When I was nineteen years old, I told my parents I was going to travel overseas by myself. They laughed a little and said “no you’re not”. Their lack of agreement with my plans came not from thinking I wouldn’t have the confidence to do it, but because I had no job and no savings at the time. As parents should, they were looking at the practical aspects of my plan and concluded that it wasn’t feasible.

But this just made me more determined to find a job and save every cent. I managed to get there via some creative means (and borrowing the final portion from my parents!) and credit my three months travelling solo with building maturity, tenacity and resourcefulness.

When I started my business, there were similar naysayers about the longevity of my business plans. It was either viewed as a hobby or wouldn’t last beyond a few years. Some of these opinions were innocent and uninformed (not intended to belittle me, but just stating the ‘facts’ as they saw them), while others (from potential competitors) were a little more sinister in purpose. Regardless, I took all these comments as fuel to prove them all wrong – and ten years later I think I have!

Remember Jessica Watson, the Australian woman who at age sixteen sailed solo around the world? Although Australia now claims her as a great success story, many criticisms were aimed at Jessica, and even more so at her parents for letting their daughter do something so risky.

I imagine that while some of the comments hurt, they also spurred her on to prove them wrong. But more importantly, Jessica had her own intrinsic reasons and motivation for undertaking the journey. She stated that “I wanted to challenge myself and achieve something to be proud of. And yes, I wanted to inspire people. I hated being judged by my appearance and other people's expectations of what a 'little girl' was capable of.”

So ignore those who say ‘You’ll never make it”. Remember why you started your business, and listen to your own voice rather than any negative ones around you.
 

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

At some point in your time as a business owner you most likely agonised over your business name, or the name of a new venture or project. You probably switched back and forth between the ‘practical/descriptive’ name and the ‘creative/unusual’ name, and everything else in between. You probably asked friends and family what they thought of your top choices to gauge reactions.

That process was important. Not only because your business name is a key aspect of your business, but also because it gave you lots of opportunities to evaluate what your business is about and what you want people to ‘hear’ or ‘see’ when they come across your business name.

But is the name the be all and end all? That is, does your choice of business name determine the success or otherwise of your business? In some extreme cases, when you’ve chosen badly, the answer might be ‘yes’. But in general, your business name does not matter that much.

Over 99% of your success is going to come from the decisions you make after you name your business. There’s no ‘magic’ in the name. You could have chosen the most perfect, fantastic name in the world, but if you make lots of dumb marketing decisions after the fact, then it will be wasted. Conversely, if you market well, develop your brand, consider products carefully, have great customer service and so on, your name becomes secondary.

You have probably learnt a long time ago that there’s no ‘magic formula’ for anything in business – if there was we would all be doing it! Business success, no matter how well or poorly the business is named, will come from hard work, determination and will power.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

I am a massive P!NK fan. She is a breath of authentic fresh air in a music industry that for the most part, reduces female artists to the sum of their body parts. Aside from her athleticism, her amazing talent and entertaining shows, she is also a pretty gutsy woman.

P!NK has been quoted as saying “You can’t move mountains by whispering at them” which I think is an awesome way to approach life’s challenges. It is also very apt for approaching business issues.

There are often articles I read that speak highly of the positive effects of more women in business and the corporate world. These articles usually refer to the ‘softer’ qualities and attributes that women can bring where issues are perhaps ordinarily dealt with differently in male dominated arenas. Women may approach situations more intuitively, or consider aspects that their male counterparts do not.

And that may be true. But I think women bring much more than ‘soft’ skills to the business table. Most of the women in business I know (and other women that I admire for their achievements) didn’t get there because they sat quietly behind the scenes. We shouldn’t mistake references to ‘softer qualities’ to mean ‘meek and mild’.

What I know of those successful women is that they are tenacious, determined, confident, driven and focussed. They are prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve their business and life goals. And I guarantee that to deal with big and important changes, they engaged in a great deal of roaring and very little whispering.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender