What I learned from giving $40,000 in grants to women in business

It’s been nine months, three rounds and $40,000 in the hands of five epic female-led companies. So I thought it might be time to reflect on some of the things I’ve observed since the inception of the SPARK Women in Business Grants.

I run SPARK, a community for women in business, and our quarterly grant program is designed to help our members grow their impact and profits faster.

There have certainly been logistical changes internally to listen to applicant feedback and make each round run more smoothly, but I expected that. As a business owner for the past twelve years, I am acutely aware that you never get it right away; it is your willingness to adapt and listen to your community that creates longevity.

But that’s not what I want to share. I’d like to share three observations about the women who did (and didn’t) apply for the grant, in the hopes that this will shed some light on anyone holding themselves back. You are not alone.

1. They reject themselves

After hundreds of conversations with women in business, self-rejection was a common thread I never expected. What do I mean by ‘self-rejection’? I mean inventing obstacles and eligibility criteria that simply don’t exist, as a way to opt out without looking further.

As:
“Oh, I live in Adelaide.”
“Oh, I’m not a tech company”
“Oh, I’m an NFP”

These are all real statements that female founders have said to me before even looking at the information about our grant program. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely know that the SPARK grant program will not be for everyone. But this was a total shock to me and I attributed it to one of two possible reasons.

First, they have been burned by other subsidy programs in the past. Preach, sister! The SPARK Women in Business Grants were created as an antidote to all those government grants you didn’t quite qualify for.

In the last ten years of setting up my first company Scrunch, I didn’t qualify for subsidies because I wasn’t living in the right state, I wasn’t innovative enough, and at one point because of my male shareholders ‘Not even feminine enough anymore . I mean seriously, why are we making it so difficult to get more money into the hands of women-led businesses? Okay, I’ll stop.

Second, a crazy case of imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome refers to the profound sense of self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud, despite obvious success and qualifications. Many women in professional settings struggle with the belief that they are not truly competent and that their achievements are due to luck, timing or deceiving others into thinking they are more capable than they really are. This psychological phenomenon can lead to stress, reduced self-confidence and hindered career development.

Feeling unworthy, some women reject themselves by saying what they think they are not – without even investigating.

How many opportunities do you think we turn down in our companies because of imposter syndrome?

If this is you. Please know that you are not alone.

Sheryl Sandberg, the former COO of Facebook, discussed imposter syndrome in her book Lean into it:

“Every time I was called on in class, I was sure I was going to embarrass myself. Every time I took a test I was sure it had gone bad. And every time I failed to embarrass myself – or even excel – I believed I had fooled everyone again. One day the mold would be ready.

How much can we achieve as women in business if we say yes despite our doubts?

2. The two-minute video is the biggest hurdle

Let’s be honest: 50% of revenue these days is content creation, so applicants who didn’t want to submit a two-minute video about their company surprised me too.

The most impressive businesswomen, who created the biggest impact in their communities, once again missed an opportunity because they didn’t want to be in front of the camera.

Why would anyone pass up an opportunity in a two-minute video?

Sure, overwhelm and imposter syndrome came up, but this time I also heard women say, “I just don’t like the way I look on video” or “I just don’t like the way I sound on video.” ”.

The reason why this bothered me so much is because it is completely objective. When I see a woman on camera or TikTok talking passionately about her business, I don’t even notice that her hair, makeup, or that pimple seems to have taken over her face! The excitement in her eyes and the conviction in her voice blind the audience to any imperfection they might perceive.

When we step outside our comfort zone by achieving small milestones, like making a video, it increases our confidence to seize the next opportunity that comes our way. We think: if I can overcome that, what else can I do?

Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, has previously shared insights that reflect the relationship between action and trust. She said:
“I think failure is nothing more than life’s way of pushing you off course. My advice to young women is that you have to start and fail, because failure is the only way to build a successful business, or anything for that matter.”

3. They worry about asking their community to vote

As business owners, we are so often asked to be vulnerable and call on our community for support – whether that’s by voting for a grant or competition, by responding to our social media posts, or even by purchase our products and services. And this is holding back some of the most talented entrepreneurs.

But I want to challenge everyone who reads this article one last time.

Because something else unexpected has happened in the past three rounds of our grant program.

When applicants pushed themselves outside their comfort zone and started sharing their stories and why they wanted their community to vote, they started to generate more sales. You heard me, more sales!

Making their business visible to the SPARK community and beyond, and showing up to tell more people about what they do, has had the great side effect of increased sales and business growth.

Barbara Corcoran, a successful real estate entrepreneur and American TV show star shark cage, Simply put, “If you don’t tell people about your success, they probably won’t know about it.”

My hope today is that by sharing the experiences of past applicants, anyone who has held back based on these same thoughts will see that he or she is not alone. And despite these feelings, you can succeed. You just have to take action.

Danielle Lewis is the founder of influencer platform Scrunch and women in business SPARK.

Never miss a story: sign up from SmartCompany free daily newsletter and find our best stories at LinkedIn.