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Visionary Leadership – Women Founders’ Advice - Part 18

Writer: Women Story
Women Story
8 hours ago
7 min read

In the Visionary Leadership Series, we feature the insights of 10 women founders who share their lessons on building credibility, trusting their expertise, taking action before feeling ready, and creating businesses that are sustainable and purposeful. Their experiences highlight that visionary leadership grows through action, continuous learning, resilience, strong relationships, and the confidence to define success on your own terms. Together, their advice reminds us that meaningful leadership is not about doing everything alone or waiting for perfection, but about knowing your strengths, empowering others, protecting your energy, and continuing to move forward with clarity and purpose.


Featured Women Founders

  • Nisha Singhania  First, build credibility before visibility.

  • Sneka Mahadevan  My advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is to believe in your vision and build strong fundamentals.

  • Lorephil Toledo  My advice to aspiring and early-stage women founders is simple and heartfelt: Start before you feel ready.

  • Amra Janjusevic  First, trust your expertise—especially when others question it.

  • Nicole Magelssen  First and foremost, do not build a business that requires you to be the hero every day.

  • Sonia Rosatelli  Drawing from 20 years of clinical and business leadership, here is my concise advice for women founders: 1.

  • Katrin Mayrhofer  Don’t wait to feel “ready.” Most of the rooms you will enter were not designed with you in mind, so confidence often comes after you take the step, not before.

  • Ramona Damian  To aspiring or early-stage women founders, my advice is simple: start before you feel fully ready.

  • Beth Devine  My biggest piece of advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is this: stop waiting until you feel “ready.” Confidence doesn’t come first, action does.

  • Pearla Phillips  If I could share one powerful reminder with early-stage women founders, it’s this: Impossible says, “I’m possible.” There will be hard days.


Nisha Singhania – First, build credibility before visibility.

Founder – Infectious

Advice

First, build credibility before visibility. Master your craft so deeply that confidence becomes a by-product of competence. Skill compounds—noise doesn’t.


Second, don’t shrink your ambition to fit the room. Ask for the seat at the table, and if it isn’t offered, build your own table. Entrepreneurship demands courage—especially for women who are often conditioned to seek permission.


Third, be financially literate and strategically sharp. Creativity and passion are powerful, but sustainable businesses are built on numbers, discipline, and clarity of vision.


Finally, choose resilience over perfection. There will be bias, setbacks, and moments of self-doubt. What matters is consistency. Leadership is not about having all the answers—it’s about showing up, learning fast, and moving forward anyway.


Sneka Mahadevan – My advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is to believe in your vision and build strong fundamentals.

Founder – Kairaa Blockchain Academy

Advice

My advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is to believe in your vision and build strong fundamentals. Do not wait for perfect conditions—start, learn, and adapt along the way.


Focus on continuous learning, build a reliable support system, and develop confidence in decision-making. Challenges and doubts are part of the journey, but consistency, resilience, and clarity of purpose will set you apart.


Most importantly, own your leadership space with confidence—you belong there.


Lorephil Toledo – My advice to aspiring and early-stage women founders is simple and heartfelt: Start before you feel ready.

Founder – Primekey Management Inc.

Advice

My advice to aspiring and early-stage women founders is simple and heartfelt:

Start before you feel ready. Confidence grows through action, not waiting. Take the first step even if it feels small.


Build resilience, not perfection. Challenges are part of the journey, learn, adjust, and keep moving forward.

Lead with purpose. When your work serves people and solves real problems, success becomes meaningful and sustainable.


Invest in relationships. Trust, integrity, and genuine care for clients and your team will always set you apart.

Believe your story has value. Your background, struggles, and perspective are strengths, they shape authentic leadership.


My own journey building Primekey Management Inc. taught me that perseverance and faith in your vision can open doors you never imagined. Keep going, your impact matters.


Amra Janjusevic – First, trust your expertise—especially when others question it.

Founder – AMRA J Architects Inc.

Website: aja.design

Advice

First, trust your expertise—especially when others question it. You do not need to wait for permission, perfection, or universal validation to lead. Confidence grows through action, not before it.


Second, build a strong support network early. Surround yourself with people who challenge you, mentor you, and share your values. Entrepreneurship is demanding, and having trusted advisors and collaborators makes the journey more sustainable and far less isolating.


Finally, define success on your own terms. Growth does not have to mean sacrificing your principles, wellbeing, or personal life. Sustainable leadership comes from setting boundaries, making intentional choices, and understanding that resilience is not about doing everything alone—it’s about knowing when to ask for support and when to say no.


Nicole Magelssen – First and foremost, do not build a business that requires you to be the hero every day.

Founder – Alpine Virtual Assistants

Advice

First and foremost, do not build a business that requires you to be the hero every day. Build one that can function without you. Leadership is not about proving you can carry it all. True leadership is trusting and championing others. Choose long-term health over short-term control.


