At some point we've all been entrepreneurs (whether you realized it or not). If you've ever sold lemonade or created something and people bought it, you're an entrepreneur.  Starting a business allows you to unleash your creative wisdom, but don't be fooled, it's not child's play! Starting a business requires serious enthusiasm, dedication, resilience, and commitment, to say the least.  

As I continue on my journey of entrepreneurship, I’m learning a lot about myself and what it means to be a woman entrepreneur. In my own struggle to build a solid business, I’ve learned five questions every woman entrepreneur should ask before starting a business.

1. Are you informed?

To be informed is to be empowered!  Empowerment is the forerunner of every successful entrepreneur, and knowledge keeps you empowered. Knowledge is not limited to a formal four-year education in college or getting an MBA. Empower yourself by seeking information through countless resources that can guide you towards building your business. Don't be fooled into thinking you can start a business based on mere assumptions (although truthfully, if you wait to know everything before you start - you'll never start). Keep updating your mind, especially regarding your chosen industry! Be in the driver's seat of your knowledge. Don't be scared to take control and learn from whatever resources can guide you to a successful start.

Smart Reads:

• The Education of Millionaires by Michael Ellsberg
• The $100 startup by Chris Guillebeau 
• The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Strategies for Continuously Creating Opportunity in an Age of Uncertainty by Rita Gunther McGrath
• The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
• To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink
• The Startup Game by William H. Draper III

2. What are you selling?

Every business owner is selling something, whether it’s a product or a service. Your ability to answer this question will provide you with the clarity you need to be a successful woman entrepreneur. If you need clarity on what you’re selling, focus on your core message or mission statement, because that idea is what you are essentially selling (not just the product or service itself). 

3. Who are you selling to?

Know your market. My best business teachers have been the several failures I’ve encountered. Part of my initial challenge was identifying who I wanted my market to be. ‘Everybody is nobody’ in the world of sales, so your answer can't possibly be “to everybody.” This can be one of the hardest parts of being an entrepreneur because you think everyone would benefit from your product or service. Remember, you can always change your target market from what you initially planned, if you find another market would benefit more from your product or service.

Smart exercise:  Create an avatar (figure representing your target buyer) for your business. After creating an avatar you should be able to visualize what your avatar likes, where your avatar shops, how much money they make, how many kids they have, are they on social media, etc. Your avatar will help you see clearly who exactly it is you hope will purchase your product or service. 

4. Where are you selling?

To narrow down where you're most likely to be found is the key to attracting your market. Once you’ve created your avatar, you will get a clearer idea as to where the best place is to sell your business. Do you need to be in a retail store, or can sales be made from home? Is social media the best place to market your brand or do you need to pay for newspaper advertising? Having a strong location where your market can count on finding your brand is essential to your brand’s success. Make it easy for people to find you. Be Visible! 

Smart advice: Check out this book called "Lifestyle Entrepreneur" by Jesse Krieger

5. Why are you selling? 

Why are you doing what you're doing? What's your driving force? Why are you in business? These are the questions that make or break entrepreneurs. The "Why" of the matter! I don't think there are right or wrong reasons for wanting to be an entrepreneur, but what I know is that the reasons that are truest to your real self - what lights you up and keeps you motivated - are the reasons that sustain you through the ups and downs you will inevitably experience as a woman entrepreneur! 

Smart Action: Listen to the Anthony Robbins TED talk "Why we do what we do" here