Running a  Feminine Business Will Change The World

I remember the first time I opened the little yellow book entitled “Proposals for a Feminine Economy.” I had been in my business for about a year, and I was flying high on success and burnout. I had hired my new coach because she embodied a feminine ease I craved - I felt like all I was capable of embodying at that time was hustle, force, effort. I was trying hard and felt like I was building my business like a house of cards - the higher my revenue climbed, the less stable my business felt. 

I turned to this book for guidance - and it changed my life. 

Jennifer Armhurst applies feminist principles to business and economics, and created a whole new framework for entrepreneurship. 

“If we view the patriarchy not as men dominating women, but as masculine dominance and feminine subjugation, we notice that not just women but all feminized subjects are dominated, devalued, discredited, or controlled. Consider that money, water, the moon, mysticism, witchcraft, and the earth also belong to the feminine archetype, & we see that patriarchy is not just concerned with controlling female bodies, but feminine symbols as well.” 

 What feminine business isn’t: 

•  Something only femme-identifying folks can access - “feminine-ism” as Armhurst calls it something that we all have inside of us, a celebration and a nod to traditionally feminine characteristics such as empathy, gentleness, nurturing, receptivity, and introspection. Feminine business is inclusive of allllll gender identities. 
•  A celebration of all things girly pop pink bubblegum vibes - you can have a grounded, rooted, dare-I-say serious business that is still feminine in the way it prioritizes feminine values. 

“But what about masculine qualities and characteristics? Aren’t those also good?” Of course - but you can’t sit here and say that we are collectively struggling to display masculine characteristics like hard work, goal setting, discipline, power, success. We got that on lock. I see no shortage of masculine qualities in the online coaching world - embracing the feminine will bring balance back. If you’re feeling burnt out like I was, leaning into your feminine is a surefire way to start deconditioning from masculine capitalist culture. 

How you being in business changes the world for the better:  

as a woman in business, in a position of power, a woman with money - you have power & access & autonomy that you can only grant to yourself. It is critical that more and more women make more & more money, & continue to shift our society away from patriarchal dominance & myth of the meritocracy  & towards a more community centered, ethical, trauma aware, empathetic world.  

any woman in any online industry that gets to set their own prices can make damn well sure they’re not getting underpaid. (this doesn’t work if you consistently undercharge - if you’re struggling with that, it’s time to raise your prices & do whatever inner work you need to do to become an energetic match for getting well paid. period.)

women have always done more emotional labor, & we’re living in a world where lots of emotional labor needs to be done. we have to embrace our sensitivity, our empathy, our intuitiveness, our innate healing guidance because the worlds NEEDS HEALING. & we have to get paid for this work.  

by doing this emotional labor & healing ourselves, & helping other people heal, & getting paid & paid WELL, we’re creating an economy that VALUES deep inner work & will pay for it. this means more coaches get to make more money & do good with that money, AND more people get to heal, which is making the world a better place on individual at a time.

one of the most misogynistic things you can do is let your insecurities stop you from showing up & selling your offers & transforming peoples lives. (because a man would never. men, historically, HAVE NEVER. why are you? because conditioning. you’ve been brainwashed by the patriarchy. OWNING YOUR WORTH IS FUCKING REVOLUTIONARY.) whenever I'm insecure I remind myself that somewhere in the world is a white dude who's less qualified than I am, confidently walking into rooms that I've counted myself out of. That ends now. 

Charging high ticket, charging for your thoughts, setting loving boundaries with your community, doing your own inner work to decondition - allllll of this is very subversive. All of this goes against traditional societal norms. Dismantling patriarchal standards is a hard job… but someone’s gotta do it. 

And no one is as equipped to do this work as we are - the coaches, and healers, and mentors, and thought leaders, and energy workers of the world.

I’ve always believed that business is a vehicle for personal development. 

I also believe that business can be a model for a new framework of being. A new framework for business and money. 

How fucking radical would it be to make a shit ton of money ethically and while actively transforming people’s lives? Take that Jeff Bezos.

Shifts from a Masculine Economy to a Feminine Economy:  

Scarcity Consciousness “if they are successful, it means I won’t be” vs. Abundance Consciousness “Their success shows me what’s available for me” 

Hierarchy vs. Intimacy in coaching / teaching relationships 

Efficiency vs. Ease

The Ends Justify the Means vs. Doing Things Ethically and Sustainably 

Forcing things vs. Honoring your Energy 

 Constant Growth vs. Cyclical Growth 

 Competition vs. Collaboration 

If you loved this, here are some books I recommend: 

• We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
• Rich as F*ck by Amanda Frances
• Proposals for the Feminine Economy by Jennifer Armbrust