Success in business doesn’t arrive with a bow on top. It doesn’t follow a clean, linear path, and it definitely doesn’t come from playing small.

For women starting businesses, there is a mix of magic, madness, and many, many moments of self-doubt. But it’s also one of the most liberating, transformative things we’ll ever do. Not just for our careers, but for our identities, our families, and our futures.

We know, because we’ve lived it.

We’ve cried over spreadsheets, celebrated the tiniest wins like they were gold medals, fought off imposter syndrome, navigated motherhood and mental load while building our dream from the ground up. We answered emails at midnight and questioned everything at 3am.

So many women delay starting their business because they think they need to have everything figured out. The perfect plan. The perfect niche. The perfect mindset. But the reality is no one starts a business feeling ready. We start because we’re done waiting. Done waiting for permission. Done waiting for flexibility. Done waiting for a life that feels like ours.

For many women we work with, the pull to start a business doesn’t come from wanting more, it comes from needing different. A different pace, a different kind of success, a different way to show up in the world that feels aligned, purposeful, and free.

The struggles are real

Women face systemic challenges in accessing funding, visibility, and mentorship. We’re often balancing caregiving, running a household, and building something from scratch. All while fighting centuries-old narratives that tell us to “be realistic.”

Starting a business isn’t always empowering at first.

There’s a narrative floating around that entrepreneurship equals instant empowerment. That launching your own business is like flipping a switch from powerless to powerful.

You heard it here first – it’s not.

The reality? It often feels overwhelming, uncomfortable, and full of doubt. You question yourself constantly. You make decisions without certainty. You wonder if you’re even cut out for it.

Empowerment doesn’t arrive overnight. It builds slowly, in the moments you keep showing up, especially when it feels hard.

It’s writing a pitch with one hand while holding a baby with the other. It’s trying to build an empire between lunchboxes, laundry, and learning how to price your offer without underselling yourself. It’s real. It’s raw. And it’s absolutely worth it.

Because somewhere in the chaos, you start becoming more you. When women start businesses, they’re not just creating brands.

They’re unlearning years of people-pleasing, overworking, and second-guessing. They’re stepping out of systems that weren’t designed with them in mind. Traditional workplaces often expect women to parent like they don’t work and work like they don’t parent.

Entrepreneurship becomes the loophole. Where we get to write the rules, even if we’re scribbling them in between school drop-offs and snack negotiations.

Slowly something shifts

From “I hope I can do this” to “I was made for this”.

Yes, there are the obvious hurdles, funding gaps, childcare challenges, juggling nap times, the tug of war between being present and being productive.

It’s the guilt that creeps in when you’re replying to emails during a trip to the park, or worse, when you don’t have the capacity to reply at all.

It’s trying to build something bold while still being the glue that holds a household together. And yet, amid the overwhelm, women rise. We rise not because it’s easy, but because we know our lives deserve more than clocking in and zoning out.

Of course, we celebrate the big wins – the launches, the clients, the new team hires. But the joy isn’t only found in the milestones. It’s found in the shift.

The shift from “I have to do this” to “I get to do this.” The shift from asking for permission to leading the way.

The first time someone tells you that your work changed something for them. The day you look back and realise you no longer second-guess every move. The moment you catch yourself saying, “I was made for this”.

It’s seeing your kids play “business” and pretend to be just like mum. It’s knowing you’re building something that doesn’t just pay the bills but expands what’s possible for the next generation. That’s the joy. It’s layered, loud, and sometimes laced with exhaustion, but it’s also legacy.

We’ve seen women build empires from kitchen tables. We’ve seen them pitch ideas from playground benches. We’ve seen them step into rooms they never thought they belonged in and realise they do. And what we’ve learned through all of it is this.

Women don’t just need capital and strategy. They need connection. They need safe, powerful spaces to talk about the messy middle. They need other women to remind them that they’re not too late, not too much, and not alone.

So, to the woman reading this who’s building something from scratch or dreaming of something more, this is your sign. You don’t have to have it all together to start. And you don’t have to do any of it alone. You’re not behind. You’re just getting started. And you’re right on time.

Empower Her Community
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Co-Founders: Charlotte Clark & Victoria Bahadoor
Email: welcome@empowerhercommunity.com