People who are successful in business tend to be charming, dynamic and just plain interesting to be around. Dating successful women can be immensely rewarding – but it can also be something of a challenge, if you’re not the entirely secure and confident about your own strengths. If you’re up to the task, however, attracting a woman who owns her own business could bring you a great deal of happiness. So how do you do it?

1. Be a success in your own right. You don’t have to own a business or have a lot of money, but you’ll need to be secure in your career. It helps if you’re doing what you enjoy, no matter what that is. Most women entrepreneurs started their own businesses after years of dissatisfaction working for other people. That means she’s probably not going to have a lot of patience if you complain all the time about how much you hate your job – after all, she’s been there herself, and she actually did something about it.

2. Don’t let her push you around. Most successful women get where they are by developing a take-charge attitude. They have to be tough, because so many people in the business world simply don’t respect women who they perceive as being “soft.” They probably have employees to whom they have to delegate all day long. That attitude can carry over into their personal life, and an entrepreneurial women can unwittingly find herself being somewhat demanding, and expecting others to do everything the way she wants. And it may be tempting to I’ve in and let her have her way all the time, but you’ll soon regret that – because she won’t respect you. Strong women want equally strong partners, so show her that you have a spine and stand up for yourself!

3. Be prepared for fireworks. The problem with not letting her push you around is that she may react badly to the loss of control – this is, of course, a big part of why she’s successful. According to relationship experts, it’s not uncommon for a strong, successful woman to feel a strong sense of fear when she realizes that she’s not in complete control of the relationship, and will try every tool in her arsenal to regain control. This is natural, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. If you want to have a long term relationship with this woman, you have to let her know in no uncertain terms that bullying, ultimatums and threats aren’t going to work on you. Negotiate and compromise, certainly, but stand your ground no matter how insistent she may be.

4. Make her feel safe and protected. As tough as she needs to be in the business world, she still wants someone to snuggle with. Allow her to be vulnerable when she’s with you, and never assume that just because she’s made a success of her life that she doesn’t get scared and worried just like everyone else. She may even feel more scared than you realize, because she has a lot riding on her shoulders – even the most successful people feel anxiety about failing. Be there for her when she needs a shoulder, and she’ll treasure you all the more for allowing her to let her guard down.

5. Treat her, in all ways, like a beautiful woman. Her business may be a riding stable, a landscaping business or a plumbing operation, but that doesn’t mean that when she washes off the grime at the end of the day she doesn’t want to feel pretty. Even women who are successes in areas where good grooming in essential spend their days using their intellect to get ahead, handling everything from accounting to employee relations. By all means, tell her how much you admire her accomplishments in business, but also tell her how much your love her hair, her eyes and the scent of her perfume. Make her feel treasured, and the entrepreneurial woman will want to make you her second career.