7 Girl Bosses Explain The Toughest Part About Being In Charge
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Entrepreneurship sounds like a sweet deal, so everybody wants to come up with the next app or the next “Shark Tank” idea. But starting your own business is a lot more than coming up with a cool product and never having to answer to a shitty boss again. The idea of not working a 9-5 sounds great until you realize that as your own boss you’re working 24/7 instead.
Owning your own company is certainly not for the faint of heart, but these seven girl bosses know a thing or two about getting things done. We got them to tell us the toughest thing about being their own boss. Maybe it’ll convince you to start your own business, or maybe it’ll make you realize that entrepreneurship is so not for you (which is also totally cool).
1. Bridgette Gale, Founder & Designer of Amore + Sorvete Swimwear
“I would probably say the most difficult thing about being my own boss is switching off from work, it’s obviously not a 9-5 job. Especially living in Australia and doing business with the US, I’m working early hours and late nights. However, there is a plus side. I can work and travel anywhere in the world. Right now I’m on an island off Tuscany with my husband. I’m still not switching off 100%, but I can’t complain that my current office is under the Italian sun in my bikinis.”
2. Ana Dee, Founder of Alien Outfitters
“Businesses are like flowers. The growth requires patience, a little love, and constant attention. The more you tend to the business, the faster and stronger it grows.”
3. Trisha Gregory, Co-Founder of Armarium
“Time management. No matter if you are your own boss or not. Managing different groups of people, cultivating partnerships and balancing relationships with the media all at once creates a type of balancing act.
“Being your own boss carries a great deal of weight with it too. Holding yourself accountable at all times and carrying yourself in a way that one might not necessarily be accustomed to is key as you are a constant representation of your brand, and the public’s perception is crucial to any company’s survival.
“Also, people often don’t realize that as a founder of a company, entrepreneurs are often alone. It is up to us to remain responsible for ourselves, our business and our employees’ well being. You must always keep lofty goals in place as well. My team looks to me every day to be a motivator, and inspirer and constantly lead us in a direction that will take us to new heights and allow us to overcome challenges that come our way.
“On top of all of this, being a female founder of a startup is one of the greatest challenges of them all. Of all startups, 4% are founded by females with only 7% of all tech startups being female-founded as well, so you can image that the challenges we face are different than our male counterparts in many ways.”
4. Amme B, Founder and Designer of Amme B Lingerie
“The most difficult thing about being my own boss is probably just keeping myself constantly motivated. It’s a lot more complicated than coming home from your job and just shutting off from work and relaxing. I have to constantly be in work mode and that means I can’t call in sick or make up excuses when I don’t feel like working because if I don’t do the work, no one else will! Sometimes it’s really hard to find motivation to work if I’m going through a funk, but I’d still prefer my job over any other job. It’s really rewarding to know you built and can sustain something all on your own!”
5. Alex Woo, Designer and Founder of Alex Woo Jewelry
“When you are an entrepreneur and a designer, your ideas and creative flow never end, so you are always continually thinking about work. It’s a challenge to step away and say you are done for the day. But then again, when you are doing something you love and are passionate about–it isn’t ‘work.’ It’s a job that never ends, but at the end of the day, you are doing what you love, which is a wonderful thing.”
6. Ona, Artist And Founder of Naked Therapy
“The hardest thing is that as my own boss I’m working all the time, but I also like that, for now anyways. Also, there are big decisions to be made on how to move forward (for me, starting a NSFW website was one of these decisions), and they can be hard to make, but inevitably my art practice is about growing and developing.”
7. Wende Zomnir, Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Urban Decay
“The hardest part about being your own boss is the hardest part about life: finding the balance. I get so fired up with creating new products, then don’t spend enough time on the business. I get caught up in the business, and then I’m too tapped out to create. Your employees blow your mind with how far and high they will reach for you, and then you find out that one of your rock star employees is screwing you. It is an endless high-wire act, but when I find the balance, all is good.”
