Being an entrepreneur is all about empowering yourself to create a business that’s right for you. It’s about facing up and rising to different challenges, overcoming the day-to-day demands, learning and planning for the future.
In a new campaign e-commerce specialists Alibaba are celebrating female entrepreneurs. They want to encourage women to realize their vision and head down the path of creating a thriving and successful business.
Starting your own company can be a daunting prospect, but listening to the stories of some of Alibaba’s successful customers can help show you how achievable it is. These stories show how, by overcoming the various challenges and with dedication, hard work, belief and ambition, you can reach your goals and realize any dream you want.
And now Alibaba wants to hear your inspirational stories too. If you’re a female entrepreneur they want you to submit your story and you could be in with the chance to win a mentorship from one of five successful businesswomen.
It’s a unique opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs who have turned their ideas into business acumen. You’ll learn from some of the best so you can expand your business and make it even greater, achieving more than you thought possible.
Meet Chelsea Abingdon Welch
Chelsea Abingdon Welch makes luxury designer watches for adventurous, high-flying women. At the age of just 19 she went about setting up her own business, challenging stereotypes to create a range of high quality aviation watches. She also runs a group that supports and celebrates female stunt pilots.
After initially learning to fly she noticed how all the guy pilots had amazing watches, which had all kinds of different functionalities. But she also noticed they only made them for men, so what did she do? She went out and produced a range for women, proving that there’s no point waiting for somebody else to do it when you can do it yourself.
Meet Kate Castle
Kate Castle’s story shows how you can create a business from the simplest idea and you don’t need a huge infrastructure to make it work. Being a mother of two children she noticed how, when out camping, going to the toilet in the middle of the night could be a problem. So she created Boginabag, a portable, lightweight toilet to meet these needs.
Even though she had no previous experience in how to turn something from an idea into a product, she got a product sketched out and then used Alibaba to find manufacturers and make her dream a reality. Now her business is growing into an international company — her story shows its possible to achieve whatever you set your mind to. She’s even inspired her kids to want to set up their own businesses too.
Meet Li Su Ling
Li Su Ling runs a successful clothing company that she started back in 2003. With the simple goal of wanting to produce quality outdoor clothing she’s seen her business grow and grow. She puts her success down to hard work, striving for excellence and maintaining high production values so that her team have respect for the product and take pride in the work they do.
With this solid relationship with her employees, it ensures customer satisfaction, as they know they can trust the product and the people behind it. Li Su Ling’s story teaches us a valuable lesson about creating the right work environment to encourage the best from those around you.
Find out more and submit your own story here.
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