Happy International Women’s Day!
Today Maggie Sellers is here to give us her advice for female entrepreneurs, especially the ones who are sick of ‘The Boys Club.” You know the one – the male dominated club that intimidates, degrades and condescends their female colleagues who have just as much knowledge, just as much experience, bring just as much value and do just as much work as them. Of course that’s a generalization but The Boys Club is a real thing. Let’s not even get started on the pay grades.
Anyways, it’s International Women’s Day and we thought Maggie Sellers was the perfect woman to give some advice for women in business. If you have yet to meet Maggie she has an amazing newsletter that Lauryn can’t get enough of, is a media entrepreneur, angel investor, startup advisor and creator. Having experienced The Boys Club herself she is here to give us her top tips for women feeling intimated in business who want to step into their authentic power.
With that, let’s welcome Maggie to the blog.
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Hi!
I’m Maggie, founder of Hot Smart Rich and HSR Ventures. I’m a multi-hyphenate media entrepreneur, angel investor, startup advisor, and creator. I actually hate having to so closely define who I am because I would so much rather be known for what I do.
If you’re new to Hot Smart Rich, it’s my goal and life’s purpose to empower the next generation of women in business by creating access and democratizing the education, industry insights, and personal and professional development skills required to break through and get ahead all while becoming the hottest, smartest, richest version of yourself.
It all happened so organically. I got really tired of being in my masculine energy, manipulating my authentic self to perform in business when I was confronted with the sobering realization that even with the improvements we’re making, women still only get 2% of VC funding. Even more sobering when you realize that the startup math ain’t mathing. We (women) control 85% of consumer spend in the US!!! It dawned on me that maybe if we stop trying to change who we are as powerful feminine energy, we’ll create the change that’s so desperately needed for women to rise above and win. Hot Smart Rich by Maggie Sellers is my company but it’s also a movement, think of Barbie IRL.
When Lauryn asked me to come on TSC blog for IWD, I was beyond flattered and knew exactly what to chat about – My Top 8 Tips for Women in Business who are Intimidated by the Boys Club and Want to Step Into their Hot Smart Rich Power. So without further ado, here’s what I’ve learned over the first 10 years of my career breaking into the startup and venture capital “boys club” for you to apply and step into your hot smart rich authentic power.
Maggie Sellers’ 8 Tips for Female Entrepreneurs
Talk Nicely To Yourself
I wish I had figured this out earlier because I’d be so much further ahead. Stepping into your power only happens when you believe it will and it’s inevitable. Your future is the self fulfilling prophecy you tell yourself every single morning and if you don’t believe you can do it, no one else will either. This is the first step to making it happen and getting the courage to dream big and take big swings.
Find Your People
I always recommend that entrepreneurs find other entrepreneurs in similar stages vs. trying to network and grow with people so much further ahead or behind them. That saying “all boats rise with the tide” is so true. I’ve seen it happen in every industry I’ve been a part of and it’s no different as an entrepreneur. Relationships are two dimensional and if you aren’t able to offer something of value to people a heck of a lot further ahead than you, their participation and impact will likely stop at their name being involved. On the flip side, if you find other entrepreneurs in similar stages with a different focus (not competitive), you’re able to have eyes and ears in more places, making connections and scratching each other’s backs all the way to the top.
Lean Into Your Unique Superpower
Nobody is you and that is your superpower. Remind yourself of that. You bring something to the table that others can’t and it’s not replicable. Women control 85% of consumer spend, yet we only receive 2% of venture dollars but I have a big feeling that our power is only going to keep growing as we keep building WITH each other and utilize our superpower that makes us unique and such great consumers. Remember that thinking differently, leaning into your feminine energy and perspective, and leveraging your life experiences is a differentiator against the boys club. So use it and don’t shy away!
Take Risks, Own Your Own Experience (and Your Narrative)
One of the best pieces of business advice I’ve gotten is to “always own the narrative,” good or bad. It’s ok to take risky bets if you’re okay with getting it wrong. BUT what will give you the confidence to keep swinging is what you do next. Lean into the experience and then craft and tell a damn good story as to what you learned and what you’re doing differently this time. People have a hard time arguing with someone who’s honest and vulnerable and if you own your mistake or failure before others do, they really have nothing to say.
Be Direct; Find Fast No’s
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and deserve. The second best thing in business to a “yes” is a fast no. Don’t waste your time. Get a no and move on to find that yes.
Know and Build Your Worth
People will treat you exactly how you let them. I let the boys club push me around for far too long at one job thinking that if I worked hard and let the results speak for themselves, things would change… and I was wrong. After getting strung along for months and responsibilities kept piling on, I gave an ultimatum. Either you pay me my worth, or I quit. I never thought he’d let me leave but I was wrong. I left the next week without a plan and had 60 days to find a new job or risked getting deported back to Canada. Although scary at the time, it really allowed me to level the fuck up in my career and bet on myself because I knew my worth was far greater than how I was perceived in that role.
Art of War
I’m a huge believer in studying history and the most impactful and influential strategy text in East Asian warfare is The Art of War. The thing I come back to most is “when you are weak appear strong and when you are strong appear weak,” especially as it relates to the boys club.
Play Nice and Win
Business is a game with no defined rules or end point. It’s a scary thing every single day because there is so much unknown and constant change. It’s also the best game you could ever play (IMO). I try to always play nice and do things because it’s the right thing to do, knowing that it will come back to me 10 fold. I do think keeping your eye on the prize and having a very clearly defined goal and working backwards from there allows you to win, even if it means you’re iterating frequently.
If you enjoyed these tips I’d love for you to become part of the HSR community and follow me on TikTok @maggiesellers_, Instagram @maggiesellers, and subscribe to my weekly newsletter to continue to get all the secret tips and hacks to becoming Hot Smart Rich.
Maggie xxx
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x, The Skinny Confidential team
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