Which "Jane" are you?

Last week, I spent time interviewing Michele Dekinder Smith, author of See Jane Succeed: Five Types of Female Entrepreneurs Reveal What it Takes to Win in Business and in Life.She contends that female entrepreneurs usually fall into one of 5 types of "Janes". After interviewing over 3,000 of them, she should know.

You can take her assessment at www.janeoutofthebox.com to find out what type of Jane you are. After talking with her, I think she has nailed down the profiles very well. It's worth your time to check out the site and the book. For each of the five "Janes" there are action plans to overcome the unique obstacles to your success. You may find that you are a Merry Jane, a Go Jane Go, a Jane Dough or perhaps, like me, an Accidental Jane.

When I launched Marigold Women in Business in 2004, my end goal was to produce 6 luncheons for women in business, assist a handful of local businesses in reaching that market and replace my very modest income from a part-time position at the Chamber of Commerce.I had achieved that goal within 2 months of conceiving the idea. That is when I accidentally became the force behind a much larger enterprise. The tail started to wag the dog, the horse was out of the barn before I hitched my wagon to it, you know all of the analogies. 

Accidental Janes find themselves running a business that demands more of them than they expected or in some cases, more than they desired. It may sound like a good problem, but requires a re-focusing of her priorities and capabilities.

Many laid off workers are taking on contract work, or freelancing to keep the wolves away from the door. One day she realizes that she has no time to job hunt because she is to busy working. "Wait," she says, "how did that happen?" That's an Accidental Jane.

What type of Jane are you? Click here to find out