My business, Remodista, is focused on disruptors in the retail industry through a collaborative lens. Implementing community as my business model has allowed for us to look at companies who are trendsetters and how others can stay ahead of the curve. Through that I was able to connect with executive women that were the masterminds behind this disruption and see how their role was allowing for their company to be ahead.
Acting as a think tank, Remodista uses these great minds, combines their experiences and in turn, predicts upcoming trends and tests them out in real time. We look at what is working and what isn't for companies in retail. Using community as a business model, we have been able to approach research in a new light. I am dedicated to the women we work with in retail, but I also advocate for the importance of women in executive roles across industries. There is not enough awareness of the women in these roles.
I feel that inspiring other women can be done through the idea that it is possible and that's why it's important to recognize them. For the women pioneering and solving business challenges, I wanted there to be a way to highlight the most disruptive women in the industry, so as part of Remodista, Women2Watch of Business Disruption was born.
Spending most of my time with highly successful women, as well as starting my own business, I have boiled down my top three tips for finding success as a female leader:
Momentum is Key
Inspiration may dwindle as you build your business. I often find that inspiration comes to me in micro moments but that gives a burst of energy that is important in the journey. For the rest of the time, when you're not completely inspired, you have to create drive and reason to continue your success. Persistence and grit go a long way. Complacency is killer in any workplace, especially if you're looking to be a leader.
Not Everyone Will Like You, and That's OK
Good leaders are innovators. Like the disruptors I work with through Remodista, the best companies are those who are ahead of the curve. When building an innovative or disruptive business, you have to have the propensity for being disliked. Disruption and innovation make people uncomfortable. Since people are not generally fans of change, trying to push it, even when it is for the better, will be met by some form of resistance. This will only make you stronger.
Let Fear Motivate You
People who are high level achievers use fear to their advantage. Successful people keep fear close by and let it motivate them. Embrace the fear of breaking down barriers and building something that is new. Fear never goes away. It just shifts into new areas as you find more traction and success. So don't let it get the best of you. Use the courage that fear drives to your advantage. Fear and success should have a healthy amount of tension to act as motivation to achieve goals.
I often say that my business wouldn't have made sense to people just a few years ago. People couldn't see the connection between women, disruption and retail. I believed in what I was creating and I developed something that people now see the value in. I fought through the innovation droughts, rejection and fear. And all the women I work with today have very similar stories to mine. Successful women must preserve. I did and you can too.
This guest post was authored by Kelly Stickel
Ms. Career Girl was started in 2008 to help ambitious young professional women figure out who they are, what they want and how to get it.
