How to Launch a Business
Written by Mary Welch Tuesday, November 09 2010
Snapshot: Stella Grizont
Stella Grizont has supported thousands of women in making their dreams come true. She is managing director of Ladies Who Launch in New York City and New Jersey, along with her partner, Karla Lightfoot. Previously Grizont worked with the Ladies Who Launch Corp. as the vice president of marketing where she helped catapult the brand’s presence from 35 markets to 54 markets in the United States and Canada.
She co-authored and designed the new Incubator Intensive workshop, which is taught internationally to women launchers. During her time as vice president, Grizont managed and trained a global staff of 75 incubator leaders and has been featured on NBC, Fox, Reuters, and Yahoo! News, among other media outlets.
Grizont graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University, where she serves on the alumnae leadership development committee. She holds a master’s in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. You can catch her insights at www.positivelystella.com.
Womenetics: How did you get involved in Ladies who Launch?
Stella Grizont: I had been reading their newsletter for a while. One day I decided to take the Incubator Intensive workshop to figure out what I wanted to launch next. The rest was history. I got scooped up to lead the Incubator Intensive workshop, then got hired to expand the company internationally.
Womenetics: What types of women join Ladies who Launch?
Grizont: Women who are passionate, creative, generous, and want to make things happen. We attract a mindset versus a demographic. Most of our ladies have led successful careers in corporate America and now want to be their own boss.
Womenetics: What are the five biggest obstacles with women starting their own companies?
Grizont: 1. Confidence. Just because you haven’t done what you want to do doesn’t mean you won’t be successful. Get over it and go for it. They key is to find others to complement your strengths. A friend of mine says, “Outsource everything but the genius.”
2. Nurturing others’ dreams versus your own dream. You are wired to give support. You are good at it. You naturally want to take care and help others. But you must take responsibility for fulfilling your own goals and filling your own cup.
3. Being too emotionally attached. Rightfully so, your business is your passion. But it’s important to separate your sense of self from your business success. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is to let go of control or be willing to change directions.
4. Doing it all by yourself. This builds on No. 2 and No. 3. You’re used to helping others. And giving, giving, giving. Receiving help is a whole other ball game. Ask, ask, ask, and you shall receive. Surround yourself with a generous community and supporters, and make use of them
5. Money. Women still have issues with money. Whether it’s creating financial goals, asking for what you deserve, or focusing on the revenue generators, you need to step it up. There are no excuses. You must educate yourself and be comfortable with wanting to make money and managing it. It’s critical to consider how you’re going to make money from day one. Period. The plan can always change, but you have to consider it.
Womenetics: Why are so many women becoming entrepreneurs?
Grizont: The No. 1 reason why women launch businesses is for lifestyle reasons. You want more freedom, flexibility, and control of your schedule. It doesn’t mean that you work less; it just means you get to decide. The No. 2 reason is for creativity. You have an amazing idea, and you want to do it yourself. The No. 3 reason is money.
Womenetics: What are the top five keys to establishing a brand?
Grizont: 1. Be big, be clear. A brand is not a name or a logo. A brand is your company’s relationship with the world. It should stand for something beyond the tools, service, or product you provide. It should represent your values and mission. The bigger your sense of brand, the more primed you are toward innovation. If Apple only saw itself as a computer, there might have never been the iPhone. Instead, Apple saw and continues to see itself as a brand that thinks differently about technology and design and is willing to do anything in accordance with that.
2. Know your secret sauce. What makes you or your brand unique and exciting? Know how to tell that story. Sometimes it’s not what you actually DO that’s different. It may be how you make people feel that’s different. Don’t underestimate the emotional benefit of what you offer. People will pay more to feel smarter, cooler, healthier, etc.
3. Know your audience. What makes them tick and their hearts sing? Where are they? Find them and connect with them in a meaningful way. If you don’t know enough about them, schedule informal chats, focus groups, or conduct an online survey with surveymonkey.com.
4. Know your objectives. What are you trying to achieve this year and in three? What is the financial goal? What is the communication goal? Be as specific and quantifiable as you can. If you don’t know where you going and the point of what you’re doing today, all the exciting vision is pointless. Spend your time on delivering toward your objectives. Successful brands soar toward their vision while being grounded in making things happen each day toward their goals.
