This module will provide you information about main advantages and disadvantages of starting your own business. You will get a great deal of encouragement to develop skills and obtain knowledge necessary for becoming an entrepreneur. There will be some example list and workout to help you on the way.
If you at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey lack support, there will be a list of possible collaborators relevant for migrant women’ situation including possible off and on-line resources. The links to the governmental and institutional resources in partner countries Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden will give you an overview of the support available in those countries.
Module also introduces you to the role and difference between adult educator, coach and mentor for those on the way of becoming entrepreneurs. It encourages finding one to achieve one’s goals. In an optimistic and encouraging manner the Module empathises the possibility for everyone regardless of starting position to become an entrepreneur.
Useful and easy workouts are given to make an assessment of own situation.
Module structure:
Entrepreunership skills (video)
- How to make a wise decision about starting your own enterprise (table and audio)
- Reality check (workout and audio)
Entrepreneurship skills and competences’ development (audio)
- Business education vs entrepreneurship skills (chart and audio)
- Entrepreneurship skills development (workout and audio)
Personality traits important to business
Traits of entrepreuner
3.3 Finding collaboration and support (audio)
- Possible collaborators (audio)
- Where to find possible collaborators? (text and audio)
- Off and On-line resources (text)
- Finding support (text and audio)
- Adult educators, coaches and mentors: what is the difference? (audio)
- Adult educators, coaches and mentors: where to find them? (audio)
- Possible recourses to get support (audio and links)
Enterpreunership skills (watch video)
BUILDING SELF CONFIDENCE IN BUSINESS
Check List
| Building self confidence in business, check your situation with a “X”
|
I have it | I need
to improve |
I need
to develop |
| I clearly communicate my expectations to my team | |||
| I effectively communicate at all levels in our organization | |||
| I effectively present my ideas to groups of all sizes | |||
| I frequently share relevant information with my peers so that our team as a whole can benefit | |||
| I proactively communicate changes that are coming with the stakeholders they will affect | |||
| I am clearly able to collaborate with my team | |||
| I publicly and privately acknowledge my peers and/or employees for a job well done | |||
| I promote a team-oriented work environment | |||
| I frequently challenge myself to perform better | |||
| I am happy to answer questions my peers have and often provide guidance | |||
| I take pride in my work and value doing my job well |
Entrepreneurship skills development:
| SKILLS | Already have | Need to improve | Need to acquire |
| Business management skills | |||
| Teamwork and leadership skills | |||
| Communication and listening | |||
| Customer service skills | |||
| Financial skills | |||
| Analytical and problem-solving skills | |||
| Critical thinking skills | |||
| Strategic thinking and planning skills | |||
| Technical skills | |||
| Time management and organizational skills | |||
| Branding, marketing and networking skills |
Self-screening
a)
| Questions | YES | NO |
| Do I know in what field I want to work? | ||
| Do I know what products or services I want to make? | ||
| Do I have direct competitors or similar products on the market? | ||
| What makes my product or services unique? | ||
| Do I need new education or skills? | ||
| Do I have necessary finances? | ||
| When can I start? | ||
| Which resources I have got and lack? | ||
| Are there free courses or consultation for new entrepreneurs in my community or country? | ||
| Do I have necessary knowledge about company registration, accounting or taxes? | ||
| Do I know how and where to make advertising and promotion? | ||
| Do I know other migrant women groups or networks I can join? | ||
| Do I know anyone else to get involved in my enterprise? |
b)
| What inspires me? | |
| Do I have a role model? | |
| Do I know how much I want to earn? | |
| Do I need a mentor? | |
| Do I want to start my own enterprise? | |
| Can I take risk? | |
| Do I want to be an influencer? | |
| What are my priorities at the moment and in life in general? | |
| Am I a good communicator? | |
| What does success mean for me? |
Skills development
| Skills I have | Skills I need |
Setting goals and counting progress (every ‘baby step’ counts).
| Goals | This week | Next month | Next year |
Leadership&Networking
Leadership as a motivation, power and energy to lead yourself and others to the desired goals could help migrant women integrate in labour market easier. It is difficult to become a leader in a new country. However, developing certain leadership characteristics (charismatic, outgoing, sociable, friendly and approachable) makes it much easier to build a social network.
The development of migrant women leadership skills is focused on empowerment and encouragement. Leadership is a way to formulate an idea in which a leader believes. Such an idea can be converted into actions that provide people at a local, regional or international level with services or products that are missing. Leaders are not only filling the existing gap in services, products or situations but also create job for themselves and other migrant women.
If it is possible for migrant women who are facing life changes and multiple difficulties to become a leader, a master of her own life and a role model for other women? How to become a leader? What is a leader? Why it is important to develop leadership skills?
