The Sisterhood Of Small Businesses

Owning a small business for the past few years, I have learned the true meaning of sisterhood. The daily likes, comments, DMs from fellow female small business owners despite not even personally knowing most honestly makes my day. Although it is not only female small business owners who show their support, because Potli of Love creates handbags, my support does mainly come from lovely ladies.

 It amazes me more and more every single day that a complete stranger can show me so much love and support, sometimes more than people I personally know. Often a small business owner wears many hats, they are in charge of inventory, customer service, website design, marketing, finance and so much more. So, no matter how big or small the support, any support shown means so much to a small business and makes everything so much more worth the while.

Most small businesses take a few years until they become profitable and truly successful, therefore motivation and productivity can go through peaks and troughs. Feeling like you are part of the sisterhood can be so important and instrumental for mental health and general morale.

When Potli of Love started back in 2018 our bags were quite different. I was obsessed with buying each bag in every single colour under the sun as I thought that was what I was meant to do. However, after speaking to both current and prospective clients and actually getting to know them and their needs, I realised that people are more interested in versatile pieces that will go with any outfit rather than matching a bag to each outfit. It took a while to hit the ground running but I couldn’t have done it without my sisterhood.

My sisterhood has not only provided me with ample customer insight and support but has also been so helpful with general advice. I find that fellow small business owners are refreshingly open and honest about their experiences with a certain app or business platform, which in turn helps me decide whether or not to seize a certain opportunity. This love and support goes both ways - I am always up for helping out a sister or a fellow small business owner. Just recently, another small business messaged me on Instagram to ask for help on setting up their Instagram shop and I was more than happy to walk them through it. We need to cancel this culture of a “dog eat dog” world. Someone else's success doesn’t hinder your own. When girls support each other, it's clear that incredible things happen.

The recent trending app Clubhouse wholly contributes to sisterhood and the feeling of being part of a community. A quick search on the app brings up many clubs that include “sisterhood” in the title, with one currently at a whopping 5.2K members. Joining a room in Clubhouse reminds us that there are so many of us in the same boat and it is a great way to contribute knowledge to the community and help everyone’s small business grow.

With the COVID-19 pandemic allowing a lot of us to discover new passions, there has been a surge in new small businesses and we love to see it! I have welcomed so many new small businesses into the sisterhood as well as watching small businesses create their sisterhood with their local girl gang and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing them all grow. Life is short and, in the blink of an eye, everything can change. Success today doesn’t guarantee success tomorrow, so I appreciate the sisterhood for being so kind and hope they will always continue to do so. Life can be tough and obstacles are continually being thrown at us but from constant support from the sisterhood, we can all thrive!

 With International Women's Day approaching on March 8th we should be celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2021 is 'Choose To Challenge'. A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. Those of us with small businesses all know how challenging it can be to navigate through this world, but as we continue to persevere we will become the change we want to see. 

With the USA recently welcoming their first female Vice President, now is an apt time as ever to remember that glass ceilings are there to be shattered and if you’re heading that way anyway, take your sisterhood with you.

 Support your local sisterhood!