Sonia Rosatelli – Drawing from 20 years of clinical and business leadership, here is my concise advice for women founders: 1.

Founder – Body in Balance Physiotherapy

Advice

Drawing from 20 years of clinical and business leadership, here is my concise advice for women founders:

1. Build an Ecosystem, Not a Job

Avoid the founder’s trap of doing everything yourself. Surround yourself with a multidisciplinary team who complement your skills. True leadership is about coordinating excellence and empowering others to lead alongside you.


2. Manage via the Biopsychosocial Model

Apply the same holistic framework we use in health to your business:

Bio: Prioritize your own physical energy; you cannot lead from burnout.


Psycho: Develop "mental fitness." Protect your confidence as fiercely as your capital.

Social: Invest in your network. Your community presence is the social glue that sustains your business during lean times.


3. Be Your Own Fiercest Advocate

Whether it’s in a boardroom, a lecture at McMaster, or a Town Hall meeting, own your expertise. If you don't speak up for your vision or your community's needs, someone less qualified will.


4. Lead with Legacy

Focus on long-term impact over short-term wins. Our $40,000 community investment was a deposit into a bank of trust. When challenges arise, a reputation built on integrity and "Givers Gain" is your greatest protection.


Katrin Mayrhofer – Don’t wait to feel “ready.” Most of the rooms you will enter were not designed with you in mind, so confidence often comes after you take the step, not before.

Founder – ELSA Industry S.R.L.

Advice

Don’t wait to feel “ready.” Most of the rooms you will enter were not designed with you in mind, so confidence often comes after you take the step, not before. Build your competence, but don’t let perfectionism delay your momentum.


Choose your allies intentionally. Surround yourself with people who challenge your thinking, not your worth. The right network accelerates you; the wrong one drains you.


Learn to separate noise from signal. You will hear a lot of opinions about what you “should” do — especially from people who have never built anything themselves. Listen, reflect, and then trust your own judgment.

Protect your energy like a strategic asset. Entrepreneurship is not a sprint; it’s a long‑term negotiation with uncertainty. Rest, boundaries, and clarity are not luxuries — they are part of your business model.


And finally: don’t shrink your story. The obstacles you’ve overcome are not weaknesses to hide but sources of resilience, creativity, and leadership. When you own your journey, you give others permission to own theirs too.


Ramona Damian – To aspiring or early-stage women founders, my advice is simple: start before you feel fully ready.

Founder – Realtor EXP Realty

Advice

To aspiring or early-stage women founders, my advice is simple: start before you feel fully ready. Confidence grows through action, not perfection.


Build your business on integrity and relationships, not just revenue. People will always remember how you made them feel, and trust is your greatest long-term asset. Stay consistent, even when results feel slow. Momentum is built in the quiet seasons.


Invest in learning. Markets shift, technology evolves, and leadership requires growth. Be willing to adapt, but never compromise your values.

Most importantly, don’t underestimate your ability to lead. You can build a successful business while being a present wife, mother, grandmother, and community member. Balance may not look perfect every day, but purpose will carry you through the hard seasons.


Surround yourself with people who challenge you, support you, and celebrate your growth. And remember — your story isn’t over yet. Keep building it boldly.


Beth Devine – My biggest piece of advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is this: stop waiting until you feel “ready.” Confidence doesn’t come first, action does.

Founder – Devine Solutions Group

Advice

My biggest piece of advice to aspiring or early-stage women founders is this: stop waiting until you feel “ready.” Confidence doesn’t come first, action does. You will grow into the role as you build it. Too many talented women over-prepare, overthink, and undervalue themselves while less-qualified people move forward boldly. Start before you feel fully equipped.


Second, build your business around clarity, not hustle or the grind. Know what you do best. Know who you serve. And don’t try to be everything to everyone just to make money in the beginning. Focus builds momentum. When your positioning is clear, decisions get easier, marketing gets simpler, and growth becomes more sustainable.


Also, invest in real expertise early. Trying to DIY everything might save money in the short term, but it often slows growth and creates unnecessary stress. Surround yourself with people who are better than you in their area of specialty. That’s leadership.


And finally, don’t build a business that traps you. Build one that supports your life. Define what success actually looks like for you—revenue, freedom, impact, flexibility—and make decisions that align with that vision. You don’t need to copy anyone else’s blueprint. You need to build yours with intention.


Pearla Phillips – If I could share one powerful reminder with early-stage women founders, it’s this: Impossible says, “I’m possible.” There will be hard days.

Founder – A Step Ahead Strategies

Advice

If I could share one powerful reminder with early-stage women founders, it’s this: Impossible says, “I’m possible.”

There will be hard days. Celebrate them. What feels like failure is often your greatest lesson — clarity about what works, what doesn’t, and how you grow stronger.


Guard your energy. Boundaries and self-care aren’t luxuries — they’re leadership tools.

And never forget: there is always a solution. Keep asking. Keep learning. Keep digging.

You are more capable than you think.


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