Today I’ve interacted with both the informal Start Up Princess board/Fairy Godmothers about the direction of this site and I also had a great conf call with my Board of Advisors for my other start up, sweet & charming. In both instances great ideas were shared and great people demonstrated genuine concern for the success and potential of both companies.
I want to emphasize to those of you who don’t currently have a board, that you might consider surrounding yourself with at least a mentor or two that you can discuss your questions, strategy, plans, etc. Typically a board meets quarterly, but I email and call my boards on occasion as I need and we have open relationships that way.
A quick example of how a board can help out:
Here at Start Up Princess we are having a discussion about how to develop this site and grow and support this community for women entrepreneurs. We’re tossing around ideas and debating about what the ultimate goal is for this business. We want to empower women entrepreneurs, help them succeed…so our business model must reflect that. But how? We’re generating ideas and have made some excellent progress today emailing each other (We’d love to hear yours too!) Today I appreciated discussing these issues with Fairy Godmothers Holly Buchanan, Rachael Herrscher, Laura Posey, Janet Meiners and Wizard, Jason Alba.
I am convinced that if you are going to start a business, that you owe it to your business to recruit a great board of advisors. People you trust to be honest with you, to give you advice, and help you create a successful business. I am fortunate that my board cares about me–not just about the business, they want the best for me. I appreciate this very much! You deserve this too.
Today’s Magic Wand: Joe Francesci, COO of Naartjie, member of my Board said to me today, “Remember, it’s not a race!! Find the right people and time…it’s not worth the effort to create a business unless you’re ready physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.”
