In the most recent Women Leading Travel & Hospitality report, Game Changers, we asked women entrepreneurs in the travel and hospitality industry a series of questions about starting and running a business. They provided honest and actionable answers. One of those questions was, “What advice do you have for other women entrepreneurs or those looking to launch their own business?” Here are some of their responses:

“Surround yourself with people that are positive, creative and truly want to make a difference. This means extending your network to the greatest degree. It’s extremely important to draw energy from those that have a passion to build a future that can make a positive difference in the world. Prior to launching my business, I joined every tech meet-up group to engage with a community where I could share my story and offer support and service to those I found that were creating a solution that could fit the hospitality industry. I connected with venture capital companies for advice and support and offered my expertise to help vet hospitality solution providers. As events opened up, I attended as many in-person events as possible to engage with those looking for and/or creating solutions. Having the confidence to create new relationships and make the jump to engage as much as possible with a service mind has been phenomenal. I’ve also been engaging with other consultants in the industry to build strategic partnerships around the world expanding my opportunities. If you come at everything with a service mindset, opportunities will always present themselves.” — Sue Graves, CEO, Experience Alive

“Sculpt a career that’s aligned with your passion and purpose. Be honest with yourself and don’t let the opinion of others drive your career decisions. Take bold steps every day as you never know who and what will show up to support you when you’re living your purpose.” — Tracy L. Prigmore, Founder and Managing Partner, TLTSolutions + She Has a Deal

“I say this all the time: The best and most successful companies were built from a founder’s personal need. Build from what you know. Build from what you need now or what you needed three [years ago], five years ago. That’s where the most authentic ideas come from and there’s a deeper passion that settles within that will fuel you during the hard times. Take a chance. The world needs what you have to offer. Oh, and start before you’re ready. No business is ever perfect at launch. How many iPhone updates do we get a year and Apple is a billion-dollar company. You start it and build from there.” — Christina Rice, Founder, OmNoire

“This might sound trite, but get SO excited about what it is you want to create — your enthusiasm will carry you through the challenges you face at the beginning — and then take imperfect action. As a recovering perfectionist, I realized perfectionism’s root was just fear of criticism and rejection. I got comfortable with the idea that I could support myself through the criticism and rejection that arose, and just started taking “imperfect” action and iterating from there. Getting comfortable with the fact that entrepreneurship is literally just a journey of self-discovery while making an impact, and there’s no end goal, is what changed my entire relationship with perfectionism and fear of failure.” — Iris Serbanescu, Founder and CEO, wmnsWORK

“Here are some bullet points that I stuck to when I started my journey as an entrepreneur:

  1. Believe in Yourself: Have confidence in your abilities and vision.
  2. Embrace Resilience: Be prepared for challenges and setbacks.
  3. Seek Mentorship: Learn from experienced mentors.
  4. Build a Support Network: Surround yourself with a supportive community.
  5. Continuously Learn: Stay curious and keep learning.
  6. Plan Thoroughly: Develop a solid business plan.
  7. Start Small: Begin with manageable steps.
  8. Practice Financial Savviness: Understand your business finances.
  9. Network Effectively: Connect with potential clients and partners.
  10. Embrace Failure: See failure as a learning opportunity.
  11. Be Adaptable: Be open to change.
  12. Stay Passionate: Let your passion drive you.
  13. Prioritize Self-Care: Balance work and personal well-being.
  14. Advocate for Equality: Promote gender equality.
  15. Celebrate Achievements: Acknowledge your successes.” — Debbie Garcia, Founder and CEO, Virsitour

Check out the full interviews with these women as well as others like them by downloading the full Game Changers report here.