Mary had always wanted to be an entrepreneur, so after a successful stint in high tech, she spread her wings and went out on her own. “The best reward for running your own business is seeing the impact you have on many others,” said Mary. “Helping them to streamline their business to improve the bottom line, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction is priceless.”

After taking the free Which Jane Are You? assessment at www.JaneOutoftheBox.com , Mary discovered that she is a Jane Dough. Mary is an engineer, and has always been driven to do more, better, faster, and more economically – she is the stereotypical Jane Dough. For her, business brings her a sense of accomplishment, and she has very clear ideas of what she wants to do and how she wants to do it. “Being in a male-dominated field all my life, it makes sense to me that I was probably always a Jane Dough,” said Mary. “Learning to succeed in engineering and semiconductor fabrication meant that I had to plan, then implement, a very specific strategy to succeed, which I was able to do.”

As a Jane Dough, Mary likes to work on new things, so she is always evolving her business. In addition to McDonald Consulting, she is publishing her fifth book, “Taming Procrastination – The Easy Solution to Gaining Control of Your Life“, under her “Efficiency Doctor” brand; and helps organizations implement technical tools including ISO, Lean, and Six Sigma, under her “Integration Doctor” brand. Despite this flurry of activity, Mary still takes time to spend with her two high school children and husband of 26 years, as well as sing in her church choir.

Mary’s advice to other Janes? “Each Jane has their strength – play to that strength,” said Mary. Equally importantly: “partner with others to minimize your weakness, and bring complementary skill sets together!”

Ellen started her business in order to make a difference in people’s lives and to teach the skill set of organizing. She believes that her company empowers and affirms her clients in their quest for organization. “The joy of knowing each day I am helping people who have been overwhelmed by paper and stuff and are now are transitioning to a more organized lifestyle is my greatest reward,” said Ellen.

After taking the free Which Jane Are You? assessment at www.JaneOutoftheBox.com , Ellen has discovered that she is a Merry Jane. “My greatest joy in my business is interacting with my clients,” said Ellen. “I find them to be incredible, intelligent and creative, and the fact that I can help them be the best they can be makes for an amazing opportunity for me! It is rewarding to be a full time professional organizer and productivity consultant with dedicated hours including Saturdays. With the flexibility offered in my business, I prioritize taking care of my family and myself. I especially love every Friday, my Gigi (grandparenting) Day. I am a Merry Jane because I enjoy my business and especially the balance I have in my life right now. “

After contemplating her advice for other current Merry Janes – or those aspiring to be – she has some great insights. “If balance is your biggest priority, this is a great fit!” said Ellen. “If you are concerned about making more money, think through the flexibility and clarify your priorities to become a different Jane. In the past I have been Go Jane Go struggling with work/life balance. Seeing my priorities more clearly has helped me become a Merry Jane. With further clarity, I see myself moving toward Jane Dough with clear priorities to make more money.”

If you’re interested in being featured, make sure you’ve taken our assessment at www.janeoutofthebox.com. Then email laura@janeoutofthebox.com with your name, your Jane type, and a little bit of information about you.

Can’t wait to see YOU featured!

-Michele

Shannon’s impetus for starting her business came from her corporate career. “I always dreamed of it,” said Shannon, “but it wasn’t until an evil boss at a PR firm belittled me in front of a client for ONLY getting them on Good Morning America and not the other two major morning programs. I realized I could do better myself.” As her family life became more demanding, the rewards from her business grew. “Once I found out I was going to be a mom of twin girls,” said Shannon, “I realized that I could be home with them, as well as focus on my other baby – my business. It’s been so rewarding to be able to be there for them.”

After taking the Which Jane Are You? free assessment at www.JaneOutoftheBox.com, Shannon has “rediscovered” her Jane Type. This was the second time that Shannon has taken the assessment and she is currently a Tenacity Jane. “I’ve had a couple of setbacks this year which hasn’t put me where I usually am (a Jane Dough),” said Shannon. “But I am strong and looking forward to kicking it up a notch in 2010.”

What is Shannon’s advice for other Tenacity Janes? “It can be easy to throw in the towel when things get rough,” said Shannon, “and they always will be rough once in a while! But that’s what makes your commitment to excellence shine though. I’ve gotten more focused as a result – and you can too! One of the things that is propelling me forward is I have started asking for help from colleagues more. I realize now the ultimate success is sharing it! As I said, I have been a Jane Dough. Yet, like many people, I can see a bit of all the Janes in me.”

Sharon has been preparing to own this business for much of her life. Since the age of 14, Sharon has developed her passion for healthy living and has continuously developed her knowledge in integrated wellness. “I felt that the current health care system was not benefiting the public on ‘How to stay well’ but were only providing sick care,” said Sharon. “My philosophy is that healthy living is something you should never give up.”

To encourage her clients, she asks them to reward themselves by taking one day at a time, and every day at sunset, enjoy the success and celebrate each step the take towards their goals. She finds a similar reward for owning her own business. “I feel great at the end of every meeting I have with a clinic, and I smile at the end of every phone consultation,” said Sharon.

