Last night, I hosted a networking group, Coolest Women We Know.  As part of the evening, I facilitated three women telling their stories of being an entrepreneur. It's one of my favorite things to do, uncovering wisdom through stories. The format is simple enough–10 minutes for each speaker, followed by Q+A from the audience.

I purposely invited women who are at different stages of the journey.  Fiona has a start-up that is less than two years old, working on a Facebook app.  Nadine has been building a data company for 12 years that is now an "overnight success" and didn't become an entrepreneur until she turned 50. Jamie always knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur.  She's worked in several start-ups as an employee and founded a start-up, with stints in between as a management consultant and an "intrapreneur" at a telecom company.  One is single.  Two are married.  One has children.  One has a sales background. One started as a research biologist.  One has the traditional MBA from a top school.

Entrepreneurship has many faces. Despite how seemingly different their three stories are, there was a convergence in the wisdom they had to offer:

• Persist by believing in what you are doing.  Nadine talked about having  to sell her house to meet payroll.  There was no turning  back for her.  And what kept her going was the fact that she knew she had an idea that was novel and addressed a gap in the marketplace.  She was doing what no one else had done before.  It's one of the best parts of being an entrepreneur–seeing a need and then forging the way to create something from nothing.  

• Know thyself. All of the speakers stressed the importance of knowing what you do and don't like to do. And then finding someone to hire or partner with to get the other things done. Jamie loves product management and hates sales. Fiona is great at project management and she lacks any interest in accounting. Nadine is a natural salesperson, and definitely isn't a programmer. 

• Be willing to take risks. Whether you are bootstrapping or going after funding, each of the women showed their appetite for risk–to go forward with both feet in.  Leaving full-time jobs, promising clients a product without people in place to deliver, giving up control in exchange for VC money. These are all risks that these women took along the way.  Photo by MissTurner.

• Expect days of euphoria and despair/panic. This is one of my favorites and one that I know all too well.  Successful entrepreneurs are resilient.  They ride the waves and see it through.  It's why so many entrepreneurs don't "make it" until they've failed a few times.  They get knocked down and come back for more. In fact, Jamie had a blog during one of her entrepreneurial stints which she titled, "Glutton for Punishment".  

My thanks to Fiona, Jamie, and Nadine for telling their stories and for showing me the many faces of entrepreneurs.