A Woman Entrepreneur's Advice for Startups Claudia Chan, the brains behind S.H.E. Summit Week in New York, shares her best three tips for women starting a business.
By Catherine Clifford •
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New York has Internet Week, Fashion Week, and Restaurant Week. Now, there is a week devoted to women. The first S.H.E. (She Helps Empower) Summit Week launched on Monday with a focus squarely on women entrepreneurs.
The week consists of more than 40 events to celebrate women, including business workshops. For example, Women's Venture Fund is hosting The Art of Good Networking and Build Your Negotiation Skills workshops. Meanwhile, GoGirl Finance is presenting Your Money, Your Life: Know Your Worth, a personal finance workshop.
Entrepreneur Claudia Chan, the brains behind S.H.E. Summit Week, spoke at the kickoff breakfast at skincare company Dermalogica in New York this week. Chan is the former president of Shecky's Media, an entertainment company that caters to women. She quit her role with Shecky's to start her own project, ClaudiaChan.com, a website for women that covers lifestyle and business issues.
Related: Entrepreneurs Tap Growing Holistic Niche for Women
"My mission is really to inspire women to dream and do big," she says. Here, Chan offers her best three tips for women entrepreneurs:
1. Bake purpose into your mission. "As a business owner, really think about: yes, you want to be successful, make money, and create jobs, but you also want to create a greater good for something," Chan says. "That is what creates the sustainability." So, be sure to keep a laser-like focus on your mission -- and your purpose -- as a company, as well as the good that you are creating.
2. Give back. "Be cognizant of the fact that you are a very small percentage of entrepreneurship, and so really support other women along the way," she says.
3. Take care of yourself. "We have a tendency to just go, go, go and not take care of ourselves," Chan says, "and then nothing works out." Take that time for a meditation break or connecting with the people that support you.
Related: Multimillionaire Entrepreneur Jane Wurwand on Self-Reliance (Video)
What is your best tip for women entrepreneurs? Share your recommendation and respond to other readers in the comments below.
