Women By Example - A Q&A with Suzanne Lerner
A Q&A with Suzanne in the “Women By Example” Series in SOULPANCAKE.
SoulPancake, a division of Participant Media (Spotlight, An Inconvenient Truth), is the award-winning content studio founded by Rainn Wilson (The Office). With nearly 1 billion views and more than 10 million fans, SoulPancake creates digital and traditional content aimed at human connection and asking life’s big questions.
WOMEN BY EXAMPLE aims to elevate and inspire up-and-coming female entrepreneurs with the words, wisdom, and experience of established women in business.
September 26, 2018
What are 3 things you wish you knew about starting a company BEFORE you started your company?
Be open to the possibility of starting a company
I wish had been aware of how well suited I actually was to running my own business. I was basically exploring the world and ended up living in India for a few years. While there I got introduced to a woman, who introduced me to a guy, who introduced me to another woman who said she thought I would be great in the fashion business because I had good taste and liked to talk to people!
Develop an ability to “speak business.”
“Business financial literacy” is something I wish I had known I needed. I’m not talking about managing your personal money on Mint. I’m talking about projecting cash flow, developing an operating budget, calculating profit & loss, figuring out whether you’ll be a cash or accrual business, and so forth. Many entrepreneurs – especially those who are designers, inventors, and makers can be quickly overwhelmed by what seems like a foreign language. But learning it is not as hard as you think and you’ll find it easier to understand how to build your business with this kind of foundation in place. Then of course, hire an awesome CFO as soon as possible!
Mistakes are your main learning tool
No matter what advice you get, you’ll make mistakes. There is no way of avoiding them. Don’t let those mistakes undermine you. Learn from them. Move on and don’t make the same ones again, but do make new ones. Every time you make a new mistake it probably means you’re working hard to push your business forward. Ultimately, the more new mistakes you make, the more knowledgeable and confident you’ll become!
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given in regard to your business?
Be very clear on your goals and write a business plan that you feel is achievable.
And if you’ve created a great product, start thinking now about the next product. Because if you are looking to get investors, they will want to know that you have a sustainable business versus a one-hit-wonder.
Always be kind and straightforward.
Don’t be arrogant. Arrogance is just an aggressive form of insecurity. My experience is that you can be kind and still drive your business forward. Just remember that kindness is not weakness, it’s a uniquely human trait!
What piece of advice would you give to a woman in business who's just starting out?
Three important things:
Never give up
There will be times when you’re ready to give up, but keep fighting for what you are doing. If it’s a great idea, you’ll find people to support it.
You’re starting a business for a reason.
Maybe you had an epiphany because of a personal experience or you want to provide a great service or you’ve always been a tinkerer and have finally hit on a great solution to a tough problem. That passion and experience is important. Don’t hide it, use it!
Build a network of people willing to answer your questions and support you
Believe it or not there are people out there who want to help you. I had a mentor who always took my calls. She answered all the questions I had. She helped me problem solve. Be willing to ask for help and to build out your network of trusted advisors.
How do you play (to win) in a "man's world"?
Step forward. Take risks, collaborate and figure out how to solve tough problems. Also, you’ve got to hire, promote and encourage women to take on leadership roles. I am an optimist about where women are going today, even though I was passed over for promotions, relegated to showroom girl in my early days in fashion, and ultimately overcame the naysayers who said I didn’t have the “experience” to run the company that I co-founded with my husband Michael. Today, people are much more woke about their biases and prejudices toward women.
The way for women to “play and win” is not to worry about the game, but to focus on becoming learners (not Lerners ;-) who can adapt to new situations, acquire skillsets and develop the emotional intelligence to lead. Those people stand out. Women are super great at these skills. This is so important because today there’s no way a company can perfectly predict what the skills they will need to grow and thrive. Companies, especially startups, need those adaptable players that can form relationships, collaborate, and figure out how to solve tough problems.
What three words best describe success to you?
Work, live, love with integrity – okay that’s a phrase but if feels like three words! There are so many other words I want to include like passion, purpose, people, teamwork, equality, collaboration. But since you’re making me focus on a few, I think that if you work, live, and love with integrity, you will be successful in whatever you do.
Integrity is the real-world version of the idea that “A Lannister always pays a debt.” Of course, the Lannisters have the least integrity in Westeros! But seriously, your word is your bond. Having integrity helps you form lasting, fulfilling, honest relationships and will become the foundation of your personal brand.