When it comes to running a well-oiled business of any kind, the success of it comes from how well the business owner was trained for that success. Formal education does a fantastic job of preparing you for the framework of building a successful business, but the brass bolts are anchored in the practical day-to-day operation and the consistent trials that create your business "best practices".
Entrepreneurial skill development is a multi-dimensional challenge that takes time to identify and address, especially, if the resources are low or non-existent. Each unique challenge for business development growth as a woman entrepreneur carries with it the apprehensive attitude that precedes impending failure, the thought of "Is this going to work this time?" looms overhead like a dark cloud.
There are thousands of support groups that women can engage to become inspired, learn new strategies, and collaborate for effective outcomes. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg raised awareness and brought new eyes to the difficulties that women face in building a successful business. Other groups and organizations have adopted similar formats with the "support and inspire success" model delivering solutions more conversationally to the group.
I have visited countless group meetings, networking events, conferences, seminars, and workshops. The ones that had the greatest value to my business were the ones where training was the primary objective. When I received content delivered in a training format with specific learning objectives, I was able to transfer that knowledge into my business and witness the transformation as a result. As a huge proponent of content delivery and training, I understand the necessary elements involved in developing and delivering content for sustainable results. [Shameless plug here...] I created the Stiletto Women Business Owners Symposium to address the gap women entrepreneurs were experiencing in getting all the "fluff" confused with real training at the types of events mentioned earlier. By inviting speakers, coaches, and trainers to deliver content that addresses business growth concerns, in a trained format, we are meeting a need where women business development has been lacking. With the explosive growth in women-owned businesses, it is important to provide enhanced training for the first three to five years in entrepreneurial skills and capacity development for growth or expansion. And, what about global competitiveness? Where is the training for that aspect of our business? These are issues that the Stiletto Business Strategies brand addresses with its content aggregation plan.
I am bored silly with the same old type of conference format that only delivers fantasies of success with no real plan of action for success. The only jewels from the day are the trinkets I sift through when I get home. The meat of the meet was missing, and with a training format much of this can be remedied. This no-nonsense approach is all about training quality content because that is what we need to grow, align, and be the women business leaders we want to be.
The speaking industry has blown up in recent years and there are many factors that are contributing to that change. Keeping brevity in mind, I will only focus on my point: All speakers are not trainers, but all trainers can be speakers. The common denominator between the two is they both need or have content to deliver. It comes down to the delivery method and its impact on the audience. Those who have been trained to train their content have the most impact on the audience. Those who haven't, well, they get the go-to compliment, "...that was really a great speech" [fake grin].
Women entrepreneurs are continuing to rise in this economy as a force to be reckoned, and lasting success hinges on the ongoing training received from other women entrepreneurs. The quid pro quo is that the content must be constructed in a way that can be retained, implemented, and referenced over time. There are many fantastic events that will meet our innate need to connect, and feel warm and fuzzy. Let's find a way to include in our agendas an event that will stimulate our intellect as well by providing us with well compiled content, delivered by expert trainers, coaches, and speakers who have been trained to train.