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Professional Networking Essentials – Women Founders’ Advice - Part 16
In the Professional Networking Essentials Series, we feature the insights of 10 women founders who share lessons on building strong support networks, creating authentic relationships, and seeking mentorship and collaboration. Their advice also highlights the importance of taking action before everything feels perfect, staying consistent, adapting through challenges, and building trust by contributing value to the communities around you.
Featured Women Founders
Clare Newcome Evans Keep going!
Manjari Sharma
Sneha Inamdar Build a Strong Support Network: Find mentors, partners, and advisors who can offer different perspectives and help you navigate challenges.
Nikita Jhaveri Build a community around you that pushes you and supports you.
Tracy Carson-Brown Love what you do, be an example to the community...
Veronica Quigg My advice to other women entrepreneurs is to stop waiting until you feel “ready.” Most successful business owners started before they had everything figured out.
Rose C. Perri Create a plentiful network as you never know from which area you will receive the necessary help and support that you need.
Lindsay Davis As an entrepreneur, our networks are one of our most valuable assets.
Jennifer Hensley After five years in business, I’ve learned what it takes to make your mark.
Sibongile Mongadi My advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is to start with a clear problem you are deeply committed to solving, because that purpose will carry you through the inevitable challenges of building a business.
Tatiana da Encarnação casaca To all women who aspire to start or grow their own businesses, my main advice is to believe in your vision and never allow external limitations to define your potential.
Clare Newcome Evans – Keep going!
Company– Terra Libra
Website: www.terralibra.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.instagram.com/terralibraagency
Advice
Keep going! Just do it! Have a good support network around you, and know that it will be a rollercoaster!
Manjari Sharma – 1.
Company– Farmdidi (MissionDidi Pvt Ltd)
Website: https://www.farmdidi.com/
Advice
1. My advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs is to start with a strong purpose and stay committed to solving real problems. Growth takes time, and there will be setbacks, but consistency and resilience matter more than perfection.
2. Build credibility through quality, transparency, and customer trust rather than chasing quick results. It is also important to seek mentorship, build supportive networks, and continuously upgrade your skills.
3. Women should not underestimate their ability to lead businesses, create employment, and drive social impact at scale. At FarmDidi, we have seen rural women transform into confident entrepreneurs, proving that opportunity, training, and belief can create extraordinary outcomes for individuals and communities alike
Sneha Inamdar – Build a Strong Support Network: Find mentors, partners, and advisors who can offer different perspectives and help you navigate challenges.
Company– Designivore
Website: https://designivore.in/
Advice
Build a Strong Support Network: Find mentors, partners, and advisors who can offer different perspectives and help you navigate challenges.
Nikita Jhaveri – Build a community around you that pushes you and supports you.
Company– Blush Now
Website: www.blush-now.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nikitajhaveri
Advice
Build a community around you that pushes you and supports you. You can't do this alone and you will need to have people that test your patience but also are your biggest cheerleaders.
Tracy Carson-Brown – Love what you do, be an example to the community...
Company– Carson Consulting Corp
Website: Www.Carsonconsultingcorp.com
Advice
Love what you do, be an example to the community... The money will come.
Veronica Quigg – My advice to other women entrepreneurs is to stop waiting until you feel “ready.” Most successful business owners started before they had everything figured out.
Company– Quiver Bookkeeping & Advising
Website: quiverfi.com
Advice
My advice to other women entrepreneurs is to stop waiting until you feel “ready.” Most successful business owners started before they had everything figured out. Confidence often comes after action, not before it.
Don’t undervalue your expertise. Many women are incredibly capable but hesitate to charge appropriately, speak confidently about their work, or position themselves as experts. Your experience, perspective, and problem-solving skills have real value.
Surround yourself with people who cheer you on and challenge you to grow. Having a strong support system and learning from other entrepreneurs can make a huge difference. Community, mentorship, and collaboration are invaluable when building a business.
Rose C. Perri – Create a plentiful network as you never know from which area you will receive the necessary help and support that you need.
Company– EastGate Pharmaceuticals Inc
Website: www.EastGateBiotech.com
Advice
Create a plentiful network as you never know from which area you will receive the necessary help and support that you need.
Lindsay Davis – As an entrepreneur, our networks are one of our most valuable assets.
Company– FemTech Association Asia
Website: https://www.femtechassociation.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lindsaydavis99
Advice
As an entrepreneur, our networks are one of our most valuable assets. Engaging with professionals across different sectors can open unexpected doors, provide fresh perspectives and lead to impactful partnerships.
Jennifer Hensley – After five years in business, I’ve learned what it takes to make your mark.
Company– Playmaker Coaching and Consulting LLC
Website: https://playmakercoach.com
Advice
After five years in business, I’ve learned what it takes to make your mark. Success is a blend of strategy, values, and consistency (SVC)—and being willing to adapt along the way. Here are the lessons I’ve learned, paired with actionable insights to help you on your journey.
Strategy
Without a clear strategy, it’s easy to lose direction. Start by connecting everything you do to your bigger goals. For me, that means choosing a word of the year to set my focus, then breaking plans into 90-day phases. This keeps me intentional, adaptable, and on track.
