Tennis champion and Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams has some advice for the more than 30 million small business owners and entrepreneurs across the U.S. struggling to find their footing in the new normal: Don’t let fear take over. It’s a lesson she learned at the age of 19 while competing with sister Serena, then 17, at the 1999 U.S. Open. Williams only made it to the semi-finals—her sister went on to win the tournament.



“I let fear take over, and that&#8217;s where I should have just let go and would have been my best,” she says. “You want more, and you work very hard for more, so less than that is just&nbsp;not&nbsp;acceptable. That was my biggest loss.”&nbsp;



Speaking to&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;ahead of the American Express “<a href="https://about.americanexpress.com/all-news/news-details/2020/American-Express-to-Host-Ninth-Annual-Business-Class-LIVE-Summit-for-Success-for-Small-Businesses/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Business Class Live: Summit for Success</a>” on October 20, Williams drew parallels between her experience playing tennis and running various businesses during the pandemic. “Even though it’s a very challenging time it’s an opportunity to really refine your business and make it something that is a service or a product that is really needed and not just wanted,” says Williams, the founder of full-service commercial and residential design firm V Starr and activewear brand EleVen by Venus Williams. “This year showed all of us that we need to be a product or service that you can’t say no to.”



All entrepreneurs can benefit from that guidance right now. As of August 31, more than 163,000 businesses have closed as a result of the pandemic, according to Yelp’s September&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yelpeconomicaverage.com/business-closures-update-sep-2020" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Local Economic Impact report</a>. This represents a 23% increase from July 10. Even more alarming: 60% of closed businesses have permanently shuttered due to Covid-19 and the resulting restrictions in many states. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yelpeconomicaverage.com/yea-q3-2020.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Q3 Yelp Economic Average Report</a>&nbsp;released on October 22, however, points to a hopeful rebound: More than 210,000 businesses have now reopened amid a significant increase in consumer interest for outdoor related services and activities.&nbsp;



For those businesses that have managed to stay afloat, the path forward will require the will to adapt in an ever-changing environment. In fact, about 76% of small and medium-sized businesses have had to pivot their business models to maintain revenue, according to the latest Business Resilience Survey of 1,000 business owners by American Express. Of those surveyed, 73% expect to pivot again in the next year. More than 80% still believe the benefits of owning their own businesses outweigh the challenges.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“It’s okay to be afraid, but it’s not okay to let it ruin your decision-making process. There’s always a reason to be afraid. But should you let that take over? Hell, no.” </blockquote>



When it comes to overcoming obstacles, small business owners can’t afford to doubt themselves. Williams learned this, and the importance of mental preparation, long ago. “It’s okay to be afraid, but it’s not okay to let it ruin your decision-making process,” she says. “There’s always a reason to be afraid. But should you let that take over?,” she says. “Hell, no.”&nbsp;



The hard-earned lessons from the court have translated to the boardroom as she’s set out to become a multi-venture entrepreneur. Inspired by her father, who ran his own security company, and her mother, who encouraged her creativity as a child, Williams found her second calling in fashion and interior design. In 2002, she founded V Starr, which recently collaborated with Airbnb partner Niido to design its first-ever apartment complex. In 2009, Williams and her sister became the first African American women to buy&nbsp;<a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=4422313" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a stake in a NFL franchise</a>&nbsp;when they joined the ownership group of the Miami Dolphins. Three years later, she launched EleVen by Venus Williams and earned her associate degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Earlier this year, she partnered with Credo Beauty to launch a line of clean, mineral-based SPF products for EleVen by Venus.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Williams says running her businesses in the current environment has been one of the greatest challenges she’s ever faced, but she still appreciates the silver linings. “The world of business is really lending a hand to African Americans and women and minorities during this time. And that has also been unprecedented—so opportunity comes out of this really crazy hardship as well. You have to look at that as a challenge—you need to accept it and run with it. There’s no time to waste.”  



