More and more, we are hearing about the success of women entrepreneurs. Recently, when reading several articles about women in business, I came across three incredible women that pique my interest. I want to share a few traits they had in common that I believe contributed to their entrepreneurial path and explore what’s needed if you desire to experience similar notable results.

While there may be instances of rag-to-riches businesses, this is not my focus. As you know by now, amassing wealth quickly is not the reality for most who will or have entered entrepreneurial endeavors. Instead, I’ll share what these three women, Shirley Menard, Eunice Byun, and Debbi Fields, did to become successful people in business. Early on, each of them probably had to allocate time to cultivate their imagination so uninhibited ideas could flow freely, however becoming a thriving entrepreneur required much more. I discovered they exhibited four essential qualities which increased their probability of building and sustaining a successful business. They are purposeful, persistent, proficient, and pragmatic. 

PURPOSEFUL—When there is an intersection of your passion, talent, and skills with your natural inclinations or predisposition, you are probably bent toward your purpose. As I was listening to author, pastor, and filmmaker Erwin McManus talk about outcome and process, his words resonated with me. He said, “when you enjoy the process more than the outcome, it probably connected you to what you love or your purpose.”

Shirley Menard blended her passion with purpose. As the founder of Beurre Shea Butter Skincare, she launched a skincare line of body creams to address the needs of those with sensitive skin. Being an entrepreneur has also created occasions for her to partner with other black-owned businesses. Menard is committed to giving back to her community, therefore she is committed to supporting other women-owned businesses and entities that are health-based.

Then there is Eunice Byun, the co-founder, and CEO of the company Material, who took an unconventional path to follow her passion and purpose with a kitchenware brand. Byun’s desire to delve deeper into the things she loved led her to look for ways to create minimalist kitchen spaces to share meals, fostering greater social interaction.

Most are familiar with Debbie Fields (Debra J.S. Fields) as the founder of the USA’s largest fresh cookie retail stores. Even as a young child, she loved eating and baking cookies. Some would say her passion was ignited and her purpose start developing long before she was aware either would have the impact they did later in life.

PERSISTENCE– Many times, when we think of persistence, we don’t include protecting our mindset, but what’s apparent is your attitude, beliefs, and mental state will influence your level of persistence. The sooner you understood the value of keeping your attention on protecting your mindset as part of your persistence strategy, the better. Focus is necessary, followed by repetition, to help fortify your perseverance to move forward consistently. Since discovering your purpose is only part of the journey, persistence is a requirement for living an authentic life. It’s essential for you to embrace your purpose and to live life fully. Each of the women understood that enduring success required more than just talent or skills, it had to be accompanied by discipline.

Shirley Menard’s commitment to becoming a lawyer, and success in managing artistic talent, including the Grammy-nominated Haitian band, Boukman Eksperyans represent her abiding commitment to accepting and tackling new challenges. Starting and building her company required not only a purpose but to be unrelenting in her pursuit. Eunice Byun’s tenacity is clear as we track her career trajectory. She worked in business development, marketing, and finance for over a decade and served as an executive at Revlon, and finally left it all to continue expanding her boundaries by starting her business. Debbi Fields, against all odds, started her cookie business. Even when her parents and husband tried to discourage her because of her lack of business experience and financial investment. However, Debbi continued to persevere until she could find people who would invest in her cookie shop.

PROFICIENT- I must admit that I constantly guard against the tendency to feel a little envious of another entrepreneur’s talent. What helps me to move beyond these nonproductive moments is acknowledging that talents are gifts and, therefore, not earned. Skills, however, are developed. One definition of skills, according to Webster’s dictionary, is “a learned power of doing something competently: a developed aptitude or ability.” The important factor to remember is skills are learned, which implies it takes effort. Also, proficiency requires an above-average level of competence. If you have just learned a skill or operate with a hit-or-miss level of accuracy, you are not yet proficient. A commitment to further development accompanied by proven desired results repeatedly helps to develop proficiency. It is easy to mistakenly believe that perfection is the goal, however, seeking perfection will keep you in a never-ending spiral.  Therefore, proficiency is key because it is a progressive improvement, with the aim of continual growth. By choosing to view proficiency as a continual journey and not a destination, you allow yourself to be a perpetual student – open to new ideas and adventures.

To become successful, Shirley Menard had to continue to expand her knowledge base and develop skills to create pathways to grow. Eunice Byun’s ability to use the training she received at Northwestern University when she studied organizational change enabled her to go from theory to implementation. Her career path provided a basis to further develop her skills and increase the knowledge that would be needed when Byun launched her business. Debbi Fields had to continuously work to improve her product and to help build a strong brand. She managed her shop, and in later years she became involved in the management and supervision of the franchise. Always willing to grow personally and professionally, she appeared on public tv by hosting a television program, took part in interviews, wrote books, and became a motivational speaker. Her dedication and commitment are clear as she remains a spokesperson for Mrs. Fields’ bakeries.

PRAGMATIC – Menard, Byun, and Fields understood that experiencing an “aha moment” or sparks of inspiration was not enough. Practical solutions and actions were required if they were going to be successful.  Being pragmatic goes beyond mere acceptance and protecting the status quo. When you embrace pragmatism correctly, it will guard against getting stuck in loops of despair and hopelessness. It removes you beyond the “I wish I could” state and the “I wish I had not” state to the present. If you only live in the future or your past, you are robbing yourself of the precious opportunities in the present. Being pragmatic is necessary because it empowers entrepreneurs to be cognizant of consequences and to evaluate results while nurturing their vision and allowing creativity to flourish. For your aspirations to be materialized, a strategy will need to be developed and implemented. This is the time to engage in reasoning, critical thinking, sensible planning, and implementation. It is where creativity and strategy meet.   

Menard’s thoughtfulness in mapping how she would respond provided her with realistic steps to pursue her interests and passions, so she would be adept at launching and sustaining her company. 

Byun chose to incorporate the useful lessons she learned from her Korean American roots. She saw a way to combine a highly valued cultural practice of cooking with simple kitchenware. Always in sight, was her desire to create a quality product that her customers could trust. This included appreciating, understanding, and incorporating word-of-mouth advertising, which continues to contribute to her ability to scale. 

Byun believes in a prudent and coherent approach to building business, therefore including community connectivity is a part of her brand. Fields was obviously purposeful in choosing to start her cookie shop, despite having detractors. She was persistent and continually worked to improve her business acumen.  

At its peak, Fields had over 600 franchised retail bakeries in the United States and more than 80 bakeries in 11 countries. She was also methodical and practical in her business decisions, which is why it’s not surprising that after years of success as a retailer, then a franchise, she sold her business to an investment group. 

Hopefully, this will not be another moment of information overload, but serves as a challenge provoking you to take action to continue your life’s engagement and growth.  Purposefulness enlightens your path to identify and understand the effect of triggers and motivators and what to do with both. Persistence fueled by intentionality, coupled with action, will cultivate positive long-term impact. Proficiency is key because vision and confidence must be accompanied by evolving skills and improved competency. Last, pragmatism allows you to self-correct by making the needed adjustments to make the right choices.