Know Yourself
Understanding your own tendencies is key to creating a strategy that works for you. Tools like Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies quiz can help you understand how you respond to expectations, which can be invaluable in crafting plans you’ll stick to. And remember, you don’t have to know everything to lead; just being a few steps ahead makes you relatable.
Be Specific to Be Memorable
The more clearly you define who you help and how, the more likely people are to think of you when opportunities arise.
Work On the Business, Not Just In It
It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind, but growth happens when you step back to focus on the big picture. Set aside time regularly to refine processes, review goals, and strategize for the future.
Track Your Efforts
If you’re not tracking where your business is coming from or what’s working, you’re flying blind. Knowing what drives results allows you to refine and double down on successful strategies.
Turn Ideas into Action
It’s not enough to provide ideas to your clients—you need to help them execute those ideas. This doesn’t mean doing it all yourself, but it does mean ensuring the ideas drive results and transformation.
Values
At the heart of success is building strong, authentic connections.
Show Up for Others
Shift the focus from yourself to your community. Worry less about perfecting your content and more about engaging with what matters to your audience. Listen, offer value, and prioritize their needs. This builds deeper, more meaningful connections.
Build Relationships Before You Need Them
One of the best lessons I’ve learned is to nurture your community before you need help. Authentic connections pay off when you face challenges or new opportunities. Don’t wait to reach out; start building those relationships now.
Culture Over Tools
Consider investing in people and expertise over tools. Building a strong team and tapping into the knowledge of those who have been there before can provide insights that tools alone can’t. Over time, I’ve learned to be more intentional about investing in the right people who share my values.
You’re Not Alone
It’s easy to think you have to do everything yourself, but there are so many people who want to help. Lean on your network, ask for support, and be open to collaboration.
It’s Not About You
Not everything in business (or life) is personal. People are dealing with things you can’t see, so don’t let rejections or quiet responses shake your confidence. Focus on serving others, and trust that the right opportunities will come.
Celebrate Wins, Big and Small
Recognize your achievements, no matter how small. Celebrating milestones keeps you motivated and reinforces a culture of appreciation within your team.
Consistency
Consistency is what separates those who make it from those who don’t. It builds momentum, reinforces habits, and allows you to measure what works. Without it, it’s tough to gain traction and see what works. I often compare it to a football game: if you’re at fourth and inches, you need to make informed decisions based on the context—like past successes, your team’s strengths, and the time left on the clock. Consistency in execution can lead to a 20-30% increase in results, which is significant!
Protect Your Time
Set business hours and stick to them. Block time on your calendar for the work that matters most, and don’t let distractions derail your progress. Have office hours that you stick to.
Progress Over Perfection
Perfection is a myth. You don’t need to have all the answers to start—just take the first step. Progress happens when you put yourself out there, even if it’s messy at first and just keep showing up. Doing less but doing it consistently is far more impactful than doing more sporadically.
Ask for Feedback
Feedback is a gift—ask for it. Whether from your clients, peers, or team, it helps you grow and adjust. Early on, instead of focusing on landing clients, ask others to go through your process and provide constructive feedback.
Find Joy in Business Development
I used to think I’d prefer others to handle sales while I focused on fulfillment, but I’ve discovered that I enjoy business development. Lean into the parts of the process that excite you, and you might surprise yourself.
Success is a journey of strategy, values, and consistency. Keep showing up, keep refining, and trust the process. You’ve got this!
Sibongile Mongadi – My advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is to start with a clear problem you are deeply committed to solving, because that purpose will carry you through the inevitable challenges of building a business.
Company– Ukuhamba Pty Ltd
Website: www.ukuhamba.co.za
Advice
My advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is to start with a clear problem you are deeply committed to solving, because that purpose will carry you through the inevitable challenges of building a business. Focus on validating your idea early with real users, even if your solution is not perfect yet, and use that feedback to continuously improve rather than waiting for perfection before launching.
t is also important to actively seek support networks, mentors, and partnerships, especially in industries like healthcare and technology where barriers can be high. Be persistent in pursuing opportunities, confident in your vision, and willing to learn quickly as you grow. Progress often comes from consistency, adaptability, and building strong relationships rather than having everything figured out from the start.
Tatiana da Encarnação casaca – To all women who aspire to start or grow their own businesses, my main advice is to believe in your vision and never allow external limitations to define your potential.
Company– Next Building
Website: https://nextbuilding.info/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tatiana-encarnação
Advice
To all women who aspire to start or grow their own businesses, my main advice is to believe in your vision and never allow external limitations to define your potential. Entrepreneurship is a challenging journey, but it is also one of the most transformative and rewarding experiences a person can have.
Invest continuously in your knowledge and professional development. Lifelong learning, seeking mentorship, and building a strong network of contacts are essential factors for the sustainable growth of any business. Do not be afraid to ask for help, learn from mistakes, and adapt to changing market conditions.
It is also important to understand that success does not happen overnight. Persistence, discipline, and resilience are just as important as having a great idea. There will be moments of uncertainty and difficulty, but every challenge represents an opportunity to learn, grow, and strengthen your leadership.
Finally, strive to build businesses that create value and generate a positive impact on society. When a woman becomes an entrepreneur, she does not only transform her own life; she creates opportunities, inspires others, and contributes to the development of her community. The world needs more women leaders, innovators, and changemakers who are willing to turn challenges into opportunities.
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