Whether it’s an app solving motherhood challenges or a niche digital magazine, businesses are experiencing an explosion in opportunities not limited by location or company size.

SME’s are growing 4 times faster than this time last year driven largely by a female market.

Some women are creating businesses from a side hustle, others are busy mums who want flexible work hours.

Creating a business which people will love is no small feat. You need technology, operations, systems, processes, finances, tax, products, services and people – lots of people (and hopefully a supportive husband or family).

But, above all – it needs YOU.

Your exact uniqueness is what creates your purpose, your natural skill set, intellect, your motivation, strengths, weaknesses and your gravitation towards what interests you. Your unique DNA is essentially what fires you up and gets you moving in the morning.

People who are living their life on purpose and by their own design, tend to create businesses that people want to work for because, there’s a certain excitement to them, a risk-taking, carefree, the mitts are off, we are in this together, BOOM! type of journey.

Our human need for excitement, curiosity and risk starts in childhood and it never really leaves us. We all want to create a life of interesting stories driven by life’s journey.

We are living in fast moving times and everyone from young women just starting out to working mums are wanting to work in environments which allow flexibility, continuous learning, variety, free food! But, above all, people want to feel like they are working in a business which has purpose, meaning and which serves them more than just money.

Some women find their BOOM! early and some find it later in life. And no one, not one single person finds their reason for being on their very first go.

It’s trial and error but, the most important thing to do is just START. Start right now, not tomorrow, but right now!

If you want to write, pick up a pen. If you want to own a shop, start a lemonade stand.

If you want to build a business online start with getting tech ready!

If you aren’t 100% sure of your life by design, your unique offering, it’s not a problem – we’ve broken down some points that will head you in the right direction towards starting and building a business that you’d love to work for:

Do all this and learn along the way

• Write the bucket list (then start doing it)
• Do stand-up comedy
• Travel
• Expand your love
• Say yes to everything for 90 days
• Run
• Take up acting
• Handwrite, every day
• Do something nice for someone (without expecting anything back)
• Show gratitude
• Focus on the things you love and immediately stop doing the things you don’t love
• Read books, lots of books and watch films
• Learn from your children
• Listen, really actively listen
• Meet as many people as you can from as many different cultures, places, lifestyles, cities, countries and towns
• Become insanely curious, self-aware and actually really deeply care about people and, eventually, you’ll find yourself gravitating towards the things you love.
• Once you define your reason for being, you’ll find that if you aren’t doing things you love every day, the universe will find a way to push you in the right direction.

So, trust yourself, trust the signs and follow them. If you create from the heart – you can never really go too far wrong.

Remove fear and start your business before you are ready (because let’s face it finding excuses is what we humans do best).

Then, do this:

• Get organised
• Do a business plan
• Start with the money
• Get connected and find your people

SMEs and startups use as many technology tools as they can to solve the boring aspects of doing business. They automate it as much as possible so they focus entirely on core offering. Doing this will ensure that you (and your staff) are doing the things you love.

Business needs money to survive so, start with the money. All businesses have an element of risk, and it’s your job to manage that risk as best you can to create freedom for you and your staff.

Starting with the money is just smart business, because frankly, without focusing on the money you risk creating a business with lots of stress. A technology-driven business creates a slightly larger element of risk.

Mostly because technology startups are doing things differently, but technology businesses offer the greatest rewards because you can scale quickly and that’s exciting!

You may have to start out on your own but, you’ll quickly find the like minds. They will become your clients, your customers, your friends and even your ambassadors.

Your tribe is exactly like you and it’s those people that will want to work with you. A shared vision creates a shared culture and a great culture creates businesses that people want to work for.

Think about how you are going to look after the people who are working for you – whether it’s free Yoga on a Friday, flexible work hours, extra leave entitlements or a bonus – think about this when doing your business plan.

Culture and great products and services create people happiness and that creates brands that people want to work with.

If you start with your community, your tribe, you can’t really go too far wrong because your bond with your early adopters, your early clients is strong because they are ones who are with you on the journey from the very beginning.

Always employ from your tribe, your community, people who already love your brand. They get it, they like it and they believe in the company’s future and they will become employees who also double as brand ambassadors for life.

Just remember that the most important thing is to have fun and smile throughout the journey because some days will be challenging.

If you can laugh along the way, it makes it all worthwhile (smiles create brands people want to work for too).

Tech Ready Academy enabling women in tech.