Women entrepreneurs and strong female leads are setting the stage for aspiring girlbosses everywhere. Part of the entrepreneurial success of women stems from the fact that they know their audience because they ARE their target audience. They are essentially selling products and services to themselves and other women very much like them. Lash artists do lashes because they love to get lashes and the feeling that lashes give. There is passion and purpose there. 

Maybe, you've dreamed of starting a business of your own. Maybe you've been collecting motivational Instagram quotes for the better part of the last 18 months. Each one is speaking to you and has been slowly igniting a fire urging you to leap into the unknown. Let me help you turn those embers into flames. 

Here are FIVE actionable steps to make your daydream a reality. 

Sometimes the first step is the hardest. But be fearless. It's time to dream big. This time is your time to shine. Articulate your goals, your dreams, your desires. Write them down. Putting pen to paper is the first step to bring ideas to fruition. Manifest what it is you've been dreaming and own it. Become it. Now, put the good juju out there and let's begin. 

Read your list every day as it will help remind you what your intention is and keep you firmly rooted in it, even when the storms of life try to tear you down.

Running your own company won't be easy, but most women will tell you that it is worth it. Apply your dreams and ideas by turning them into achievable goals in the form of a business plan. This business plan will serve as your roadmap on where you plan to go. Set monthly goals and describe actionable steps on how you will achieve them. The act of writing these steps down will give you a clearer picture of what your monthly goals should be. Consider starting with a checklist, such as this one. For the complete checklist, click HERE.

Open a separate bank account for your business and set up a bookkeeping system. There are so many financial apps and systems available nowadays. Do your research and compare features and reviews of the different options out there. Find what works best and plan to set aside 30 minutes to an hour each week to look at your plan and make sure your ducks are in a row. If you need to make changes due to unforeseen circumstances, setting aside time will give you the allowance to make those shifts in a thoughtful way instead of having knee-jerk reactions that lead to more chaos down the road.

Find your people. Identify three trustworthy people you respect and admire who can help you reach your goal. Mentors can be vital to helping you think outside the box and teaching you about the mistakes that they've made so you don't need to learn the hard way. Be transparent. Let them know your plans and how you aim to achieve them. Be responsive to their feedback but also hold yourself accountable. They will be there for advice and support but will also hold you responsible for turning your dreams into a reality. On a practical level, find people who can teach you new skills. Learn from the masters and celebrate their successes but also find new ways to improve what they've accomplished.

Be online and offline. LinkedIn should never replace networking IRL. That being said, however, make sure your LinkedIn is up to date and current. Offline from the business networking platform, put yourself out there. Find local events to attend – talks, seminars, workshops, Meetup groups or any other forms of socializing that will put you in touch with creative, like-minded individuals. 

Create a contract with yourself and make it your priority to complete the tasks each day that you've set out to do. One thing I like to do is have a calendar that has slots for every hour of the day. In the morning I will sit down with my coffee and write out my appointments, then I plan out the hours around that. For example, I plan out 1 hour for email marketing, and I make sure to have my undivided attention on that task for one hour. I don't check my social media, or answer the phone for that one hour. Then after that time has passed, I get up and walk around, get some water, stretch, then move on to the next task for the next hour. And repeat. This strategy keeps me focused and allows me to make the most out of the hours I have in a day.

Refer back to your business plan and set aside enough time and resources to accomplish 1 or 2 tasks. Commit yourself to your projects by focusing your energy on what is going to help you achieve your goal – whether it's starting your own business, self-employment, grad school, or personal growth. Put in the work. Your people will be there for moral and emotional support. But at the end of the day, the dream doesn't work unless you do. 

Trust yourself. Take risks. Remind yourself why you worked so hard to achieve your success. Innovate. Continue to think of ways to improve and how you plan to grow. If you only think in the short term, you will not be able to get very far because start-ups face a lot of opposition, especially in the beginning. You may feel pressured to discount yourself by lowering your prices or running a Groupon. You may look around at other busy salons and wonder what they have that you don't. You may be tempted to compare yourself to other artists that are doing better sets. But all of those things may be distractions. When you are feeling overwhelmed. Go back to the beginning, to your list of intentions and to your mentors. Go back and reset your focus on the long-term success that you seek.

Your intentions should always be tempered by realistic expectations. Longevity doesn't come in the form of overnight success; it's cultivated through time and hard work. If your plan isn't working, don't be afraid to redefine your goals and pivot. It doesn't mean having to give up an idea completely. But maybe there is a better approach that will get you what you want. 

Do you need some of these pins in your life? Here are the links to purchase.

• Don't Quit Your Daydream Unicorn Pin
• Time to Shine Pin
• Best Friends Jacket Pins
• Hustle Pin