Between 1997 and 2017, the number of women-owned businesses increased by 114%, a rate 2.5 times higher than the national average.

–State of Women-Owned Business Report, American Express

Today, women influence about 80% of buying decisions and control $20 trillion of consumer spending, yet globally women hold only 24% of C-level roles. Both of these numbers are growing every year, and the Crowned team couldn’t be happier about that fact. Women own 4 out of every 10 businesses in the U.S, and Crowned is one of those businesses, founded by Francesca Coronado. 

Here at Crowned, women’s entrepreneurship is close to our hearts as a female-founded and operated business. While female-founded businesses only account for 4.6% of all firms as of 2018, the rate at which women are starting businesses has increased by 58 percent since 2007. 

In 2018, $38.9 billion was invested in companies with a female founder, representing 17% of venture dollars funded globally. This is nearly double the amount from 2017, which saw $19.8 billion invested into companies with a female founder. 

This trend is bound to continue with more women, especially women of color, starting businesses at a continuously growing rate. Female entrepreneurs are a diverse, and happy bunch.  Businesses owned by women of color grew by 163% between 2007 and 2018.

This Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, we want to highlight the importance of supporting women-owned businesses by sharing some of our own personal favorites. 

Francesca’s favorite

Lume Deodorant (pronounced loo-mee) is a product I absolutely love. Not only is it a natural deodorant that actually works, but it was also developed by Shannon Klingman MD, an OB/GYN, who got tired of status-quo deodorants on the market. As an OB/GYN, Dr. Klingman was interested to find out the root cause of body odor, not only in our pits but also on our most sensitive “lady parts.” After seeing far too many diagnoses’ of bacterial vaginosis in women, who were then prescribed antibiotics that didn’t clear up the issue, Dr. Klingman went to work to study why odor happens and how to stop it before it starts. You could call Lume a “pre-odorant” rather than a de-odorant really! 

Her brand is now one of the top deodorant brands on the market, with an ever-growing subscription-based following. Her products are well-loved by women and men alike in her quest to end stinkiness. 

  “I SAW HOW BODY ODOR—WHATEVER THE SOURCE—WAS UNDERMINING THE CONFIDENCE AND SELF-WORTH OF WOMEN AND MEN EVERYWHERE.” – Shannon Klingman MD

Kathleen’s Inspiration

Lorna Jane Clarkson is my choice.  She’s the owner of Lorna Jane Active and inspires women to be fearless! She inspires me because she empowers women to be confident in who they are and that being who you are meant to be doesn’t have to look like anyone else. Her motto is: Move, Nourish and Believe – Moving every day, Nourishing from the inside out and Believing that anything is possible. She started her business when she was a fitness instructor in 1989, making custom workout wear for her students. This quickly and unexpectedly turned into one of the first activewear empires. We can thank Lorna Jane Clarkson for popularizing fashionable athletic wear that millions of women love enough to wear outside the gym! In fact, Lorna Jane coined the term “activewear,” and has spent the last 30 years keeping her finger on the pulse of not only her customer needs but also the “needs of society as a whole” to work towards making activewear a staple of every woman’s wardrobe. 

Betty’s Inspiration

I’m always on the lookout for female-founded brands (Glossier, AWAY, Heist, Schmidt’s Deodorant), and am perpetually inspired by female entrepreneurs. I grew up watching the rise of powerful women like Oprah and Martha Stewart, and I’m always excited to hear about female-founded companies (and am elated to work for one!) 

Women have faced staggering hurdles to get to where we are today, and it’s important to me to remember the women who blazed the trail. Madam C. J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove), the daughter of freed slaves, was an African-American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. Walker was the wealthiest African-American businesswoman and the wealthiest self-made woman in America at the time of her death in 1919, with a net worth of over $1 million. She overcame some pretty insane odds, starting her business in her late 30s after questioning her physical ability to do hard labor washing laundry into her golden years. Her success is largely attributed to her marketing savvy and the ability to set the tone for the fledgling African-American women’s beauty sector. She was one of the first modern Lady Bosses! 

Written by: Betty Bair

Processes, procedures, strategies.  What do these three systems have in common, and why would I want to refer to them when running my business?

By implementing these types of systems, your productivity and organization will skyrocket!

Here is a good example:

What are the first things you need to know when starting your workday?

You need to know what is on the agenda and where you should start.

• Do you have meetings or calls to make?

• Does your team have project deadlines?

• Is your inbox full of emails just waiting for you?

• Do you know how or where to start?

• What about the back-end?  Do you have procedures in place?

With the correct system in place, these questions can be easily answered. You will automatically know which projects take priority each day, how much time needs to be spent on each one, and how to handle each project. You won’t feel overwhelmed or stressed out when you look at your agenda. Instead, you will know just where to begin going through the work on your desk.  With that in mind, Crowned has come up with a system of processes that will streamline your workflow in order to increase productivity.

Are you ready to implement this simple system and gain valuable time each day?

1. Determine your PROCESSES

What exactly is a process? A process determines what actions or steps you will take to reach a particular goal. Once these processes are in place, it is key for you to focus on always doing them the same way. Eventually, you’ll get used to them, and they will become a part of your routine, keeping you on track each day.

In this system the processes are simple.

• • Create a daily to-do list: I like to do this just before I dive into my day in case projects or tasks have changed.  Also, you might want to make a list of tasks that still need to be completed before you leave work the day before. For more information about staying motivated when starting your day, check out my 5 Tips To Get You Motivated.
  • Set a schedule: I create office hours and stick to them! It’s very important to set boundaries for yourself and your clients. I also like to include lunchtime and a break during the day because I can easily get consumed with my work.
  • Stay on task: Try not to stray from your to-do list. I understand things can change within minutes, but going back to your list will help you stay focused and on task.

2.   Establish PROCEDURES

Once you’ve determined all of your processes, you may feel that you’re set and ready to go. However, in my experience, having the correct processes in place is still not quite enough. You need to establish procedures or a set of rules that will help you to navigate your way through each process.   This will set a standard for you and your team and ensure that your processes run seamlessly.

• • Legal Compliance: This is the most important procedure for your business or organization. You need to make sure that you’re complying with your State and Federal laws. This can pertain to taxes, contractors, employees, client terms, contracts and much more.
  • Have a policy in place: Whether your business is big or small, you will need to make sure you have existing policies in place when working with clients, employees, or contractors. These policies can be in regards to vacation/holiday time, how your business handles personal information, how you handle your payments/invoicing etc.
  • Onboarding: Do you know what to do the minute you gain a new client or customer? If not, then this is something you should implement right away. Having specific procedures in place when a new customer, client or employee comes on board is essential. You don’t want to wait until they get there to come up with a plan!

3. STRATEGIZE!

This can vary depending on your business needs. Ask yourself these questions:

• • What are your operational needs?
  • How do you interact with colleagues and clients?
  • Do you have a plan of action in place?

This is a simple plan that incorporates all of the essential items that are able to speed up your workflow and productivity, including such things as marketing, client work, and daily tasks.

As you have seen, you can streamline your workflow by making just a few important changes in your schedule. Before you know it, what once was a stressful daily routine can now be daily moments of satisfaction!