In her book All In: How Women Entrepreneurs Can Think Bigger, Build Sustainable Businesses, and Change the World, Breedlove fills a gap in the lack of role models as she outlines the hows and whys behind the decisions that led her towards success.
Why I Wrote My Book
By Stephanie Breedlove, Co-Founder Care.com HomePay, Author All In: How Women Entrepreneurs Can Think Bigger, Build Sustainable Businesses, and Change the World
When I began my entrepreneurial journey, I did not know what I know now. I did not know that I would not have a female mentor to turn to or emulate. I did not know that I would feel like a trailblazer, or that I’d feel alone in the quest to create growth, scale, and sustainable value. Did I get discouraged? You bet I did. But ultimately, I followed my gut as it beckoned me down a path outside the norm, filled with hard work – a path to where and who I was meant to be.
I believe that my greatest accomplishment is doing what it takes to push through the fear, the guilt, the unknown, and the barriers to find fulfillment beyond my wildest dreams on the other side.
Being an entrepreneur has allowed me to grow my best talents and to give my best in return. It has provided the opportunity to break with cultural norms and build a life of equality at home and at work. It has allowed me to build a business of scale that creates sustained value. My journey is over 20 years in the making, my children are grown, and I’ve recently had a successful exit with the acquisition of my company. I have learned that although my story is not extraordinary, it is not common in today’s evolution of women in entrepreneurship. And this makes me a role model and an agent for change. The entrepreneurial path should be traveled by many more women. I know I’d do it 100 times over!
Research has proven that women and men entrepreneurs share similar motivations, see the reasons for their successes largely the same way, and face many of the same challenges. Studies have even proven that the appetites of men and women for financial risk is largely the same. Yet men are two times more likely to start businesses than women, and their businesses are 3.5 times more likely to cross the $1 million threshold.
Although experts widely agree that women entrepreneurs often face unique challenges, it doesn’t seem they are often held back from success. The main roadblock is simply getting women to start and then to choose to grow a business in the first place. People are 3 times more likely to make the leap into entrepreneurship if they have a mentor or role model. This is where women like me can be of real value.
If I can help you prepare, plan, and take action to start and to grow a business, then I’ve done my part as an entrepreneur who believes in paying it forward. My mission is to encourage women who are called to entrepreneurship to be all in, to go everywhere they are meant to go, and to leave their mark on the community and the economy and perhaps even the world. Words can’t describe its worth. I wish it for every woman called to entrepreneurship.
