Lessons For Female Entrepreneurs From Shark Tanks Lori Greiner

5 Lessons For Female Entrepreneurs From Shark Tanks Lori Greiner<br /><br />Lori Greiner is a woman who knows a thing or two about entrepreneurship. Penney and on the Home Shopping Network Greiner has launched over 400 products and holds 111 patents, creating a multi million dollar business in the process.<br /><br />Charming and effervescent in person, Greiner is a natural saleswoman who actually uses the things she makes. Greiner says she cant live without her purse organizer, and cites a mirror cum jewelry organizer as her favorite product. Greiner initially set out to write a book, only to find her exact concept already in stores. She also conducted guerilla market research by stopping women in the street to ask what they thought of her homemade wood model. With a bit of luck and a $350,000 loan later Greiner started production on her first earring holder a month after dreaming it up.<br /><br />I was fearless, said Greiner. Penney stores in the Chicago area at the time. Greiner succeeded and was soon spending her weekends in malls demoing her earring holder.<br /><br />Successful pitching, Greiner said, is all about passion: You to believe in your product and what youre doing and other people will follow.<br /><br />Know your product or business idea and show us really very quickly what it is and why it is great, said Greiner. Be confident and also respectful and kind. Be the kind of person that we will want to work with.<br /><br />This attitude helped Greiner get her earring organizer onto the Home Shopping Network. She sold out 2,000 pieces in five minutes, prompting an expansion into other products.<br /><br />Greiner has five key tips for female entrepreneurs:<br /><br />1. Dont think of yourself as a female. You are absolutely equal to anybody and everybody else out there, female or male. I never set out thinking Im any different than anybody in the room and I think thats very important. If in your mind you say, Im a woman, how are they going to react to me? youre already making yourself nervous and inferior, so dont. Youre on a level playing field and youre just as good as them if not better.<br /><br />A reporter on Forbes wealth team, I cover and uncover the worlds 1,645+ billionaires, examining how they make, spend, and give away their fortunes. When Im not counting the zeros for our Billionaires and Forbes 400 lists, Im writing about these entrepreneurial titans. A musician in my other life, I also co edit Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings and Cash Princes list and have a penchant for turning rap lyrics into financial advice. I first joined Forbes as an intern in January 2012, covering startups and entrepreneurship. Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and SoundCloud , or get in touch: nrobehmedatforbesdotcom.