We all have a hero - but we don’t always recognize them at the moment we meet. No, we often realize, sometimes years later, that a person who played a role in our life turned out to be our hero, our champion, and our inspiration. One of my heroes was my math teacher in high school. Not because I was good at math - but because she cared about the success of everyone in the class. She made each person feel like they could do anything. I didn’t recognize her as my hero until years later when I found myself trying to model the way she handled things in my work as a leader and as a parent. Her daughter happened to be my best friend, so I got to see Mrs. R in action on all fronts. I admired that woman - but I never said a word to her about it.

I have two tips about heroes:

1. Heroes aren’t always obvious

2. Pay attention to the people around you - they might just turn out to be your inspiration for something big in your life

Who is your hero?

Who do you think the female Mark  Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates are?

And why aren’t we hearing about them?

“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to invent a great new company.”

I heard this quote recently at the 15th Anniversary Celebration of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a premiere gathering of  women entrepreneurs from across the country who have come together to share ideas and collaborate on business strategies. A common theme woven throughout the conference was the importance of risk taking – namely, that every woman entrepreneur must be willing to step into an area outside of her comfort zone.

As I’ve often said, great success rarely happens without taking some risk. Here are a few quick tips to navigating risk successfully. All of these factors are key ingredients to attracting the investors and financiers that will help build your business into the next great new company.

1) The level of risk can be mitigated when you look at business models and ideas that already work.

2) You must be fearless.

3) Once you’ve developed an idea and run it by your trusted confidants, stand confident in the knowledge that it is a good one. Never waver.

4) Develop a business plan and be willing to modify it when you see a change in the market – make sure that your plan is a road map and not just something kept in a shelf.

All of these factors are key ingredients to help her attract investors and financiers for a business.