Ideas and inspiration can strike at any time but actually sitting down to come up with something new can be daunting or feel like an endless stage of mental block. And when an idea does come to you, then how do you even know if it’s a good idea?

Many great business start with an “ah ha!” moment. After all, entrepreneurs have to get their ideas from somewhere. Maybe you’re stuck in a rut and inspiration hasn’t struck in a while. Where can you find it? We checked in with a few bad ass boss ladies to find out the inspiration behind their business ideas. 

“As a former collegiate athlete who used video to play at the next level, I started TapePlay after seeing a lack of video use for athletic exposure in the post-YouTube era. Athletes depend on family, friends, or teams/organizations to capture their performances for scouting, recruiting, instructing, or memorabilia purposes. This results in low quality video or no video at all.” Lindsay Austin, Founder and CEO of TapePlay    

“My inspiration is to do meaningful work, to make a difference in the community.” Laurna Godwin, Owner and President of Vector Communications

“The big picture inspiration was when I was laid off for the fourth time in my career. I want to have more control over my own destiny. When I started to look for ways to go into business for myself and asked myself “what do I enjoy doing?”, it was a joke to say assembling furniture.  But as I researched it I found that other metro areas with an IKEA actually did have similar businesses.” Cyndi Demick, Owner and President of Mamakea, Inc

“My husband and all the wonderful musicians I’ve encountered as a result of him. Indie musicians work so hard. They are writing, practicing, recording, hauling gear, planning, and also holding down full time jobs to pay the bills. I wanted to create something that would save them time, create more reliable revenue and ultimately make being a full-time musician a reality.” Katy Thomas, Founder of GiG{a}BiT Rocks           

“Life as a mother.” Ronke Faleti, Founder of Korede             

“I wanted to help friends and colleagues succeed in their respective businesses.” Lindsey Obermeyer, Founder of LBO Studio       

“I was looking for a company that does what Cotton Cuts does, but couldn’t find one so I started my own. I wanted to create jobs (instead of all the job cutting I’ve seen in corporate America) and partnered with a local sheltered workshop.” Kim Moos, Founder of Cotton Cuts                        

“Helping career professionals gain insight, knowledge, tools and skills to address their career concerns is something I really love and enjoy. It is energizing and fulfilling when a client realizes they can do something about their career concern and that they are not stuck. I tell my clients, “your career concern matters, let’s do something about it.” Helping others find meaning and purpose in what they do, is the inspiration behind my business. I love it!” Catherine Nkonge, Owner of Hazina Career Services      

Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend, which means we lose an extra hour of our day on Sunday. But what if we could all be given an extra hour in the day, every day? How would you spend the extra time?

We asked some busy Brazen Members what they would do with an extra hour of their day and do you know what the common thread to their responses was? None of their answers had anything to do with working yet another hour in the day! They all said the extra time would be put towards doing something for themselves or their families.

Maybe it’s a sign that we female entrepreneurs need to take some time for ourselves! Close those laptops, and turn off notifications. It’s time for you to relax and rejuvenate so you can wake up tomorrow ready to dominate the world.

Here’s what our members would do if gifted an extra hour each day:

“Read for pleasure.”
Cyndi Demick, Owner and President of Mamakea, Inc

“Prayer or quiet time in the morning before everyone else gets up in the morning. It would help me better prepare for my day.”
Susan Stewart, Owner of Perfectly Placed

“Read or spend time with family and friends.”
Katy Thomas, Founder of GiG{a}BiT Rocks

“Likely, sleep.”
Chrissy Fogerty, Owner and Designer of Fauxgerty

“Read Harry Potter to my kids.”
Kim Moos, Founder of Cotton Cuts

“Make art.”
Lindsey Obermeyer, Founder of LBO Studio

“Wrestle with my kids and my husband.”
Ronke Faleti, Founder of Korede

“Sleep.”
Mary Jo Gorman, Lead Managing Partner of Prosper Women Entrepreneurs Accelerator

“Yoga.”
Lindsay Austin, Founder and CEO of TapePlay

What would you do with an extra hour each day? Tweet us your answers @BrazenGlobal! 

We know that sometimes it might be hard to follow your own great advice, especially when you’re running a business and have a million other things to think about. And listening to the well-intended but misguided (or even clueless!) business advice from your great aunt, third cousin, or man behind you in the grocery store checkout line? Forget about it!

But what about taking the advice of other female entrepreneurs who are in your shoes? They’ve been there, done that, and have similar experiences with enough differences to provide a new perspective.

We’ve asked some female entrepreneurs for their best piece of business advice and compiled them here to share with you. Maybe you already follow some of these pieces of advice, maybe you’ve heard some of them before, or maybe some are brand new, but we think learning from a network of other women entrepreneurs is invaluable in growing your own business. Got some good business advice of your own? Send us a tweet with your favorites!

“Don’t under price yourself.  I used to tell other small business people this all of the time, but it is still very difficult to take my own advice.” Cyndi Demick, Owner and President of Mamakea, Inc.

“Take 25% of every sale and set it aside for taxes. I wish I had followed this advice. I would have saved myself a lot of pain.” Susan Stewart, Owner of Perfectly Placed.

“Be productive, but don’t forget to have fun.” Katy Thomas, Founder of GiG{a}BiT Rocks.             

“Don’t give up. So simple, but so necessary to remember.” Chrissy Fogerty, Owner and Designer at Fauxgerty.  

“Fake it until you make it.” Kim Moos, Founder of Cotton Cuts.  

“Believe in yourself. I have to remind myself of this one upon occasion.” Lindsey Obermeyer, Founder of LBO Studio.    

“JDI (Just do it!)” Ronke Faleti, Founder of Korede

“Hire for talent that is better than the business needs right now.” Mary Jo Gorman, Board Member and Interim CEO, TripleCare.

“Build yourself and your business model for longevity.” Lindsay Austin, Founder and CEO of TapePlay.  

As entrepreneurs, sometimes our days are too busy to read an entire news article. Or maybe our brain is just too full to dive deep into a certain topic. This is when we turn to Twitter, our handy guide for easily digestible bits of info from the sources we want to hear from the most.

We’ve made a list of some movers and shakers who are doing big, brave, amazing things and who we love to follow on Twitter: 

Kathryn Minshew @kmin
Founder, The Muse
Tweets about branding, personnel and company culture.

Laura Weidman Powers @laurawp
Co-Founder & CEO, Code2040
Tweets about economic inequity, the technology sector and social innovation.

Daniele Fong @DanielleFong
Cofounder & Chief Scientist, LightSail Energy
Tweets about science and the energy sector.

Kris Colvin @KrisColvin
Foudner, FreshID
Tweets about user interface, design and branding.

Jennifer Ehlen @jenniferehlen
Founder & CEO, Brazen Global
Tweets about investing, raising capital and business strategies for growth.

Sheila Lirio Marcelo @smarcelo
Founder, Care.com
Tweets about technology and women in businesses.

Jessica Mah @jessicamah
Co-Founder & CEO, InDinero.com
Tweets about product architecture, fundraising and growing her company.

Rashmi Sinha @rashmi
Founder, Slideshare
Tweets about ther experience building and selling her company, marketing and social media best practices.

Natalia Oberti Noguera @nakisnakis
Founder & CEP, Pipeline Angels
Tweets about raising capital, investing and non-binary entrepreneurs.

Aimee Dunne @aimeeinstl
Co-Founder & COO, Brazen Global
Tweets about gender parity and business strategies to grow.

Do you already follow any of these women? Tweet at us @BrazenGlobal and let us know who you love to follow!