It is important that migrant women’s basic and psychological needs are satisfied. Only migrant women with self-actualization needs could become leaders and mentors that focus on helping others. Inspiring other people is only possible with natural charisma and motivation.
Migrant women have to be strong and go further with her wishes and goals. A leader can see difficult situations not as problems but as opportunities to solve problems. One migrant women told in her deepest moments: "I have to transform problems into possibilities". A real leader sees how situations can be changed and how problems can be solved, maintains the vision of the bright future and positive impact. How can migrant women build or maintain their existing and build new leadership skills in a new and unfamiliar situation, facing multiple difficulties of adaptation to a new living and working environment?
While leaders set the direction, they must also use management skills to guide their people in the right destination in a smooth and efficient way.
Leadership skillsets:
Often leadership skillset is understood as an image of a highly charismatic, strong, and successful person. However, leaders can be also identified as those giving support in critical situations, as a person that trust others and inspires them to see another way of living – not to accept and existing situation, but to dream and search ways to reach their goals. Leadership skillsets rarely mention the ability to lead your own career path, to lead your own life, to create employment opportunities.
Guidance:
One of the main aspects of mentoring and leading migrant women into their own business is support and understanding. While leaders set the direction, they must also use management skills to guide their people in the right destination in a smooth and efficient way.
Migrant women leadership skills description
Skills are the combination of knowledge, experience and abilities. Which skills a migrant woman need depends on her goals and dreams. Based on lifelong learning principles, migrant women and adult educators need to develop their competencies constantly. How can migrant women develop their skills and which skills do they need for successful integration?
Successful integration in socio-economic life depends on migrant women family situation, personal attitude, professional knowledge, skills, acceptance in community and others factors. Self-confidence as an ability to trust in existed skills is important for migrant women. Social security policy, personal ambitious, cultural understanding, the wish to integrate in a host society can help migrant women to reach their goals.
The main leadership skills are descripted in Table 1 (i.e., communication, interpersonal skills, networking, positivity, strategic thinking). The foundation of all skills is self-confidence.
Interpersonal skills, including negotiation, persistence and resilience, can help to guide migrant women through their socio-economic integration.Communication skills include social skills, public speaking skills, non-verbal communication skills. Communication skills are very important for migrant women, especially when they have not yet mastered the host country language. With non-verbal communication, it can be easier to express yourself.
Strategic thinking skills, including organizational, management, and time management skills, are valuable when planning activities and reaching goals. Strategic thinking should be focused on personal skills analysis:
- What do I know?
- What can I do?
- What do I like to do?
- What services/products do I miss (see the gap)?
- How can I fill this gap?
- How to find an idea which will lead to a clear view of my future new or continuous profession?
- How to become a professional (what kind of certificates, diploma’s do I need? what extra courses I need to follow?)
- Where should I start?
- Who can help me to find the ways and possibilities?
- Why is it important for me to follow my dream, goals, passion?
- How can I become financially independent?
- How much do I have to earn?
- How to balance learning, study, creating business and family life?
Leadership skills are important for professional development of migrant women because they create new learning environments where professional (job) competencies could be adapted and improved. The wish to grow professional competencies and lifelong learning attitude for migrant women will help to create possibilities for them to be employed. Connections between migrant women and professional networks with the goal to develop/express their leadership skills help migrant women to grow personally, to adapt new ways of professional working and expand their professional network.
Networking skills
We are living in a social network – social connections are important not only for our professional, but also for our personal life. To successfully integrate into the host society, migrant women need to create a social network and be involved in various activities in the community. Knowing local community and having social contacts will help to integrate and to grow customer base for their business.
Entrepreneurs are people who know how to communicate, how build social connections, how to grow trust, to share ideas and find solutions. One of the most important skills for migrant women is communication. Communication in several languages, ambitions and efforts to learn the host country language will help to expand existing social network. Future success depends on migrant women endeavours to follow their goals and lifelong learning skills.
Networking skills defined (Table 2) in 5 blocks of important skills and supportive characters.
- Social skills - ability to communicate in verbal/non-verbal language;
- Career management skills - energy and optimism;
- Building and keeping contacts – open to a new culture;
- Lifelong learning skills – digital skills;
- Charisma – enthusiasm.
Networking skills development allows to grow leadership skills. Migrant women entrepreneurship starts with knowing exactly what kind of skills are needed and successfully using them to realize their business idea.
Some of characteristics like charisma and enthusiasm are those that attract others and make them to remember you. Successful networking skills always goes together with team-working skills.
Migrant women vulnerability depends on different factors:
- reasons of emigration
- family situation
- religion
- social-economical background
Migrant women leadership consist of different skills which should be developed lifelong. The development of all skills ensures the possibility to integrate into society better and faster and to start working independently.