The Scale Game for Women Entrepreneurs

Are you happy? It is a question I often ask my sons. They give me the acceptable “yes” nod without uttering a word. I realize I need to be more specific. I rephrase my question, “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “OMG, I hate my life” to 10 being “I’m living the life of my dreams!” give me your answer again. They both answer with scores of 9. Fantastic! I now have a clear vision of their happiness odometer. This exercise always reminds me how much I loved statistics and math in school.

So today when I read this interesting fact, in a Guidant Financial online article about women entrepreneurs regarding their happiness level, I liked the response. The report showed, “When asked about their happiness as business owners, both male and female respondents reported an average 8 out of 10, with almost 40% of women rating their happiness as 10 out of 10.” The article continued, “A recent study showed a 12 percent increase in year-over-year revenue for women-owned businesses with signs pointing to the fact the world and economy could use a few more businesses with women at the top.” Really? I’ve known that a long time and way before seeing this study results.

Therefore my question for you today is, “How happy are you with your business?” I’d like to know on a scale of 1-10 with 1 equaling “Holy Hell Batwoman, why did I ever start this enterprise?” and 10 meaning, “I’m popping another bottle of expensive champagne, do you want a glass?” I don’t want you to base the answer on exactly how you feel today because we experience good and bad days regularly like a roller coaster as a woman entrepreneur; but rather how you feel since May 2017 to today or May 2013 to today and even May 2008 until today giving a ten year scale reading. Sometimes assigning a number to any formal or informal survey clarifies results.

This is a reason consumers see 1-5 star customer ratings on Facebook pages, travel websites and restaurant reviews. It can quickly identify the reality behind a general comment or critique. If a hotel review says “fine” in writing but the star rating is a “1”, I’m not booking it. The numbers tell the real story and I’m fussy when it comes to quality when dealing with food, hotels or business vendors.

Today’s Wednesday Wisdom requires you to answer this important question “How happy are you running your business?” On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you with it? Once you have the number, figure out what makes the rating high or low. Be specific about the best and worst of the company or experience as an entrepreneur. The low numbered areas are the ones that need fixing and then changing. The high response categories are the areas that bring pride and can be used as selling points in sales pitches. Soak in the results and list actions to make your scale 10 out of 10 all the way around your entrepreneurial entity and life.