My visit to the Westminster Business Council’s Female Leaders in Finance Evening was a life changing experience! For young people, becoming a tantamount to our excelling female and male cohort in the business industry has become a prominent subject of interest.
Increasingly, many young females are determined to sit in the board rooms and be a part of decision making teams in leading companies. Likewise more and more young people are becoming captivated by the idea of starting up their own successful businesses through personal style and entrepreneurism. But how does entrepreneurism work? How can young people elevate their business?
Simple…originality, skill, networking and knowledge! I’ve put together some ideas of how to build a platform for yourself and your business with the help of your circles and a review of Westminster Business Council’s Female Leaders in Finance Evening event that I attended on Wednesday, 18th March 2015.
When the ACES Aspire media team and I attended the phenomenal Female Leaders in Finance Evening, I had the opportunity to meet a wide range of people and learn more about the importance of networking. Hearing how passionate these women were about their businesses gave me motivation to develop my own.
One of the speakers that presented the evening was the extraordinary, Heather Melville. Heather is the Founder and Global Chair of the RBS Focused Women’s Network, which is managed by volunteers and today has Circ 12,000 members in 33 countries.She also sits on a number of internal and external diversity boards and in 2010 was awarded the prestigious Women in Banking and Finance Award for Achievement, under the category of Champion for women. In 2012, she was awarded the World of Difference 100 Award (TIAW) recognising her as one of the top 100 women worldwide who have made a difference to the economic empowerment of women. Mrs Melville spoke eloquently about her experiences as a woman entering the business industry. She said “It’s about fulfilling the gender agenda and getting the best people in the best jobs”.
Personally, this thought struck me. As a young woman it opened my eyes greatly. Evidently, it has become easier for women to gain male dominated jobs however; we are still being exploited in the economic world because we are female. Did you know that women add over a third to the world’s economy? No? Neither did I. Statistics such as this prove that women are able to perform yet we choose not to. This needs to change.
Business was a scary option for me. Whenever, I caught a glimpse of myself entering business, almost immediately I was put off by the images of mathematic calculations that followed. This time was different! After the evening was over, I began seeing myself as a possible entrepreneur.
One of the questions I never seize to ask myself is “how”? In this case, I found myself contemplating how I was going to start my own business. Undeniably, it’s easier said than done. Starting anything has always been one of the scariest things for me. However, if I’ve learnt anything from the event, I would say that starting is only a complex ideology built on the lack of knowledge of an individual. Meaning, until you equip yourself with the skills, information and support necessary, the outcome of your step will always be disaster.
As a young achiever, you will be bombarded with opportunities that will require you to present your intuitive skills and take the first step into developing your ideas. Make sure that your vision is clear, flexible and well thought through.
As you might be wondering, what are the enterprising skills that I am talking about? Networking! Networking! Networking! Networking is a proverbial method of positioning yourself in places that can help you raise your exclusive profile. In other words, getting you out there! This skill was highly encouraged at the event. As a young visionary, if your aim is to radically increase earning power at a young age then, then this skill must be oxygen to you.
Have you ever noticed that regardless of whether you like celebrities or not, you still have some background knowledge on who they are and an insight on their story? It is because they’re media aroused. Whether you’re the ambassador of a luxury hair company or you’re starting up your business from scratch, the fastest way to elevate yourself is through the attainment of quality connections. It’s all about beginning to set yourself apart from the crowd and sustaining your image in a positive light.
Subsequently, one of the main things Heather spoke about during the event was how she became a ‘linchpin’ to RBS. (Linchpin– my term for Heather not hers). The expression becoming a linchpin, means to become indispensible in the state that you become someone who cannot be replaced because your role is rare and you offer something that cannot be found somewhere else.
This cannot be italicised enough. For young people, being adaptable and having imperative value is principal in levelling yourself into the business and economic industry. Become prodigious so, that you become an accessory to an industry not simply an extra.
Ultimately, I believe that the evening was absolutely sensational. Being in a building full of women from all across the globe who are currently forwarding themselves and building their careers was highly inspirational. It gave me the realisation that there are many people out there who want to see our generation succeed and are willing to support our ideas regardless of the nature of our backgrounds. There is a world of opportunity that lies at our feet and it is up to us to use our resources to open the doors to them. Feeling the magnitude of greatness linger in the air was life changing.
“Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them; power flows to the man who knows how” ~ Elbert Hubbard.
