Don’t hold out for perfection

This was by far the most repeated business philosophy of the day. It started with

Jodie Fox, the founder of Shoes of Prey, who declared that as long as you know what problem you’re solving, you would have found your purple cow and would be ready to take the next step.

“The three mantras I live by are make a decision and see what happens, do everything before you’re ready and believe passionately in what you’re doing.”

Following her lead was Alison Goodger, the CEO of Sukin, who urged women entrepreneurs to start getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.

“Stop looking for the perfect blueprint for business. It doesn’t exist.  Just because you don’t know where to start, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get started.”

Then it was Kelly Baker-Jamieson, the founder of Edible Blooms, to share her husband’s theory on why she is so successful – because she just gets it done.

Next in line to dish out the same advice was Jane Lu who started ShowPo with one failed business behind her and $60k in debt.

“It’s really hard to believe that other people don’t love your products as much as you do but you go ahead anyway!” she laughed.

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As a spa owner, Gleeson has a wonderfully mellow temperament. But what upsets her is hearing women entrepreneurs passing harsh judgment on themselves and each other when they slip up.

“Men don’t do that. If you make a mistake, who cares? You will care more if you don’t do anything. And it’s also time women embraced their feminine energy and understand that they don’t need to lead like men.”

Abigail Forsyth, the CEO of KeepCup, added to this by urging women to ask men how they manage their work-life balance instead of judging themselves for not living up to invisible expectations.

Bec Derrington, the founder of SourceBottle, only had a few more words to top it off – kick ass in business but don’t kick yourself because guilt is a dish best left unserved.