16 Sep What Makes a Female Entrepreneur? 10 Essential Attributes
One of my favourite places to be is the bi-annual Tierlandtynkies market festival in Pretoria. Every inch of space is filled with delightful treasures for my magpie eyes, handmade or curated by fun, smart and engaging entrepreneurs. Most of them are female, including the events’ brain-moms: Ronel and Lorette (who happen to also be two of the kindest people you will ever meet). The market is held on church property but it’s far from the stereotypical koeksister and secondhand book market we’ve come to expect from church fetes. I know because I assist my husband with his stall there for the past few years and have come to expect to be pleasantly surprised with the jewellery, fashion, accessories, decor and more from small businesses.
We are one week away from the next market and so I simply must write a piece I’ve been keeping from you for a while! At the last market, I spoke to some of the vendors about what it takes to run their businesses. Our conversations reminded me of the creative industry demonstrated by the Proverbs 31 woman. Reading over my notes, I am amazed at the depth of wisdom experience has taught them. I’ve distilled their advice into ten important ingredients for the modern day female entrepreneur:
1. Excellence
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates. (Proverbs 31:31 NKJV)
There can be no entrepreneurship without excellence. Cutting corners is a big no-no and will catch up with you at some point. Customers are not easily fooled by shoddy work so a thriving small business requires that one always puts the best foot forward.
2. Leadership
She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens. (Proverbs 31:15)
A good leader sacrifices for staff: one entrepreneur admitted that she would take money from her personal accounts to pay her staff if the business had bad months. But becoming a good leader also requires learning how to follow. Ronel recommended finding a mentor and meeting once a month to learn from.
3. Unique Solutions
She considers a field and buys it (Proverbs 31:16a)
One of the most competitive genres for small businesses is jewellry. Amorique from Mark of A explained to me how her desire to create beautiful items was partly born from the frustration of not being able to find rings that fit her fingers. She encourages anyone with new ideas to never ever try to fit in as building your business on the basis of comparison will only yield flat and boring results. If you’re someone interested in creative ideas, I highly recommend the ‘Made to Create’ 6 week Bible Study.
Kies is where I met the awesome Purpose & Proverbs team. What kind and inspirational ladies!
4. Godly Direction
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)
Pray, pray and pray for inspiration and direction from God. One lady shared with me how, in the difficulty of navigating her sales through the COVID pandemic, she and her business partner waited on God for a word in prayer. Once they felt that they had received direction, they acted on it in faith and continued to repeat it to themselves throughout challenges. Another lady shared that her desire to pivot her business started deep within her heart. Once she followed that inspiration, things quickly fell into place from her which she interprets as evidence of God’s grace and direction.
One of my first Tierlandtynkies markets as a barista back in 2014
5. Boldness
She is not afraid of snow for her household (Proverbs 31:21a)
Fear of failure is one of the largest barriers to success for anything, entrepreneurship included. Owning and running a small business takes a stomach for risk.
6. Attention to Detail
She looks well to the ways of her household (Proverbs 31:27a)
Toni, owner of Toni’s Pizza, emphasised that attention to detail is key. Know where every single cent is going. Ronel affirmed that being hands-on is vital for the health of your business.
7. Communication
She opens her mouth with wisdom (Proverbs 31:26a)
Clarity in branding helps customers to understand what you are offering them. Nini of Eat-a-bit shared that rebranding resulted in an increase in sales! Same business, same product, same owner, but improved communication! She went on to explain that she loves to chat with her customers and get a feel for what they do and don’t like. She uses this valuable information to improve her products and even as a place to find free ideas for new products.
8. Flexibility
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come. (Proverbs 31:25)
One just cannot prepare for every eventuality. Wisdom and planning are great but when things go wrong, good entrepreneurs think on their feet to solve the problem. There’s nothing wrong with having a little cry of course! But never allow despair to prevent you from tackling unforeseen challenges.
9. Family
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her (Proverbs 31:28)
A couple of the ladies I spoke to mentioned how important family support is. It reminded me of how supportive my husband has been of my vision for this blog, Cup of Faith. One lady had her baby with her at her stand. She explained that she wants her daughter to be included into her life and so, with the support of parents and her husband, she bravely chooses to combine childcare with running her stand. Now that’s one advantage of being your own boss: autonomous parenting!
Helping Kendrick running his stall at Kies in April 2024
10. Hard Work
She rises while it is yet night (Proverbs 31:15a)
She … does not eat the bread of idleness. (Proverbs 31:27b)
There is no substitute for hard work. A common theme with all the women I spoke to was grit: giving it all and willingly giving up time to invest into nurturing the business into what you envision it to be. These women are not afraid to wake up early and go to bed late – something they share with the Proverbs 31 woman!
If you are around Pretoria next week I encourage you to come by and meet some of the incredible vendors!
You can find details about the market on Facebook.
Kate is the current owner and editor of Cup of Faith. She is a blogger who loves Jesus, loves to read, and currently lives in Johannesburg with her husband.
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