*Post by Shannon Miles*
I was watching NBC Nightly News a couple of months ago and Anne Thompson did a segment on women-owned businesses. Helping Women Soar in Tough Economy

As a woman who owns a business, I was naturally intrigued.  She featured a not-for-profit that provides programs, resources and networking opportunities to women wanting to advance their businesses – Count Me In: http://www.makemineamillion.org/.

I was astounded by one of Anne’s quotes.  “There are 10.5 Million women-owned businesses in America and less than 2% of them bring in more than a Million dollars.  The problem isn’t a glass ceiling.”  How could that be?  I don’t know the stats on male-owned business, but 2% just seems really low to me.  The segment goes on to explain…
Women are not being held back by glass ceilings as much as glass walls.  Whereas glass ceilings are formed by others, we form glass walls ourselves by:

We are expected to be Super Woman having to juggle home, work, church, marriage, kids, friends, hobbies, exercise…not necessarily in that order.  I wonder, though, who is setting these expectations for us?  Is it other people?  Or are we boxing ourselves in by assuming this unreasonable role.  No one ever says to me, “You aren’t productive enough.”  But I feel that way often.

A turning point for me in my business was when I hired an assistant last year.  Misti has been a life saver and has been the #1 reason I’ve been able to grow as a leader at MAG.  I’d love to say it was my idea to hire her, but actually, it was my husband’s.  He recognized my desire to do everything myself before I did.  Score a point for Bryan.

Through the process of on-boarding Misti, I realized there is some guilt associated with delegating and thinking big.  Once I got over that, I also realized Misti genuinely wanted to help me and had my best interest in mind.  She ran with everything I gave her, which freed me up to focus on more strategic initiatives.  This allowed me to network more and determine the right ways to grow MAG.

Then one day, it hit me…it was not only a good idea to ask for help and dream big, but it was wrong not to.  As a leader, the people we lead NEED us to take this approach.  If we don’t, we are going to limit ourselves, our company and burnout, leaving them ultimately out of a job.

So let me boldly encourage you all – DON’T BOX YOURSELF IN WITH GLASS WALLS! 

Give yourself permission to think big about your business, strategically network with others and delegate so you don’t lose focus.  Stop limiting yourself and allow God to expand your realm on influence to further His Kingdom!