4 Crucial Lessons From Female Founders Every Entrepreneur Needs To Hear

Being an entrepreneur is a challenge in itself. And being a female entrepreneur in a male-dominant ecosystem comes with many growing pains and qualms, but it’s all a learning process. As a first time business owner, you will face challenges that you have never experienced before, which is why it’s important to be passionate and resilient. Mistakes are bound to be made along the way, but you're in control of how you handle setbacks.

Looking back, you might wish you did things differently to achieve a better outcome, but as time machines don’t exist (yet!), we don’t have that luxury. Instead, we can only learn from the past. Growth is the most important accomplishment you can achieve when creating something.

In an effort to inspire all you budding entrepreneurs and ambitious career seekers, we’ve compiled a list of valuable insights from female founders that you can use to take yourself and your career to unprecedented heights.

Miko Branch, Co-Founder and CEO of Miss Jessie's

Miss Jessie’s is a multimillion dollar hair care brand for women with curly hair, founded by Miko Branch and her late sister, Titi Branch. Initially, the sisters started in the hair salon business, but it failed after they expanded too quickly and nearly faced financial ruin. It was this failure, however, that prompted them to create Curly Pudding, the now go-to product for women with curly hair.

“Had we not had that failure and not grown too fast my sister and I would have never created Miss Jessie’s.”

The Takeaway: Don’t expand too fast.Learn to embrace the mistakes you made by using it as a guide to know what to avoid.

Yunha Kim, Founder and CEO of Simple Habit

Yunha Kim developed the award-winning application, Simple Habit, after working seven days a week and getting burnt out from her first company, Locket. She turned to meditation to manage her stress, which prompted her idea to launch Simple Habit. She realized that there was a need for people seeking a singular platform for different kinds of meditation techniques meant for any mood or situation.

The Takeaway: Don’t overwork yourself for your company. Find gaps in the market for niche audiences.

Jasmine Crowe, Founder and CEO of Goodr

After volunteering at an initiative that feeds senior citizens and homeless individuals in Atlanta, Jasmine Crowe was left with an appetite for action—addressing the hunger problem in the city. In 2017, she launched Goodr, a food waste management company that connects businesses with leftovers to arrange deliveries to local charities. Some people didn’t believe in her initiative, but it was her drive that kept her going. She not only bet on herself, but she believed that her idea was worth it.

The Takeaway: Believe in what you’re doing and believe that it’s worth it until you reach your goal.

Cynthia Daniels, Founder of Memphis Black Restaurant Week

Cynthia Daniels became an entrepreneur after she moved to Memphis and noticed a gap in minority-owned eateries. She successfully launched Memphis Black Restaurant Week to celebrate their own food and restaurants. It wasn’t easy starting a new business in a new city, but she managed to overcome her fear of the unknown and create a movement.

“Ultimately, I was able to overcome that fear by holding onto the ‘why’ behind starting out and remaining steadfast in my experience, which gave me confidence to forge ahead," Daniels said. "With an events and marketing background, I trusted that my experience and passion were enough.”

The Takeaway: Trust your gut, your skills, and most importantly, yourself. Hold on to why you’re doing what you’re doing and be confident with your experience.