Female entrepreneurs are driving global economies and breaking the glass ceiling. In this feature, we present a collection of their crisis management stories, providing a unique perspective into their resilience and strategic prowess.
Angela Olea: Embracing Adaptability in the Face of Crisis
Angela Olea is a registered nurse and the founder of Assisted Living Locators, the first senior placement and referral franchise business in the U.S. As Brand President, she has grown the company into a nationally acclaimed agency, serving 36 states and the District of Columbia.
Crisis: When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Angela faced significant challenges in maintaining the safety of both employees and the seniors they serve. The crisis demanded swift action and a drastic change in operations.
Lesson: Angela’s experience taught her that, in times of crisis, one must pivot swiftly, leveraging existing resources and capabilities to adapt to new circumstances. By embracing change and implementing virtual consultations, her company not only survived the crisis but expanded its services, solidifying its commitment to the communities they serve.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Assisted Living Locators Corp
Twitter: ALL_Locators
Dielle Charon: Empowering Leadership during Personal Crisis
Dielle Charon is a seven-figure sales coach who helps women of color create successful online coaching businesses. As the host of the Black, Banked, and Booked Out Podcast, she provides advice on sales and money mindset.
Crisis: Dielle was faced with a personal health crisis during a crucial time for her business, right before a big launch and live events. Being bedridden, she had to rely on her team for business operations.
Lesson: This challenging period emphasized the importance of having a well-trained, empowered team. Despite her health challenges, her team’s ability to make decisions and carry out responsibilities ensured that the launch was one of their biggest.
Instagram: DielleCharon
YouTube: @diellecharon
Smita D Jain: Harnessing Resilience to Triumph Over Adversity
Life Coach Smita D Jain is a successful entrepreneur based in India. As the Founder and CEO of ‘Empower Yourself,’ Smita is an Executive Coach and Personal Empowerment Life Coach who left her 14-year corporate career in a strategy and management consulting role to create her coaching business.
Crisis: After establishing her coaching business, Smita found that her initial strategy of partnering with companies as an executive coach was not working. She faced resistance from HR departments, who were reluctant to work with her due to her lack of HR background and the novelty of her business.
Lesson: After a few unsuccessful months, Smita changed her strategy, shifting her focus to individual clients rather than companies. This pivot led to significant business growth and a full client roster with waitlisted clients. In a relatively short time, she became one of the fastest-ever PCC-certified coaches with the International Coaching Federation. Smita emphasizes the importance of agility, innovation, and resilience in overcoming crises, encouraging other entrepreneurs to move around obstacles and explore new opportunities.
LeeNor Dikel and Gila Dikel: Double Power – Navigating Business Crisis Together
Mother-daughter duo, Gila and LeeNor Dikel, are the successful founders of two e-commerce stores that have generated half a million US dollars in the past two years. As first-generation entrepreneurs, their inspiring story offers valuable lessons in resilience and innovation.
Crisis: The introduction of the IOS 14 update resulted in a nearly 60% drop in their revenue, causing a significant disruption in their business. This crisis forced them to reevaluate their existing strategies and explore new opportunities to stay afloat.
Lesson: In response to the crisis, LeeNor and Gila expanded their marketing efforts across multiple platforms including Facebook Commerce Manager, email and SMS marketing, organic Pinterest, and social media marketing. This strategy helped them recover their lost sales and build a more robust and sustainable marketing strategy. The pair’s advice to other entrepreneurs is to always seek alternative solutions during a crisis, take calculated risks, and be willing to invest in new opportunities.
Website: La Coco Boutique
Instagram: La Coco Boutique
Eno Eka: Unleashing Strategic Leadership in Turbulent Times
Eno Eka, a Calgary-based Business Analyst, Consultant, and CEO, is the driving force behind Eny Consulting and the Business Analysis School. She has leveraged her entrepreneurial spirit, visible from her teenage years, to create a seven-figure global company.
Crisis: The pandemic was a turning point for Eno, forcing her to transition from employee to entrepreneur overnight. Faced with this crisis, Eno founded Eny Consulting and created an educational platform to help companies and professionals pivot into technology.
Lesson: Eno’s journey demonstrates the power of resilience, adaptability, and unwavering focus. Her philosophy,
“Focus on impact, and the income will follow,”
has guided her throughout her journey. Today, her companies have reached over 100,000 professionals in 90 countries, affirming that it’s possible to turn crises into opportunities for growth and impact.
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
TikTok
Hanne Wulp: Steering Success Amidst Unforeseen Challenges
Hanne Wulp, founder of Communication Wise, leveraged challenging circumstances to create a business that promotes mental well-being. Her company focuses on training leadership teams and coaching individual leaders to build strong, healthy relationships.
Crisis: The launch of her business coincided with the global pandemic and personal challenges, including a divorce and school closure for her children. She also lost all her foreseeable income for 2020 when her contracts were put on indefinite hold.
Lesson: Despite these obstacles, Hanne invested in a marketing/sales training program and started her business without any existing clients. Her strategy paid off when she started to attract clients, leading to a thriving business today. She learned the importance of finding a balance between focus and flexibility, becoming a powerful business owner and creator in the process.
Tatsiana Kirimava: Crisis as a Catalyst for Growth
Tatsiana Kirimava is the Co-Founder and CEO of Orangesoft, a company with 12 years of management experience. She’s a seasoned techpreneur who believes in forward-thinking.
Crisis: In her early leadership years, she became entangled in short-term crisis management, undertaking numerous client projects that misaligned with the company’s long-term goals. Although this approach helped the company to weather the storm, it also led them away from their strategic objectives.
Lesson: Tatsiana learned to think beyond crises, asserting that any crisis presents a choice. She advises leaders to focus on post-crisis growth instead of merely surviving the current situation. Today, she prioritizes the company’s growth despite economic turbulence, maintaining that a long-term vision is key to unlocking post-crisis expansion. She sees a crisis as an opportunity few are equipped to pursue, and she believes a sound crisis response strategy should consider new business opportunities that arise during tough times.
Andrea DeWitt: Embracing Authenticity amidst Adversity
Andrea Mein DeWitt, M.Ed., CPCC, ACC is a Life and Leadership Coach, running her own business, DeWitt Advisors. With a background as an author, she is known for her personable and relatable approach to leadership.
Crisis: One of Andrea’s significant challenges was coming to terms with the fact that not everybody will appreciate her or what she has to offer. This internal conflict caused her to constantly try to fit into someone else’s perception of her, leading to inauthentic behavior that didn’t resonate with her true self.
Lesson: Andrea advises others to get comfortable in their own skin. She believes that by trying to please everyone, individuals waste energy on those who will not reciprocate their efforts. She encourages being genuinely oneself and treating others with kindness and respect, irrespective of their behavior. She emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and focusing on the unique contributions one can make to the world, rather than obsessing over external validation.
LinkedIn: Andrea DeWitt
The stories of these female entrepreneurs are a testament to their unwavering resolve in the face of crises. They provide us with invaluable insights into navigating business challenges, inspiring us to adopt a resilience mindset.
