This weeks #WCW goes to founder of Elletrepreneur, a small but successful company that offers legal services to startups at good prices by using legal tech.
“Since I can remember I have wanted to run a business of my own, and my friends always joke that I have a new idea a minute.” Elle explains “I decided to study and qualify as a lawyer because I felt I needed to bring a skill to running a business and I prefer words to numbers so law seemed like a good alternative to accounting.”
She left her firm with the intention of setting up a new brand, which would focus on the demand for help for start-ups and SMEs to get affordable but good quality contracts in place to protect their business. This is where Elletrepreneur came in.
Whilst Elletrepreneur was solely funded by itself, Elle did admit that it’s hard to make a start up business profitable in the early stages. “It’s necessary to go into the negative before becoming income generating, let alone profitable.
“On the other hand, I have had lots of mentors and support through networks that have helped ‘back’ the business, which is totally invaluable.”
Whilst Elle did struggle a little in the beginning she began to fit into her new role “its important to surround yourself with other innovators and people who understand what it means to be an entrepreneur.”
“The main barrier to women starting and running a business I come across is confidence and fear of failure – so my advice would be to feel the fear and do it anyway.
“It’s in our nature to worry/ think about the things that could go wrong and culturally we are brought up to seek security and stability in our careers, things which aren’t really associated with entrepreneurship!
“I particularly struggled with that as a lawyer which is why it was a while before I started to spend money and take risks with the business, but as clichéd as it sounds the biggest regret you will have is not having tried.”
For more info check their site: www.elletrepreneur.com alternatively follow them on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Words: Amy Jo Taylor
