How a Successful Woman Entrepreneur Began Without Investors or Ambition
Sometimes ambition finds us.
I talked with a woman entrepreneur who didn’t begin with a vision to become an entrepreneur.
“I never really had an ambition to start my own business… My mom got a little bit frustrated with me because I wasn’t ambitious… In terms of having big career ambitions, I just didn’t. I came to this entrepreneurship journey in an unexpected way.
It wasn’t that I had this business idea or this business plan. It was more that doors of opportunity were opened to me, and I really began to love the work that I was doing.
The thing that you think you’re going to end up doing isn’t always the thing that you end up doing.”
How a successful woman entrepreneur began without ambition:
#1. Admit you’re a beginning beginner.
“I was just figuring things out. I didn’t really have any expertise that was valuable to anyone.”
- Perfectionism freezes us.
- Learn as you go, not before you go.
#2. Build real relationships.
- Make people feel valuable.
- Be curious about people.
- Don’t ask for anything.
#3. Clarify the value you have to offer as you discover it.
Your inner critic is a heartless jerk that holds you back.
Confront that voice in your head that says, “You can’t do it.”
#4. Look to create opportunities for others.
You create opportunities for yourself by creating opportunities for others.
If you don’t have a compelling vision or driving ambition, seize the next opportunity.
#5. Choose and fuel values for your organization.
“Vision is driven by values.”
“One of the core values I originally chose was the core value of growth. This is about growth as an organization, but it’s also about growth as individuals.”
#6. Continue in your core commitments.
What is your takeaway from a woman entrepreneur who began without investors or ambition?
Becky Robinson in her own words:
All quotes are from Becky Robinson. Find her new book, REACH, on Amazon.
If you don’t know what you’re going to end up doing, and have no ambition, why would you bother? Seriously, what provides the impetus to take even one step if you neither know nor care what you do or why?
Thanks Mitch. The thing that I noticed is you can have discipline, drive, and intelligence, but still not have ambition in some areas. In the video, you hear Becky say that she did very good in school, but didn’t have big ambition for herself.
You ask a great question which is important for people who don’t it into the normal thinking of ambition. If I don’t have ambition to do something big, what should I do? Becky’s example is just seize the next interesting opportunity. It was a discovery driven process for her.
This is important because there are negative assumptions about people who don’t feel ambitious in the typical way. We might look at them as if they are losers.
The other thing to avoid is assuming if someone doesn’t have ambition they don’t care.
There is a difference between wanting to make a difference in life – contribute – and having ambition to do something big like start a business.
Thanks again for your question.
Everyone defines ambition differently. So it is sometimes hard for folks to recognize ambition in others that doesn’t align with their own definition. I worked with someone who defined ambition as “being promoted on a regular basis.” You can imagine the friction when that person had to evaluate folks who weren’t interested in a promotion.
And don’t use someone else’s definition of ambition just because of who they are (parent, boss, corporate culture). Use a definition that speaks to you.
Thanks Jennifer. I see what you mean. Ambition can be a double-edged sword. One of the things from my conversation with Becky that sticks with me is… just do the next best thing. Ambition will find you. I like the thought that you might not know what your ambition is…so just go make contribution and keep doing the stuff that gives you energy.
Yay for Becky! I am so happy she found success in her passion. I was one of her early fans (I knew her when…) when she was running webcasts, and was sharing terrific leadership lessons. She is an excellent role model for many of us accidentalpreneurs! Thanks for profiling her, Dan!!
I am unclear why she needs to be referred to as a “woman entrepreneur.” Isn’t she just an entrepreneur? By continually emphasizing her womanhood, it is implying that the default or “norm” for an entrepreneur is a man. If the subject was a man, I doubt you would have labeled it “male entrepreneur.” As a woman, this is incredibly off-putting and demoralizing – in fact, I couldn’t proceed to read the rest of the blog today which is unusual.
My request was if you are going to differentiate based on gender, do it for all genders – not just women.
I appreciate that perspective. As a man, I didn’t read it that way, and assumed it was just trying to be inclusive. Maybe Dan will have a comment about this.
Not that it matters in this case, but your comment made me wonder… if this particular post had been about a man, would some people have thought “sure, that guy didn’t need investors, but that was partly because he was a man?”
I read the post and finally got around to watching the interview. Wow! Starting without an ambition is a true reflection of the journey we’re on and the process of discovering our passion. Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.
I began blogging simply for the purpose of helping others learn what I learned in a very specific niche. Everything I have to offer is available free of charge. I had no intentions of growing it into a business model. It has, however, helped me tremendously in pursuing my career.
A great interview and I look forward to getting my copy of Reach. Chapter 7 definitely sounds intriguing, especially from a “lean is a journey, not a destination” perspective.
Thank you for sharing!
Dan, thanks for the post, and for sharing the interview video as well! I subscribed to your blog years ago, and it is one of my favorite reads because it is always succinct, to the point, and full of insightful and thought provoking lessons. This is the first time I have commented, bc I wanted to let you know that I found so many additional lessons and insights in the taped interview, and thank you for posting your process! It was super interesting to hear you describe the process of determining what information to “leave out” in your short blog posts. I am an aspiring entrepreneur, and to hear both Becky and you discuss how you still find your inner critics telling you that you are an “imposter” was so comforting to me in my journey. Thanks for all you do and for sharing your valuable insights!
Thank you Expert. It’s so gratifying to bring value. Thank you for being a subscriber. Thank you also for helping me see exactly what was useful.
I wish you well on the journey.
I am a bit offended by this blog post. You have targeted women as lacking ambition. That is a dangerous – and sexist – assumption.