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By Alia Coster
omen have so much to offer in the world of business. Women-owned businesses already contribute ÂŁ105 billion to the UK. And, if we started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men, we could be contributing an additional ÂŁ250 billion.
We are fantastic business owners and visionaries, but thereâs something standing in our way â pitches. A pitch can make or break a business. And thatâs a huge part of what makes them so daunting. Mistakes come all too easily, especially when youâre so new to the game. Here I speak to amazing businesswomen to dive into the mistakes women make, why we make them, and how we can get around them.
Rachael Twumasi-Corson, is the MD of Afrocentrix, Camilla Falkenberg, is the founder of Female Invest, and Kathryn Ireland, is an experienced investor and adviser, shared their insights in our webinar. Thereâs a way to play the game and ensure you give it your best. But first, you need to get in the room.
Letâs talk about confidence. Confidence â or the lack of it â is one of our biggest hindrances as women. Especially when it comes to pitches. First of all, we tend to be more realistic with our businesses. Founder's that raise, tend to be showboats. They stretch the truth, they exaggerate, and it makes our realistic perspective look poor by comparison. Stood next to these overly optimistic founders, we seem pessimistic or as if we donât believe in our vision. Itâs a difficult obstacle to overcome, but to have a chance and show our passion for our business, itâs something we need to get around.
âWomen are fantastic business owners and visionaries, but thereâs something standing in our way - pitches. A pitch can make or break a business. And thatâs a huge part of what makes them so dauntingâ
One way to give yourself a confidence boost is to prepare. Get your deck sorted. Keep it on your phone to check over and over, looking for mistakes. And a mistake isnât just something grammatical like a typo â itâs making sure everything is user friendly.
Your deck should flow easily, be simple to understand and read, and just be visually pleasing. So make sure it isnât too cramped, that there isnât too much text, and that it reads well no matter what the medium. And of course, practise your pitch. The phrase âpractice makes perfectâ exists for a reason. Ideally, do a full run-through, record it, and keep doing that over and over until you physically canât make any mistakes.
Another common problem is that women think they need to know everything before they ask for money. But that couldnât be further from the truth.
To overcome this, reach out to founders or investors you look up to, big or small, to ask for guidance or advice. It helps with confidence and gets you valuable feedback too. Camilla did exactly this. She went to LinkedIn, found similar companies, and wrote to their CEOs telling them how much she admired them and their businesses and invited them for a coffee, so she could pick their brains. She asked around 20 people and every single one of them got back to her.
People want to help, especially if youâre polite and have an interest or admiration for their work too. Just bring a concrete idea and know exactly what you want to get out of the meeting.
Pitching to the wrong investors is another common mistake. People assume all of them are the same â they have money and theyâre looking to make more. Itâs not a million miles away, but youâll find many work in specific industries. That knowledge of a sector will let them know when theyâre on to a winner. They also might invest in higher-level businesses than yours, choosing to avoid fresh start-ups. They might not even want to invest right now. In short: know who youâre pitching to.
Check if the investor is in the right industry; check what level they like to invest in; and see what their motivations are. If they want to take your business and move it in a completely different direction from where you want it to go, theyâre not the right fit. Researching investors is so important, otherwise, youâre wasting your time.
And thatâs the secret to a great pitch. Believe in yourself, practise until you can recite it backwards; donât be afraid to ask for help; and get yourself in front of the right people. Too many women think itâs an art form only men can master, but weâre here to tell you it isnât.
Pitches can be stressful, but thereâs no reason they have to be. Remember that youâre a confident woman with an amazing business plan, and youâll be giving effortless pitches in no time.
By Alia Coster
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