Why Women Business Owners Should Prioritize Self-Reflection and Celebrate Their Successes
The Power of Self-Reflection for Women in Business
For women in business, seeing success in others often comes easier than recognizing our own achievements and growth. We admire the accomplishments of others, assuming their paths are smooth, and their successes are straightforward. However, unless we ask, we can never truly know the journey behind anyone’s success.
When we make assumptions about others’ success and compare ourselves to these estimates, we can easily fall into a cycle of self-criticism. This can trigger feelings of inadequacy and negativity, which are detrimental to our personal and professional growth. This habit of assumption often leads to comparisons that can undermine our confidence and self-worth.
The Unique Challenges Women Business Owners Face
We have looked at challenges women face in our previous blogs Unlocking consistency and Focus and in From Low to Lifted: Mastering motivation and elevating your mood but lets touch on them again from a self-reflection perspective.
We face distinct challenges that can impact how we perceive our success.
From gender bias in the business world to balancing the demands of family and work, there are many obstacles. According to a 2022 report by the British Business Bank, only 17% of the overall UK venture capital funding went to all-female founded teams (4%) or mixed gender teams (12.7%), while all-male founded teams received 83% of the funding.
This significant disparity highlights the challenges women business owners face in accessing venture capital in the UK, despite their businesses often performing as well as, or better than, their male-led counterparts.
The Role of Self-Reflection in Personal and Professional Growth
Self-reflection is a powerful tool for personal and professional development. It involves taking a step back to assess your actions, decisions, and progress. By regularly engaging in self-reflection, we can gain valuable insights into our strengths and areas for improvement. This process not only helps in better decision-making but also fosters a deeper understanding of what success truly means to us.
Success is a highly personal and subjective concept. What defines success for one person can be entirely different for another. While some may equate success with financial gains, others find it in overcoming challenges, achieving work-life balance, securing new clients, or making a meaningful impact on someone’s life. Each of these accomplishments is valid and deserving of recognition.
Self-reflection can improve our decision-making and problem-solving abilities. This can mean the difference between us feeling stuck in a cycle of self-doubt and breaking free to pursue new opportunities with confidence.
Self-reflection also promotes a growth mindset. We have talked about Growth mindset in our Blog Empowering female entrepreneurs to adopt a growth mindset By reflecting on past experiences, both positive and negative, we can learn valuable lessons which empower us on in our business journey.
Overcoming the Barriers to Self-Reflection and Celebration
Why do we find it difficult to prioritize self-reflection and celebration?
We are busy meeting the demands of running a business so are not making the time to reflect and review. This is a common issue for so many of us, but we cannot stress the importance of making time for these important tasks.
Founder Sharon Louca says, “As an introvert in my early days as a business owner I found it incredibly difficult to promote myself and any successes as I felt they would be viewed as “bragging or showing off” and I was far too modest for that. I gained my recognition from others who shared feedback or testimonials as a measure of my success. However, I still struggled to share them with others. As my confidence grew, I became more comfortable in sharing my successes with others. I seek to inspire others in this process and to lead by example.
It is essential to shift this mindset from comparison to inspiration. I am passionate about seeing women succeed in business, and I use that passion as motivation to strive for more in my own endeavours. By focusing on self-reflection, we can appreciate our unique journeys and celebrate our achievements, big or small. At WBN we have always encouraged our members to share their wins with us on a weekly basis as a reminder of this important activity.
Overcoming this barrier required a shift in my mindset—from seeing self-praise as arrogance to recognizing it as a necessary part of my self-care and professional growth.”
If you are not already a member in our WBN Free Facebook Community I encourage you to join us and each Friday afternoon comment on our #FridayWins post where we celebrate our successes and share in the successes of our fellow women in business.
At WBN we have built a supportive community of like-minded women who encourage and celebrate each other’s successes. If you would like to come along and visit us you can find dates of our upcoming meetings on our Events page
Practical Steps for Women in Business to Start Reflecting and Celebrating
If you’re ready to start prioritizing self-reflection and celebration in your business journey, here are some practical steps you can take:
- Journaling: Start a daily or weekly journal where you reflect on your achievements, challenges, and lessons learned. Journaling helps you process your thoughts and gain clarity on your goals.
- Mind Mapping: Create a mind map focused on various aspects of your business look at areas like your customer journey, service offerings and how you market yourself. This visual exercise can help you identify strengths, challenges, and opportunities.
- SWOT Analysis: Conduct a personal SWOT analysis to assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This can provide valuable insights into where you excel and where you need to focus more attention. I have learnt this from my work as a ISO9001 Quality Consultant the benefits of using this simple tool as a way of identifying new opportunities and areas for improvement. You can download a free template here
- Guided Meditation: This Practice isn’t for everyone personally I love to meditate and always choose guided meditation. Practice guided meditation focused on self-reflection. This can help you clear your mind, reduce stress, and focus on your inner thoughts. YouTube is a fantastic free resource for meditation content.
- Peer Feedback Sessions: We used this for our members back in 2022 we organized 1-1 sessions to ask each other for their perspectives on how they saw us, and we took it in turns to share. Our members reported back how useful and enlightening it was to hear how others were seeing them. This external feedback can complement your self-reflection and provide new insights.
- Celebrate Milestones: Make it a habit to celebrate your successes, both big and small. Whether it’s securing a new client, launching a product, or overcoming a challenge, take time to acknowledge and reward yourself for your achievements. We see daily this type of content being shared on business social media channels. Do you use this opportunity to share your successes with your audience and potential ideal clients following you?
The Long-Term Impact of Self-Reflection and Celebration on Business Success
The consistent practice of self-reflection and celebration can have a profound impact on long-term business success. This is because self-reflection fosters better decision-making, while celebration boosts confidence and motivation.
By embracing self-reflection and celebration, we can not only enhance our personal growth but also create a ripple effect that inspires and empowers others around us. The core of who we are at WBN is about building a community of women who lift each other up and celebrate each other’s achievements.
Conclusion: Embracing the Business Journey
In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, it’s easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget to pause and reflect. S elf-reflection and celebrating successes are not just nice-to-haves—they are essential for sustained growth and empowerment.
By regularly engaging in these practices, you can gain a deeper understanding of your journey, build confidence, and set yourself up for long-term success. We can make our own reality and tap into the true potential earning capacity that is there for the taking if we only had the courage and self-belief to go out and get it!
So finally, take a moment to reflect on your achievements, celebrate your successes, and embrace the unique journey you are on as a woman in business. You’ve earned it, and your future self will thank you for it.
Continue to be amazing and share your wins with us over in our WBN Community on Facebook from 2pm every Friday.
