Stephanie Burns, Founder of Chic CEO on Being an Entrepreneur      

Stephanie Burns is the founder of San Diego-based Chic-CEO (www.chic-ceo.com), a website offering a multitude of resources for would-be female entrepreneurs to help them launch their own venture – all for free. While Burns was attending business school, some friends were thinking of starting their own business and didn’t know where or how to begin. When they turned to her for guidance, she realized that there was nothing out there that was readily available, easily accessed and not veiled behind a no-guarantees, paid info “cash curtain.” In other words, not ideal for the fledgling entrepreneur. Thus, the idea of Chic CEO was born, and following graduation, Burns set out to make it a reality. The site went live in 2010 with a decidedly feminine vibe that is direct yet approachable, intelligent and informative. Chic CEO got immediate attention, being named as one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurial Websites for Women by Forbes in 2011. The site has also been named in the Top 50 Websites for Entrepreneurs by Inc., and Burns has received multiple personal acknowledgments for her success in the entrepreneurial arena.

I caught up with her upon her return from a coding boot camp – a 9-week intensive coding workshop in Bali (it could be worse, right?) to talk about female entrepreneurs, where Chic CEO is now, and what’s next on her (busy) agenda.

What, in your mind, is the biggest differentiator between women who are modestly successful and women who are tremendously successful? 
Her support group. A successful woman needs to be fully supported by her spouse, kids, friends, family and community. In turn, she needs to do the same for them. But if you have a doubting spouse or a well-meaning parent telling you to just “get a job already” – it’s really tough to shake that off and focus.

Always try and surround yourself with people who are supportive and also working on big dreams.

In your opinion, what is the professional woman’s biggest stumbling block or hurdle? Which is more significant – our internal hurdles or external ones? How do you think we can overcome some of these challenges? 
I believe our biggest stumbling block is an internal one. As women, we tend to be more risk averse because we see starting a business as not just us. If I start a business, I know that involves my husband, my family, and those around me – it’s not just me. So we are very careful to make sure we aren’t putting any loved ones in danger. I think this can lead to us playing small sometimes – we shrink to not rock the boat – but it’s in everyone’s best interest to play big, to get dirty and make some tough decisions.

We do business differently, that’s to our advantage and we need to start believing that. My favorite quote is by Diane Sawyer. She says, “Whatever you want in life, others will want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the fact that you have an equal right to it.”

I recite that to myself when I feel a little inadequate or worried.

Do you think women have more of a “stay the course” mentality that prohibits us from venturing out into the world of entrepreneurship? Is that changing? 
Not necessarily. To my point above, I think we might stay the course more often because we are so relational and think about how it affects those around us before making a move. Sometimes, we get forced on a path that is better for us and you hear that story time and time again.

In fact, Chic CEO was created specifically for my girlfriends who had been laid off in the recession and needed to pay their bills. Just like them, I too was laid off and  it forced me to get started.

I think if we follow the signs, our path leads us where it’s supposed to.

How do you think Chic-CEO can provide necessary encouragement and resources for would-be women entrepreneurs? What makes you unique? Do you think that the female entrepreneur community is becoming more significant or do you feel it’s still kind of a emerging area? 
I feel like the female entrepreneurship space is alive and kicking! We have 90,000 women in our network now and growing daily. Women are looking to entrepreneurship to provide the kind of life they want.

Chic CEO is their go-to resource for how-to information on how to get started. From how to write a business plan, to how to get your EIN – it’s all there at Chic CEO.

The statistics can’t lie, bottom lines are better, morale is better, sales are better when women are in leadership positions. If we can’t climb the ladder somewhere else, we’ll build it ourselves and help other women up as we do.

What is/ are your favorite Chic CEO success stories? 
Honestly, there isn’t just one. We get emails and notes all the time from women who have started breweries, online fitness companies, magazines, coaching, handmade jewelry, consulting, and the list goes on, telling us how they couldn’t have done it without Chic CEO.

That makes it all worth it.

How large is the Chic CEO network currently? 
Chic CEO has 90,000 subscribers now from all over the globe! Estonia to Dubai, Australia to Wisconsin – it’s so amazing. We are very excited to be growing that much. In addition to our internal team we have an amazing advisory board.

Any new announcements or side projects on the horizon for you OR Chic CEO? 
Yes! I am about to launch a new digital product apart from Chic CEO called Unreasonable Requests. Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve made many, many unreasonable requests and the outcomes have been incredible. Because of this, I’ve worked with CEOs of non-profits to make some unreasonable requests, resulting in tens of thousands of extra donations, secured a trip to Bali to learn to code, got a treadmill desk “on the house” and lots of other cool things and experiences.

I now have a method of making big asks that I’m teaching to a beta group as we speak. When it’s ready, you can find it at Stephanie-burns.com.

I’m very excited about this product because once you get comfortable making unreasonable requests – the most magical things can happen for you, your business and your life.

Where do you see the biggest growth opportunity for women in business in the near – and not so near – future? How would you encourage women – or what do you want to see Chic CEO doing – to help them to seize that opportunity? 
I think the biggest opportunity for women in business in the near future is coding. I think we need to arm ourselves with this skill asap. Go to a coding bootcamp like Ruby On The Beach, sign up for Lynda.com, get a local mentor, but start to get involved – it’s not going away and you’ll be light years ahead if you start now.

What prompted you to take on the coding boot camp while you were so busy and enjoying so much success and growth with Chic CEO (on top of being a very newly-wed)? 
Truthfully, my then fiancé and I were talking one night and he asked me what I would do if I could start all over. Without hesitation I said I would attend a coding bootcamp so I could create enterprise software. He was curious about what a coding bootcamp was and found one in Bali. The next cohort started in January, and we had talked about going to Bali for our honeymoon. Once I got to chatting with the founder of the bootcamp, we hit it off immediately and we decided to go. My husband is officially the greatest guy in the world to let me go to coding camp on our honeymoon 😉

What was your biggest take-away from the experience? 
That I’m very grateful to live in the United States!

Also, it’s amazing how something so technical can be such a creative outlet. It’s amazing to learn a skill that will enable you to build something from an idea.

Is there another coding boot camp in your future? 
That would be awesome – not sure, but totally open to it. I loved the fast-paced, immersive style. It was fun and a lot of hard work.

What is your greatest passion outside of Chic CEO? 
My greatest passion is reading. I love to read, yet rarely finish what I’m reading! I’m always between a few books at a time, my attention span is very small these days…

What have I not asked you that you think is really important that I should include? 
I’d like to add that my biggest piece of advice to female entrepreneurs is to just start. And start by doing just 3 things. Three little things and that will lead you to the next three things and that will lead you to the next. Just start.