The whole world is talking about gender inequality. Let’s not get into that. Let us dig into ourselves to find what lies within. In her book ‘Lean In’, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, says “We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in”
From WALL STREET to DALAL STREET how many women do we find in top managerial positions? Handful? Barry Ritholtz’s article on Bloomberg.com states “According to Catalyst, there are now only 20 women chief executives of S&P 500 companies, down from 24 in 2015. CNN/Money notes “only 14.2% of the top five leadership positions” were held by women at these companies. Last year, women made up 17.9 percent of the directors of Fortune 1,000 companies. The number of female certified financial planners appears to have plateaued at about 23 percent”.
Most women neglect themselves in the process of pursuing family goals. Let us look at it this way. Who takes care of family health apart from your doctor? Who manages people, tasks, time and host of other challenges day in and day out with ease? Who buys things on bargain? Who reacts when you say ‘shopping’? Hope you wouldn’t mind if my answer for all these questions is ‘Women’. That doesn’t mean men are left behind, but multitasking comes naturally to women. So, can we say she knows her bands well? Say for example – using medicine from Cipla, Lupin, Sun Pharma..etc, Provisions or FMCG from Colgate, Dabur, Nestle etc, home appliances from Voltas, Bluestar, Godrej etc, auto from Maruti, Tata Motors, Eicher motors etc, you bank with HDFC, ICICI etc. With a little extra knowledge can she not become a good investor without having to go through tons of research reports? It’s not rocket science but a mind game.
Talking about India in general, there are plenty of talented women out there who can turn things around if only they knew ‘HOW’. There is definitely no shortcut or a quick answer for this question. But there surely are different paths to get there and the time to start exploring is ‘NOW’
Well, there is one business you can start with very little capital. No infrastructure needed. No employees needed. Initial investment is as per your decision and profit margin is as per your decision too. One can enjoy flexible working hours with no boss. The business is INVESTING IN FINANCIAL SECURITIES on an exchange. What if I told you, taking a little risk and trying your hand on investing / trading could help your child’s future education, marriage, a home, holidays, additional support for husband / family business, elders’ hospital expenses, or simply extra money to pamper yourself. It sounds interesting but nothing comes easy in life. Firstly, one has to check for skills needed. Just like any field investing / trading won’t come easy. A quick game plan could look something like this:
1.Start investigating and talking to people who have done it already.
2.Surround yourself with positive energy. Start with a positive mindset.
3.Set goals and time your goals at a comfortable pace. What works for someone else may not work for you.
4.Get your family and friends involved. You will need support system and they will be proud of you.
5.Start learning much before your first trade. Find and attend classes, life is too short to learn only from your mistakes. In short learn from others.
6.Find a Pro/Mentor. Learn from experts. This could be one of the best decisions you made. Finance is all about numbers but the human or psychological element in trading cannot be ruled out. Books can teach but a mentor can fix your mindset, because he has already travelled the path you chose.
7.Learn, learn .keep learning forever, and in the process make a trading plan. A unique plan that suits you. Execute your plan and stick to it.
8.Do not feed your fear and take failure personally. Not everything is lost. You are venturing into a new territory, understand and give it some time.
Take that FIRST step, START NOW, journey and results will follow. The only one stopping you is YOU.
