And I don’t mean women who are the CEOs, company executives or the chair of the board.

I want to highlight the women who take on all those roles at once, without the team of executive assistants, advisers and enablers.

Most of them combine all the roles — of chairman, CEO, CFO, and the head of marketing, PR, communications and business development — in their daily lives.

I’ve had the privilege to meet hundreds of them across Australia, in cities and in regional areas. We honour them through national and state small/medium business awards programs, local chamber of commerce events and industry functions, and through the Pride of Australia Awards.

These are your neighbour, your friend, your sister, daughter, mother, aunty, niece and grandmother — all of us can name more than one enterprising woman we admire for what they generate around them. You get the picture.

They are skilled, professionally or in a trade or as a business manager, and they find ways to apply those skills by putting ideas into action. They innovate, they take risks and they sure don’t want to die wondering.

I have endless examples of women who have launched a business to suit themselves and their family rather than fight through the corporate miasma.

Some have had a career, taken a break and are now looking for a new challenge. Here are some other reasons why women get into business: they had a family and want to work from home; they have lived overseas and brought back a great commercial idea; some jobs traditionally done by men, through advances in technology, can become jobs for women; some move interstate or into the country and create opportunity; some become managers of a group of, say, tradesmen, and bring new efficiencies to the delivery of services (does your electrician or plumber turn up on time?).

Many of these women bring up families, support a wider family and community network, and still have time to keep the household running efficiently.

Don’t tell me that the men do it better — most of the women I know are brilliant time and workflow managers, and they rarely outsource!

Think about the advice you give your school-age daughter (and this goes for sons as well). Are you arming her with skills that can set a course for her future?

Communication is key and I don’t mean via Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. I mean the subtle nuance of conversation and negotiation, learning how to listen, and building confidence to present themselves to a potential employer, with a goal to deliver on what they promise. Do they have the confidence to communicate and impart their message? It takes learnt skills and constant practice to become good and confident at speaking for yourself.

As well, can they add up, and know the difference between revenues and expenses? Can they read the document and understand it? Can they write so the rest of us understand what they mean?

Many have no doubt taken holiday jobs, or permanent part-time jobs to get a bit more cash in hand, the first steps to financial independence. It is real-world experience. It’s not easy to make money, but we all have to start somewhere.

To those enabling parents who try to smooth the path for their children, I say back off, as you’re denying them the chance to find their own way. It’s like removing the kindling from the fire of ambition and enterprise they can build for themselves.

On another level, I’m not backing down from the issue of more equitable representation of women in corporate and government ranks, either. I do agree with the concept of quotas, but for the simple reason that quotas will generate a groundswell of newer, talented women in the ranks.

This will create the new model for the future — women who work collaboratively, who share, and who will encourage the rise of others. As Buddha said: “Be a light to yourselves. Seek no other. Never give up.”

This article was originally published on The Daily Telegraph 14th January. Read the original article here.