“While the number of women-owned firms is increasing faster than the national average, we see time and time again that women remain less likely to grow their firms to scale. Just 2% of women-owned firms have passed the million-dollar revenue threshold, compared to 6% of men-owned firms – and this gender gap is seen in every industry,” said Julie Weeks, President of Womenable, a consultancy focused on enabling women’s entrepreneurship.

Many women struggle with issues related to confidence that  impede their ability to scale their businesses past that million-dollar ceiling. Becky Blalock shares her own experience of rising to the very top of the male-dominated information technology industry and the experiences of others who also broke through in her book, DARE: Straight Talk on Confidence, Courage, and Career for Women in Charge.

Like other skills, confidence can be learned. Based on Blalock’s book, here are 10 skills that women entrepreneurs need in order to dare to grow their businesses big.