Becoming a female entrepreneur isn’t easy. Of course, some women are naturally fearless leaders and intuitive entrepreneurs, but many of us struggle to get to grips with being our own boss when starting a business.

Getting into the mindset of being your own lady boss is hard, but it’s not impossible — and you can do a lot to begin this journey at home.

In this post, we’ll be looking at why the journey to being a female entrepreneur doesn’t just begin in the workplace, and what you can do to get into a happy, healthy entrepreneurial mindset.

Health & happiness

Looking after yourself and your body properly means you’ll be able to look after your business properly too. You aren’t going to have the energy to run a business and be a lady boss if you’re not eating properly, living off coffee, stressed to the max, and only getting four hours of sleep a night.

Put your health at the center of what you do at home, and you’ll be able to carry these good habits through to your career as an entrepreneur.

Here are just some of the things you can do to keep yourself fit and healthy at home:

• Eat well: it’s so important to nourish your body and mind properly. Eating the right food helps you to function properly, giving you the energy to run your business. We’re talking about a balanced diet full of lots of fruits and veggies, as well as protein, carbs, and fats to keep you healthy.

• Exercise regularly: there are a million different reasons why exercise is great for your physical and mental health. Just for starters, exercise relieves the tension and stress from running a business, as well as keeping your body and brain energized and positive when it comes to tackling those hard tasks.

• Practice good sleep hygiene: Sleep gives your body the chance to repair and recharge every night, allowing you to wake up feeling ready for the busy day ahead. Aim for at least seven hours of sleep a night, preferably going to bed at the same time each night.

Set yourself goals

Get yourself into the habit of setting goals and achieving them. As a lady boss, you’re going to have professional goals that you want to hit in your career, as well as goals for your business. Starting at home with personal goals — and setting up your professional ones too — is a great place to begin your journey.

At the start of each week, draw out a clear plan of what you want to achieve; write down what you want to get out of each day, and your targets for the week ahead. This could be anything from health and fitness goals — such as going to the gym three times a week — to cleaning the house, doing some life admin like sorting out your personal finances before you start sorting out your business finances. 

Make sure your goals are realistic and achievable; you’ll only stress yourself out and become disheartened if you pile too much pressure on yourself.

This goes for both your personal and professional goals. Want to get fit? Create a fitness regime that suits you and where you build up your workouts gradually, instead of hurling yourself into an intense two-hour daily workout that will make you feel like a failure if you can’t do it. Want to leave your 9-5 and become your own boss? Handing in your notice tomorrow without a real plan probably isn’t the answer. Be smart and take baby steps; grow your business on the side until it’s turning a decent profit and then go solo (for more inspiration, check out this list for 16 online business ideas you can start with a laptop.)

Setting out realistic goals, regardless of whether they are personal or professional, is a strong habit to get into that will stand you in good stead as a female entrepreneur.

Prioritize and plan

It’s one thing setting yourself goals, but if you don’t plan out how you’re going to achieve these — as well as prioritizing the most important or urgent tasks ahead — you’re going to find yourself missing targets and deadlines left, right, and center.

Being a lady boss means being in control of your calendar — whether it’s professional or personal — and know exactly what you have to do by when.

So when you’re setting out your goals and targets at home, take an extra five minutes to look at the bigger picture. Is there anything else going on in your life? Do you have any social obligations to anticipate? Birthdays or vacations or guest visits to plan for? What is the most urgent thing on your to-do list, and what could be dropped if necessary?

It’s easy to keep canceling your personal social plans and end up working late-nights when you’re an entrepreneur. Blocking out chunks of your calendar will help you to include “me time” as well as time with your partner or family in your busy schedule.

Forward-planning and prioritizing is the key to staying organized and on top of things as a female entrepreneur, both when it comes to your personal life and professional life.

Lean on your support group

There’s a misconception that female entrepreneurs need to be strong and independent lone wolves, relying on no one but themselves and shunning close relationships with others.

Obviously, this is an exaggeration. Yes, lady bosses are strong and awesome women, but we all need a bit of back-up and support around us — especially when we’re doing something huge like starting up and running a business. After all, we’re only human.

Don’t be afraid to let people in like your partner, or your friends and family; they just want you to be successful and happy. Particularly partners — who have to deal with us bringing home our work daily as an entrepreneur — need to be opened up to. Take them on your journey as a lady boss, tell them about your struggles and achievements — but don’t forget to listen to them and what is happening in their life too. 

If you feel like the people around you just can’t understand what it’s like to be a lady boss and run your own business, then you can search for support further afield. There are some amazing female entrepreneur networks and social media groups you can join, as well as networking events where you can meet like-minded people going through the same challenges.

The journey to being your own lady boss starts at home — and there are all sorts of things you can do to get going. Follow the tips above, and you’ll find you go into entrepreneurship happier, healthier and with a more balanced life.