Yes, You Can Do This! How Women Start Up, Scale Up, and Build The Life They Want

Chapter 4Your Perceived Weaknesses Are Your Hidden Strengths: How to Leverage Your Weaknesses to Start Up

What you'll take away from this chapter:

In this chapter, we'll explore the ways in which your perceived weaknesses can actually be leveraged as strengths. Traits that are generally assigned to one gender or group are often perceived as oppositional to the other group, and are therefore considered abnormal for the opposite group to possess, but that doesn't mean that those traits are without value. Rather, it means that how we assign them is off. After reading this chapter you'll walk away with some clear responses to questions you may get, and a new approach to consider your own self-assessments. In addition, we'll also look at some practical advice for the most challenging situations.

When It All Goes Wrong

“So…I went to a local venture meet-up downtown. I think it was a disaster.” Maria still looked a little shaken as she described the experience. Maria and Jill were meeting for coffee.

“Oh, what happened?” Jill asked, curious and empathetic, as she wrapped her hands around her cup. “You're not fundraising right now, right?”

“No, I was just going to the event to learn more about the industry and network, but I just—I don't know. I got there, and felt ready to talk to people about what I was working on, but I actually felt like the token female. Like people were humoring me, but not really listening to me.” Maria had been so excited to meet other entrepreneurs and investors, ...