After taking the Which Jane Are You? free assessment at JaneOutoftheBox.com , Sharon discovered that she is a Merry Jane. “I MUST be very excited and always have clarity on what I am doing simply because of the subject matter which is your health,” said Sharon. “Unfortunately people don’t care about wellness they come to me after being diagnosed with illness. My ultimate goal is to develop and maintain wellness camps around the globe.”

Her advice to other Merry Janes? “When you find your joy declining, step back and analysis when and why it changed,” said Sharon.

A new study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on women entrepreneurs, recently revealed there are five distinct types of women in business. Each of these five types has unique approach to running a business – and as a consequence, each of them has a unique combination of characteristics and that impact how she reacts to different situations. This article profiles three of the Jane “types” and the different ways they may handle firing a client – which can be difficult on many levels.

Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and makes good money. She is comfortable and determined in buying and selling, which may be why she’s five times more likely than the average female business owner to hit the million dollar mark. Jane Dough is clear in her priorities and may be intentionally and actively growing an asset-based or legacy business. It is estimated that 18% of women fall in the category of Jane Dough.

For Jane Dough, business is business. If a relationship isn’t working out, Jane Dough will end it – quickly and painlessly (for her). Because she is so clear in her priorities, if the results of a particular relationship aren’t lining up the way she wants them to, she’ll cut it off.

If you’re a Jane Dough, firing a “difficult” client won’t be personal. You won’t be upset about it, because you’d only fire a client if it wasn’t benefiting your business. You might even see the potential for staying friends with the client afterwards, because you’re very good at separating your business and personal lives.

Before you cut the cord, though, Jane Dough, make sure you really think about why the relationship isn’t working out. Perhaps the problem isn’t the client – there could be a flaw (big or small) in your system that makes it difficult for your businesses to serve them. work together. Or perhaps you’ve been moving too fast to give this client the proper amount of attention and their need for higher levels of service is the problem. In this case, instead of firing them, you might have an opportunity to up-sell them into a higher tier of service! You’re great at trusting the system you’ve created and the team you’ve put together. But when you’ve got a difficult client, and particularly if you have several, it’s worthwhile to take a closer look at what your company’s contribution to the dysfunction. After doing so, if you decide that, in fact, the problem is only on the client’s side of the equation, c hallenge yourself to be kind when you deliver the news. Not everyone is as direct as you are – and delivering bad news with grace can potentially turn a difficult situation into a positive experience of mutual understanding. Done well, “firing a client” can actually increase their respect for you and your company.

Accidental Jane is a successful, confident business owner who never actually set out to start a business. Instead, she may have decided to start a business due to frustration with her job or a layoff and decided to use her business and personal contacts to strike out on her own. Or, she may have started making something that served her own unmet needs and found other customers with the same need, giving birth to a business. Accidental Jane enjoys what she does and is creating a satisfactory level of income.

As an Accidental Jane, you want to be in control of your own destiny, right? You are also a big believer in the importance of relationships in business. When you have a difficult client, you will take the time to think about the situation from multiple angles, considering whether the situation can be repaired, how it might be fixed, and the effort it will require to do so.

When the scenario is simply a poor fit or when the client is abusive, you will have no difficulty setting boundaries with them, establishing consequences, and ultimately parting ways. But when the client is a longer-term relationship that was successful in the past, letting the client go may be more difficult for you. This may happen in Accidental Jane’s relationships when demands for her services increase and she no longer has as much time available to serve a long-standing customer. Similarly, she may, out of loyalty, be offering better pricing to those who “gave her a chance” when she started. As her business increases and she raises her rates, she may find this good relationship no longer lucrative.

When this happens, be willing to have a candid conversation about what your business needs with your customer. When you outline what you need in order for the relationship to be a win/win, your client has the option to choose to meet your needs or not. If they are unable to do so, it is easier to part on amicable terms because they get to be a party to the decision.

Tenacity Jane is an entrepreneur with an undeniable passion for her business, but who tends to be struggling with cash flow. As a result, she’s working longer hours and making less money than she’d like. Nevertheless, Tenacity Jane is determined to make her business a success. At 31% of women business owners, Tenacity Janes are the largest single Jane type.

As her name implies, Tenacity Jane doesn’t want to give up. She may postpone firing a difficult client. She may worry about letting go of the revenue the customer represents and be concerned about whether or not she’ll be able to replace them. She may try a variety of different tactics to improve the situation, possibly overestimating her own contribution and blaming herself or having self-doubt. As a result, Tenacity Jane may attempt a variety of strategies to improve the situation, bending over backward – and some difficult clients will actually take advantage of that fact and abuse her sincere desire to provide a valuable product or service.

If you’re a Tenacity Jane it’s important to realize that difficult clients are not your fault! You should honestly assess the situation and then be willing to let go and move on. Many of the Tenacity Jane’s we’ve interviewed say that having the courage to fire a difficult client was a true turning point in their business and enabled them to move into a much more financially successful phase of their business.

No business owner wants to fire a client. It’s difficult to accept that something just isn’t working out. But sometimes all you can do is to get out, and it proves to be best for both parties involved. Whether you’re a Jane Dough, an Accidental Jane or a Tenacity Jane, when it’s time to professionally end a business relationship, know that you can do it – and you’ll be better off for it.