Which of the 5 business personality profiles are you?

Today I interviewed Michelle DeKinder-Smith about the research she has done with thousands of women entrepreneurs. Michelle has identified 5 very distinct personality profiles for women in business and I must tell you, it was a bit spooky as she described each type and their challenges. You see, we are not fixed in one type. This is very much about your approach to business and stages you move through and I could identify that I have been in 4 of the 5 profiles at different times in my business.

It was a bit like having your horoscope read!

I’ll describe each type below and see if you can identify which of the profiles fit you. There may be profiles for where you have been, where you are now and where you’d like to head. Michelle calls them the “5  Janes” from her “Jane Out Of The Box”.

You can take this quick (and free) survey to find out which Jane you are and get some great advice on what steps to take to meet the common challenges of that Jane type. I’d love to know what you learn.

The Many Faces Of Jane (in alphabetical order)

Accidental Jane:

Accidental Jane has created a business kind of by accident. She never set out to create a business for businesses sake. Instead she does something well, really enjoys it and provides this service or product to her clients. In a way she has created a really nice job for herself doing what she loves. She is often a solo-preneur or may have an assistant or 2.

Does this sound like you? This is how I started and so did Michelle. In my case, people said “you’re really good at building internet businesses, you should charge for your advice” (more than a cup of coffee or glass of wine anyway).

Challenges Accidental Jane may Face

Because Accidental Jane loves what she does, she will tend to get really involved with a client or project and stop marketing. Then when the client project ends she has no new work coming in. She needs to set up consistent automated marketing so she won’t get the peaks and troughs.

Go Jane Go

Wow hearing Michele describe Go Jane Go took me back to a time that was really hard. Does this sound like you? This Jane is very focused on giving great service, often has a very busy business and could also be making some great money. She doesn’t just stop at delivering results in her business. She is often active on community groups, helps out at her children’s school etc.

This is a Jane I can really identify with from my previous business running an Internet Art Gallery. At the time I also ran the local community fund-raising art show (huge commitment), helped out in my children’s classroom, was secretary on a regional committee for art and culture and was the unofficial organiser of social get togethers for my friends. My life was full and interesting, but I also got very sick.

Challenges Go Jane Go may Face

This Jane has trouble saying no and has very little time for herself. In fact, she is probably the only one she CAN say no to. She needs to schedule time for herself in her calendar and may have to trick herself into keeping the commitments to herself. For example, Michele hired a personal trainer when she was running her business as a Go Jane Go. She only kept the commitments because she knew the trainer wouldn’t be paid if she didn’t turn up so she didn’t want to let them down.

On a personal note: If you are a Go Jane Go, I send some love and caring just for you. Accept it and take some time out to give yourself some extra love. (OK that was also a message to the Janet of a few years ago)

Jane Dough

This is the Jane that people think of when they think of entrepreneurs. She is a visionary and intends on building a big business that she can eventually sell or pass on to her family. She focuses very much on systems, team building and leverage.

Sometimes, people are just natural Jane Dough’s. These are the people who tell stories of running entrepreneurial enterprises when they were children and obviously just saw business opportunities that others couldn’t see. Others (like Michele and I) were Go Jane Go’s who had a huge wake-up call and started to see that the business was a separate entity to them, not an extension.

Challenges Jane Dough may Face

If Jane Dough gets too caught up in the running of her business she can get very frustrated. She needs to schedule time out to focus on strategy and systems. She also needs to concentrate on her management style as she can often envisage a project outcome and think very fast but may not slow down enough to delegate with adequate communication to her team. Oh dear….when Michele described Jane Dough that’s when it started to get really spooky. After doing Michele’s survey, this is the profile I fitted and the challenges she described were the exact things I know I have. And I thought I was unique

Merry Jane

So called Merry Jane because she is happy doing what she is doing. Merry Jane has other priorities in her life other than her business. For example she may describe herself as “a stay at home mum with a part time business” rather than “a business woman with a home based business, who happens to be a mum”. She wouldn’t mind bringing more money in but she is careful that her business doesn’t grow too big and take her time away from the things that are her priority. She may also be an artist or crafts person who uses her business for self expression and supplementary income.

Challenges Merry Jane may Face

Merry Jane wants to increase her part-time income but needs to be careful she doesn’t get a big influx of new customers as this will threaten the time she spends on her first priority. She needs to make sure her marketing strategies provide gradual supplies of new customers rather then waves of new referrals.

On a personal note: This is the only Jane I have never been in business, and interestingly, either had Michele. Also, this is the Jane I most envy! I’ve tried to approach my business in this way, focusing on family and content to build my business as a part-time second income but it just doesn’t come naturally. I can do it for a couple of weeks and then my head gets filled with visionary plans for “world domination” and I’m back into Jane Dough mode again. It will be interesting to know if I’m the only one who does this?

Tenacity Jane

Michele spent quite some time talking about Tenacity Jane. This is because this business profile accounts for the highest proportion of women entrepreneurs and one that is very close to her heart. Michele shared very candidly a story of her struggles as Tenacity Jane and I know many people on the call could really relate to it. You see, Tenacity Jane is determined to make her business work. She is committed and will keep on working hard until everything falls into place. Unfortunately, even though her business may seem successful, she is not making enough money. This breaks her heart. Often her business is a start-up or is suffering due to circumstances she may not have a lot of control over (such as the economic downturn).

I can so relate to this as I have spent a lot of my business life as Tenacity Jane and it can be soul destroying. Moving through this  though, is also one of the most personally rewarding things you can do.

Challenges Tenacity Jane may Face

Cash flow is the big issue for Jane and her financial struggles may make her feel very isolated. After all, no-one talks about their financial problems at networking events! But as Tenacity Jane makes up more than 33% of female business owners, know you are not alone.

Michele has launched a 30 day program especially for Tenacity Jane that starts this week (there are recordings). You can get the details here.

When you order, please email Michele and let her know I introduced you as she is offering a limited number of personal coaching sessions to my community. And of course, because Tenacity Jane has cash-flow problems, there is a payment plan

I’d love to know what type of Jane you are now after you take The Jane Out Of The Box survey. Or who you have been in the past or aim to be. Why not share your thoughts here? You may also have some advice for women who are in the same Jane Profile that you have been in the past or may be now.

Cheers

Janet

P.S. Michele has also kindly offered my community (that means you) a free copy of her book “See Jane Succeed”. You only need to pay for Postage. You can get your copy here. I’m getting one!