Lessons from female founders after seven seasons of The Brand is Female podcast

It’s an inspiring week for us at The Brand is Female! Yesterday marked the beginning of the seventh season of our eponymous podcast. I'm thrilled to start another season with a great guest - Sara Panton Rogier , vitruvi 's Co-Founder and CEO. But more on that in a minute.?

As the podcast embarks on its new season and The Brand is Female | Femmes de marque celebrates its fifth anniversary this month, I'd like to take a second to reminisce on the great lessons I’ve learned from talking to so many inspiring women entrepreneurs and leaders over the past years.??

#1: Don’t let perfection keep you from doing your thing

First and foremost, as women, we tend to wait until everything is perfect to start something new. Be it the perfect workout outfit to go to the gym, the complete set of tools to begin that new arts and crafts hobby or the CV that matches the criteria of a job opening perfectly, we tend to wait until we have everything "figured out" and ironed out before starting.?

Over the years, though, I’ve grown to understand that, most of the time, female founders don’t have it all figured out (is that even possible in business?) before they take the first step. They were just brave enough to start and give themselves time to learn the rest along the way. And often, waiting for the elusive “perfection" status means missed opportunities.

#2: Tough times are tough, but…

They're also the moments where you learn the most. No one likes going through difficult times, especially when it involves money and your life's work. However, when we are talking about entrepreneurship, the complicated moments are also when founders learn the most and grow rapidly.?

The lessons learned will serve for years to come, and they also mean we’re developing resilience, flexibility and adaptability. I love asking entrepreneurs if they could, would they go back in time to change anything about their journey, with the answer being "no" 98% of the time.

#3: Role models matter

We hear so much about representation and the importance of having someone to aspire to, and that is especially true when we consider the business world. Admiring other women, learning from them, and letting them be your guide and inspiration is extremely important. Be it someone close to you, a leader in your industry, or a public figure, role models who show us that ceilings can be broken beyond our wildest imagination are the best source of motivation.

#4: Leaders is about empowering others

You probably heard the difference between a leader and a boss within a company before. More than inspiring and collaborating, great leaders make sure their employees understand the company and its mission and give them the authority to make their own decisions and use their skills in the best way possible to help the business reach its goals. Every female founder I have spoken to credits her team for her success.

#5: Women are great leaders

Why? We have “soft” skills that are pretty valuable in business and entrepreneurship: Project management, efficiency, attention to detail, empathy, communication… A female founder I spoke to in a past season mentioned bringing her “mom skills” to work and highlighted how valuable this was for her business.?

#6: Aim for balance

However, accept that it doesn't exist. Work-life balance is practically impossible – when we focus on one thing, the other is bound to be lacking. And that's OK. The most important thing is understanding which areas of your life are a priority at the moment and which ones aren't - and try to make the best with what you can. You will also want to show yourself compassion when you feel like you can’t achieve it all. On that note…?

#7: Stay flexible

Things will change, and some of our plans will fall through, so sticking to what we first envisioned may not move us forward. Rigidity means breakability. When founders are clear on their values and goals and can adapt to new circumstances and opportunities, the sky’s the limit.

Lessons on growth from Vitruvi’s Sara Panton

Sara Panton from vitruvi is my guest for the first episode of the new season of The Brand is Female Podcast. In this amazing episode, she shares her journey and what inspired her to start one of North America's most successful home fragrance businesses.?

Here's her first piece of advice to fellow female founders:

"The commitment to personal growth. So, get a therapist. Get a framework for how you want to deal with adversity. And a framework for how you take care of yourself. I would say get an authentic group of people around you. Know who you want praise from. But also acknowledge the human propensity to want praise, right? 'Cause the arc of a business, you will get praise really early on from people that are close to you, like 'You're killing it. You're doing great, sweetie.' It's amazing. Then you'll get a bunch of praise if you raise capital, and then very quickly, it will shift. Well, first you'll get a lot of no's when you're raising capital and everyone will say that it won't work."

Listen to the episode:

As always, thanks for reading and for tuning in to the podcast!

Until next week,