The Trait That Every Woman Should Develop In Business

Focusing on building and maintaining relationships

Remington Steele was a TV series in the 80s about a woman that started a detective agency and had a phantom male boss because she knew that people wouldn’t hire a woman detective without one. A very young and handsome Pierce Brosnan played a con man that slipped into the phantom role.
 

Though some may say that the show did not age well, the reality is that women entrepreneurs still have the same type of problems when trying to grow their business. They are unable to replicate the same results that a suave male can achieve quickly. He can walk into a room, convince prospective clients that his companies’ prior work surpasses their competition hands down and that they should hire his business… and then that suave male closes the deal.
  
Women (and for that matter any marginalized group) do not find success in the same manner. Men are given opportunities and then made to prove their credibility. Women are not given the opportunity until they have proven their credibility. This can be a vicious cycle unless women focus on building and maintaining relationships.     

Growing your business can occur slowly when cultivating relationships. These relationships may take years to develop or they may never develop at all. Continuing to develop those relationships over time is hard work, but helps to build credibility. 
 
Each relationship can look different than the others. Sometimes, they are personal, developing into friendships lasting years. Others are a concerted effort at building that credibility by offering free advice or free services to help prospective clients understand the business’ capabilities. And some relationships are simply a way to help each other out when needed for job search or advice.

Developing relationships can take years of frequent calls, fruitful conversations and frustrating silence. Yet staying tenacious and not giving up both in developing and maintaining a relationship is often the best chance for women to create work.  

Relationships can’t be transactional. Once relationships become transactional, the work dries up. In fact, for women entrepreneurs and other marginalized groups to obtain new clients, developing relationships are sometimes the only way to prove their credibility. Marginalized groups learn that early in their lives. You can have the knowledge and/or the degrees but you will still need to prove your credibility before getting a chance.
    
Many successful women entrepreneurs have one thing in common. They build their business by building relationships. Many successful women spend years building their personal brand. They can be involved in multiple boards to develop their personal branding, speak at multiple organizations, write and publish articles, and conduct webinars. Many give back to the community and have created organizations to help other women. This effort is in addition to the normal efforts of building their business. Their networks are amazing, and their network has helped them to grow. Yet, that network was developed by building relationships one at a time with the strategy that these relationships will eventually help to sustain or grow the business. 

While men build relationships as well, it is typically a difference in timing. Men are given a chance and then get to develop relationships. They will spend time cultivating that relationship by bringing them golfing or to a professional sporting event. Women and marginalized groups typically don’t find work until they’ve built the relationship first. The Remington Steeles of the world often get the work based on an assumption of credibility and then have the opportunity to either prove or disprove while building that relationship.

As a woman entrepreneur, I may miss out on opportunities when the relationship isn’t there yet or is too new. Yet, maintaining those relationships over time has made our work better. Knowing that a personal relationship is on the line if we fail can make us work harder to be successful. If you’ve encountered difficulty with building your business without the right relationships, share your story. Help a woman entrepreneur you know by offering to be a mentor or point them in the right direction. We’ll only succeed if we all work together. 

Laura Dribin is CEO and founder of Peritius Consulting, Inc., a premier niche consulting firm specializing exclusively in Outcome Management, our approach to strategic program and project management services. Prior to founding the company, Laura worked as a Big Five management consultant and for Microsoft Corporation. With more than 25 years of experience, she has honed her skills to provide results by bringing the hands-on leadership necessary to guide project teams through complex initiatives and to help organizations develop and improve their project management competency. Visit https://peritius.com  Connect Laura Dribin