5. Care. Create a culture of over-delivering value, service, and relevant content. Consumers are born with a high BS meter. They can sniff out the brands that really care. As an entrepreneur you are your company. Care. Be personal; that’s a huge advantage you have over the big companies.
Womenetics: How has branding changed with social media and the internet?
Grizont: It’s changed everything. It’s leveled the playing field. Now one single person can compete with a brand that’s been around for hundreds of years.
Womenetics: How does happiness factor into being an entrepreneur?
Grizont: It’s everything. What’s the point of living if you’re not happy? But what does happiness really mean? What does success really mean? How different are the two. Only YOU can decide that. Not everyone has to be a billionaire or a global brand. Not everyone has to be a leader. Society has created images and ideals of success and happiness, but they don’t always intersect with your true experience. I can go on. I love this topic. But my one tip is this: Scientists have been measuring life satisfaction for many years. We know that the No. 1 factor predicting happiness is relationships. Launch and grow while ensuring you’re not isolating yourself from those you love. Many people fall out of love with their businesses and resent their work because the rest of their life feels off balance. Ensure you get doses of love, interaction, and connection along the way.
Womenetics: Why do so many women have internal barriers to success and how can they overcome them?
Grizont: I think everyone has internal barriers. It’s the human experience. The key is to understand that those internal barriers are not real. They are made up. Your experience is what you choose to believe is your experience. However, let’s give you a break here. Women just reached 50 percent of the work force this decade. Women have made tons of progress in a short amount of time, but there’s still some re-wiring to do.
Womenetics: Are women entrepreneurs different from male entrepreneurs?
Grizont: Yes, because men and women are different. We have different strengths and approach things differently. We are natural born connectors. We love to talk. Hello, age of social media!
Men are amazing task masters. Give them a goal, and they are focused on a mission. Women trust their gut and are more intuitive. They see things that aren’t always obvious and can leap without a plan. Men are rationalizers and linear. Women launch for lifestyle. Men launch for money and power. No judgment. No right or wrong. We need all of the above. There’s an opportunity to learn from one another and create a new type of economy and way of doing business.
Womenetics: What are the five steps to launch a business?
Grizont: 1. Know your brand. Get clear on who you are, what you offer, for whom, and your price point.
2. Legalize. Figure out how you want to register your business and do it. Visit legalzoom.com for advice. You can do most of this online and by yourself.
3. Buy your domain and set up your website. I use godaddy.com and wordpress.com. This should cost you less than $50.
4. Make some business cards. I use vistaprint.com. It costs less than $20 to make 250 cards.
5. Let the world know. Three free ways to reach massive audiences include: online marketing, strategic partnerships, and PR. Need tips, visit our learning center for webinars: ladieswholaunch.com/learning
Womenetics: Is there enough support to help female entrepreneurs?
Grizont: Yes and no. Yes, all the information and tools you need is at your fingertips. No, because family planning still largely falls on the women. So long as women do most of the work at home and are expected to be the primary caretakers, you will continue to struggle with balance, which does compromise business success and sustainability.
The support women need is at home and at the White House. You need to have conversations with your partners about partnership and what that means. You need legislative changes to support how you take care of your children, to give more paternity leave as well as maternity leave. You need to create a new system that accounts for the value of housework and child work. You need to do this together. Not alone. Not just with a village of women. But together, with men and women, side by side.
Mary Welch is a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dawson Times, Plan Your Meeting magazine, and Atlanta Business magazine. Previously, she held many positions with Leader Publishing, including editor-in-chief of Atlanta Woman, editor of Business to Business magazine, and editor of Catalyst magazine. As editor of Business to Business, she assigned, edited, and conceptualized a series that was awarded Silver in the 2005 GAMMA Awards for Best Series. Welch was a reporter for the Atlanta Business Chronicle for eight years and freelanced for publications including Glamour, Advertising Age, South, Georgia Trend, and Oz. From 2000 to 2003, she served as vice president of media relations for Bank of America, during which time she authored Forever Green: A History and Hope of the American Forest with Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell.
