Tips on how to become a successful entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry

Carolyn Leonard was the third female independent trader to ever own a seat at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Since then, she has continually worked her way up in the male dominated industry.

Today, she is the CEO of DyMynd, a company that “cracks the code on women and finances”. The service provides financial institutions with a psychometrically sound profiling system to help female clientele understand their psyche in relation to money​, while​ also helping identify financial advisors that would work best with them.

Carolyn’s 21 years at the CBOE trained her to be the successful leader that she is today. Working in a challenging environment amongst mostly male peers has given her the skills and confidence to be CEO.

Here are some of Carolyn’s tips on how to become a successful entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry:

• Fail fast: Failure is part of the process for most of us. When you fail you need to get as much knowledge as you can from it, and then pivot from the learning experience. By accepting failure as part of the process, you find ways to overcome obstacles and enhance your product or service.

• Network, Network, Network: The lack of a network and trusted advisors is still a major challenge for women. It has been my experience that many female entrepreneurs don’t understand how important it is to have networks and trusted advisors. In almost any type of entrepreneurial endeavor, a key contributor to its success is obtaining introductions and connections to people who can help you to get through the door. If you get through the door of a decision maker as the result of a friend’s recommendation, you will inevitably walk away having learned something valuable from the meeting.

• Use your differences: As one of the first female traders at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, I quickly learned that trading is a very physical job. Being a woman, I could never compete with men based on the physical, so I developed other ways to be noticed in the crowd and get my trades. One way I did this was simply by wearing stilettos which served as protection because men didn’t want to stand near me for fear that a “klutz” would step on their feet. By branding myself and using my differences, I was able to gain recognition and sponsorship.

• Surround yourself with smart people: I became a leader out of my need to surround myself with very smart people who could teach me and help me become successful. The survival skills I learned in the trading pits are the very same skills that helped me become the leader I needed to be to run a successful company like DyMynd.