5 tips for young women entrepreneurs

Jane Clark’s branding and web design studio, Teakettica, recently celebrated its seventh anniversary, and Clark said one of the most rewarding parts of the business has been offering internships to students, who typically are women.
Clark has a soft spot for helping young women succeed as entrepreneurs. “I never grew up not being able to do things because I was a girl,” she said. “I didn’t realize there was a major difference in earnings and the way you’re perceived in the work industry until I started Teakettica.”
For the past three years, Clark has offered semesterly unpaid internships, which students at Cecil College — where she’s an adjunct professor — often take for class credit. Clark said she has viewed the internships as a chance to also be a mentor.
“I help with finances, where they’re going, sometimes they come to me and they’re a hot mess. I coach them through,” she said. “I love working with people one-on-one and helping them find their true calling.”
Clark has five tips for young women entrepreneurs (although they do apply to everybody):

1. Understand upfront that choosing the work you do for a career might mean you enjoy it less, and don’t be discouraged by that. “Even though I was making websites casually for fun when I was younger, I don’t do that anymore,” Clark said. “I read a book or go outside.”
2. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. She recalled a 17-year-old intern who was terrified of making phone calls and said that’s an unavoidable part of running a business. “If you’re going to be a business owner, you’re going to have to do things you don’t want to do,” she said, advising that you get those things done and out of the way first thing in the morning.
3. Don’t fear the competition. Clark said you shouldn’t sell yourself short and should learn how to price yourself in the market, and to look up to and be inspired by your competition.
4. “Always make sure current clients take first dibs.” Putting your clients first is key, she said.
5. Don’t be afraid to do things you don’t know how to do. “I learn from everyone and Google,” Clark said. “Google the shit out of your life because it’s going to give you answers and it’s giving them to you quickly.”