Women run their businesses in a different way, says Ann Coombs, a Vancouver author who has led a consulting business for more than two decades.
Women tend to be natural collaborators, she told a session at last week’s Pan-Western Conference for Women Entrepreneurs. The conference, held in Saskatoon and sponsored by a federal government agency, drew about 300 women. Some came to find out how to start selling to the American market. Others wanted to know how to stay out of debt.
Coombs said while the male tradition of success has been measured by the number of dollars earned, her definition of business success is “someone who has been able to serve others with integrity.”
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She gave an example of a client who wanted to find out what was wrong with his company. When he was told his staff resented his affair with an employee, he indignantly fired Coombs. But six months later he asked her to help him rebuild trust with his people. Coombs refused to take his business, saying she was also tainted by his initial refusal to believe the truth.
Besides working in an honest way, Coombs said the knowledge-based economy requires a new attitude. She encouraged businesswomen to ask the awkward questions and to follow up by imagining “what if?” and “why not?”
To help stay in touch with consumers, she urged the women to get an advisory board for their business. Her board of five people meets twice a year and comes prepared with insights and solutions to problems previously outlined. The advisers get a free dinner, but no pay after their intensive 90-minute meetings.
Coombs said the opportunity to network with other innovative thinkers should be reward enough for her volunteer advisers.
Her advisers are changed every two years so their ideas don’t get stale. She also suggested not placing lawyers or accountants on the board but to go with “right-brain” creative thinkers. Most businesses are already paying for their legal and financial advice.
Businesses need to market themselves so people can find them. She urged the women to get a website for their businesses. She also said they need e-mail addresses. People may ignore their telephone voice mail “but everyone reads their e-mail.”
Today’s young consumers have short attention spans and want visual or tactile stimulation. Marketing with creativity can save money if the right connections are made that appeal to them.
Coombs noted a recent launch for her book about the modern workplace, held in an art gallery featuring paintings of workers, was a good pairing.