-By Maneet Ahuja,Forbes Staff

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Venus Williams’ Advice For Entrepreneurs: Don’t Let Fear Take Over—Just Push Through It

Venus Williams made her debut at Wimbledon in 1997. That same year, Wang Qiang, Noami Osaka and Jeļena Ostapenko were born. In 2017, Williams beat all three of them on the way to reaching her ninth Wimbledon final.
At 37, she’s the oldest player in the top 300 in the world and has been on the professional circuit for two decades. In that time, she has won seven Grand Slams and millions of hearts, has battled poverty, racism, sexism and her sister, Serena, who has collected more than three times the number of major trophies.
Imagine being as good as Venus Williams and not even being the best tennis player in your family. But she has filled her supporting role with grace and as her career winds down, she is being acknowledged as one of the greats of all time.
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Though the magic of the Williams sisters starts from their childhood, when their father Richard oversaw rigorous training sessions and insisted on top marks at school as well, Venus’ story is really about the second-half of her career.
In 2006, she suffered a wrist injury which plagued her for months and kept her out of competition. As a result, she slipped down the rankings to No.46, her lowest since being on the scene. After coming back in 2007, winning Wimbledon in 2008 and working her way back to No.2 on the rankings, she suffered a much more serious setback. In 2011, Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren&#8217;s Syndrome, an autoimmune condition that should sap her of the energy required to play elite sport. That year was the first time she failed to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam.
Her career appeared over, her flame extinguished.
By that stage, Serena was the headline act. She was the more successful sister, the stronger of the two and the more sassy in interviews. The leg-up her big sister provided – Venus was the runner-up in seven of Serena’s Grand Slam wins – was acknowledged as a novelty and Venus’ status as a role-model spoken of only as a sidebar to Serena’s. The truth is that as a pair, they provided young women and especially young black women with strikingly contrasting icons in a sport where they are under-represented.
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Tennis remains an elite and mostly white sport. While Serena showed how a power-house personality could force itself through that, Venus wove her way in with determination. Her resolve to play on despite a disease that causes muscle and joint pain provides a different kind of inspiration and she admitted it has not been easy.
“It has been a challenge, and a challenge to myself, and really just knowing that I can’t be defeated by anything,” she said on CNN’s Open Court in March 2014.
That year, Venus won the Dubai Tennis Championships to claim her first cup since 2010 and begin her resurgence. In 2015, she progressed to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and reached the fourth and quarter-final rounds of Wimbledon and the US Open respectively, but lost to Serena both times. In 2016, she reached the semi-final at Wimbledon, and in 2017, the final. And that too after enduring the angst of a fatality in a car-crash which preceded the tournament.
In early June, Venus was driving in Palm Beach when she was hit by another vehicle. The passenger in the other vehicle died two weeks later and there was an investigation into the incident which eventually cleared her of any wrongdoing. She broke down in tears in a pre-match press conference when quizzed about the effect the accident had on her mental state. Whatever it was, it did not stop her from reaching the Wimbledon final or looking beyond that.
Despite her age, Venus insists retirement is not on her mind just yet. There are still more barriers to break through.
As recently as January this year, a commentator at the Australian Open made a racist comment about Venus. ESPN’s Doug Adler said Venus had “put the gorilla effect on” her opponent Stefanie Voegele. The comparison drew widespread criticism but that does not mean the sisters will be free of the challenges that have dominated their time in the public eye.
Even some of their own peers are guilty. Pre-Wimbledon, John McEnroe, said in an interview on NPR to promote his memoir that Serena, the holder of the 23 Grand Slam titles, would likely rank 700 in the world if she played on the men&#8217;s circuit.
Serena, who has taken the rest of the year off while she has her first child, issued a curt response on Twitter in which she asked McEnroe to respect her privacy during her pregnancy.
The Williams’ baby will not be able to escape the spotlight forever though, especially not with a mother and aunt as famous as Serena and Venus. And while Serena will remain the superstar, Venus has shone every bit as bright. &#8211; Written by Firdose Moonda

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Venus Williams’ Advice For Entrepreneurs: Don’t Let Fear Take Over—Just Push Through It

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