Melissa's Story from the book

Views on the Way to the Top

As an accountant who runs a successful accounting practice, you might expect that I should be writing about cashflow budgeting, business plans and tax planning. Whilst all these things are incredibly important and are an integral part of starting and running your own business, I would instead like to share my own experience of running a business including my personal challenges of being a young woman in business in a male dominated field.
I started my accounting practice in my late twenties from the front room of my home. I was a fairly timid girl as far as being a businesswoman was concerned but knew that I did not want to work for someone for the rest of my life. I thought that even if I only worked a few days a week it should be enough to earn what I needed to live. Five years later, with a successful accounting firm in its own premises, staff and a growing client base, I still marvel at these beginnings and the person that I was then compared to who I am today.

Perhaps one of the most important factors that has influenced me is to surround myself with other inspiring women who are also in business. Whilst mentors are important - and I admire and value the mentor that I have - I find that the women in business with whom I have encircled myself continually inspire and encourage me, and I in turn inspire and encourage them. In one of my first years in business I discovered Women With Altitude (WWA). Through WWA I have been able to network with and observe other ordinary women who are successfully running their own business or simply having the courage to strike out on their own.

I have found that if you are passionate about what you do and believe that you have the ability to do it, then you can turn perceived ‘weaknesses’ into your greatest assets. For a very few clients and colleagues, they will never get past the fact that I am a young, tall, blonde woman and their need to find the ‘stereotypical accountant’. For others however, it is this very fact that can make them feel comfortable with me.

While I still have some strategies (such as the power suit and the bun!) I no longer feel self-conscious or concerned about the fact that I am a young woman making my way in a male dominated field. In fact, it can be both liberating and empowering to be one of the few that has done it! For other young women who feel intimidated about venturing into an area where perhaps they may not be the ‘norm’, please be encouraged to know that sometimes the unique qualities you bring to the marketplace may be exactly those for which your clients are looking.

To those women and particularly those younger women who are reading this and are considering starting their own business or perhaps have taken that first step, I encourage you to go for it! Of course you need to research, plan and be strategic - but also be wise. Surround yourself with
women who can inspire you and don’t be ashamed or downplay the fact that you are a woman in business, no matter how small your business might be. Today, I enjoy the fact that I am a successful woman in business in a field where I am not the stereotype. Embrace both your power and femininity and go for it!