Why Women Entrepreneurs in eCommerce Need Their Own Support Group/Mastermind
International Best Selling Author and Go-To eCommerce Expert for National Media, Ashley Armstrong The Hidden Rules Expert discusses why women entrepreneurs need their own support group.
Running a successful eCommerce business is not as easy as some may think. In fact, in 2019, the failure rate of startups was around 90%. That number is insanely high and it is no wonder when there are so many hidden rules to eCommerce that the ‘big guys’ don’t want you to know, not to mention unforeseen expenses that can crush a newer company.
Like so many other women, when I made the leap from stay at home mompreneur to full time entrepreneur over a decade ago. I found myself juggling life, family, and business with nowhere tangible to turn for support and expert advice from people who understood my individual needs and concerns.
I was, as they say, working in an ‘all-boys club’ with exceptionally talented men like Dan Hollings, Matt Clark and Jason Katzenback, who helped in guiding me to where I am today. They were all experts in their fields and as supportive as they could be, however, through no fault of their own they did not understand my unique challenges as a woman.
I often needed the opportunity to vent my frustrations and needed answers on how to balance everything in my life from someone who had faced the same challenges as a woman, but that opportunity didn’t exist for me. And even today only 26.5% of executive/manager positions in the top 500 S&P companies are held by women so locating a female mentor who matches your vision is often close to impossible in the eCommerce space.
Yes, I had networks of people on my side and had hired mentors and joined groups of fellow entrepreneurs, but nowhere felt safe enough to open up my feminine side. I always felt I had to ‘be on’. Be strong, and work harder than anyone else to get to where I wanted to be. After all, no one in those groups wanted to hear that my kid had been sick all day, that supper had burnt while I was on a business call, and that I had missed my children’s game due to work.
I needed a safe, accountable, nurturing environment where I could get the answers I needed to all my business questions without the high-priced cost of paying each expert individually. All while feeling safe enough to share my fears and I knew thousands of women out there needed that too. After all, I was asked to create something too many times to count.
So instead of waiting around for that group to finally arrive…I created my own! The Hidden Rules Network For Women in eCommerce.
This is not the first female-focused community I have created. As an expat living in Cabo San Lucas Mexico for almost 14 years, there was no community leader, no female support, and no one to help with rearing children. So I became not only the local naturopath at that time and one of two childbirth educators, but I built a 1500+ member group (still running it to this day 9 years later) of local ex-pat and national mothers to provide them the guidance, support they needed during the crucial years of birthing and raising children.
I gave the women a safe space to ask questions, share problems, be vulnerable, make friends and I helped many start local businesses, provided connections they needed, and created opportunities for them to make money for their family with local events. The women of my communities have made lifelong friends they would have never had the opportunity to do so if they hadn’t joined…so I knew I could create the same nurturing environment for women entrepreneurs!
The Hidden Rules Network For Women in eCommerce is not just a place for women to vent their frustrations, it is a safe place to showcase their ideas and get immediate feedback. A place to grow, learn and gain clarity for every aspect of running a successful eCommerce business from some of the best experts in their fields. Everything from proper accounting and hiring a team to product positioning and marketing.
The cost of hiring individual experts to run a successful business such as marketing advisors, accountants, lawyers, content writers, etc., can easily crush a business. That is why I am bringing all the experts to one place to help other driven women grow their eCommerce business without the costly price tag, because let’s face it they already invest huge money to get their businesses off the ground already. The support they need right when they need it!
There is so much more to business than just having the right product or service! Having not only the right mindset but also a nurturing environment to ask your questions from people who actually understand where you are today…is priceless!
I want to pull back the curtain of what it really takes to succeed in eCommerce. No fluff, just real experts offering real advice providing clarity and support that you can actually use to grow your business while finding the confidence and power within yourself to take your business to new heights!
Women are making their mark in the business world and although we can and DO succeed in the ‘boys club’, it is nice to have a tribe of our own who understands our unique needs for support we can rely on!
It is an exciting time for women in eCommerce and business in general as we take on more leadership roles than ever before. If you have ever felt alone or not understood in the ‘boys club’, you understand why we need our own support community and 1-on-1 access to mentors without the $25K price tag that normally comes with that.
That support group finally exists and I am proud to be able to bring such amazingly talented women together because who needs a boardroom…when you have a tribe!
