my pricing was too high, she didn't see the
value, etc.) I simply called her and found that she had some personal tragedies in the previous weeks that
prevented her from focusing. Not only did we continue to work together, but she appreciated that I reached
out with compassion and patience. Nurturing your relationships takes many forms but there is no substitute for
genuine conversation and connection."
Liz Whitehead
Founder of 12PointFive
www.12pointfive.com
"That it's a team effort. It requires people with diverse skill sets and backgrounds."
Miracle Olatunji
Founder of OPPORTUNIME
www.opportunime.co

10. "Don’t sell yourself short. Throughout the entrepreneurial journey, there will be times that you will second guess
yourself, your abilities, and allow the thoughts of others to cloud your thinking. Don't allow that...always believe
in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, how will others have confidence that you are right for the job. When
you know what you are worth and the knowledge that you possess, you will not be fearful to charge exactly
what you and your services are worth."
TaRhonda Harvey
Founder of TaRhonda Harvey
www.tarhondaharvey.com
"Other entrepreneurs are your best resource."
Sanna Gaspard
Founder of Rubitection
www.rubitection.com
"It takes a lot of organization and focus to jump into being an entrepreneur.
Especially since I came from the agency world where processes are already in
place. I am still learning to set aside time to focus on something specific and
not steer from that plan."
Stephanie Smith
Founder of Digital Insomnia
www.digitalinsomnia.com

11. "My biggest lesson is that you need to make sure you have a product market fit and that you're
not trying to do too much. wiseHer started out looking very differently but after doing lots of
research both in-person, through online channels and dedicated to the audience, we created
something our market told us they wanted in the way they wanted. I'm sure we'll be tweaking
as we go but we did as much pre-work as possible."
Kathryn Rose
Founder of WiseHER
www.wiseher.com
"Be Patient. All overnight successes take years. As entrepreneurs, we are
in this for the long haul. Enjoy the journey."
Jean Ginzburg
Founder of Jean Ginzburg
www.jeanginzburg.com

12. EnrichHER unites Founders and Funders who
share a vision for sustainable women-led
ventures. To learn more about the EnrichHER
platform, visit our website at
www.iEnrichHER.com