Are you a woman-owned company? Do you find it difficult to break the barriers of women's entrepreneurship to become successful? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you may find this article helpful. In this article, I am going to discuss the challenges of being an entrepreneur and provide suggestions for women entrepreneurs on how women can break the barriers of entrepreneurship and become successful.
Lets start with some general statistics about entrepreneurs. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Employment Projection Program projects that the number of self-employed workers will grow by 3.6 percent between 2012 and 2022; this is much slower than the average for all occupations.
The male population still dominates entrepreneurship. However, more and more women are becoming Entrepreneurs and are successful at it. But many of the women feel to compensate, they feel they must adopt a male attitude when it comes to business. They feel that they must be aggressive and competitive, sometimes even excessively harsh. However, Hilary Genga, founder and CEO of womens swimwear company Trunkettes, says, Many times with female owners, men think they can be dishonest or give her a bad deal because shes a womansomething they probably wouldnt try with another man. However, Genga says this is the wrong approach to take. Be yourself, and have confidence in who you are, she advised. Dont try to be a man. You made it to where you are through hard work and perseverance, but most importantly, youre there. Dont conform yourself to a mans idea of a leader's appearance. Says Genga.
One of the main challenges for female entrepreneurs is that there arent enough of us, and we are not supporting one another. As a woman, I feel that the only way we will break the barriers is to encourage and be there for one another. Lets face the facts; for instance, say your fellow woman was in a bad relationship, and you would be trying to advise her on how to end it or make it through it. So, treat women's entrepreneurship like you would any other relationship. Be supportive and advise on how she could do better or succeed in what she is doing. Women are nurturers, not aggressors. That is how we were born. Be proud of that. That does not mean that you cannot be successful. It just means that we have a different approach to becoming successful. Im not saying let the male entrepreneur run over us. I am just saying to be more supportive of your fellow entrepreneur. Be there to listen, encourage her, or even give appropriate advice. Be a woman, not a pretender.
The main challenge for women entrepreneurs is the fear of failure. Again, that is why we should encourage and support each other rather than tearing her down and taking away her confidence. Babson Colleges 2012 Global Entrepreneur Monitor states, The Fear of Failure is the top concern of women who launch start-ups.
Again, I say believe in what you do, educate yourself on the kind of industry that you want to start in, see from statisticswhat works and what doesnt workand then build on that. Dont be afraid to ask for advice; there are many mentoring agencies for women in business. Be confident in yourself. There will always be a NO with anything you do, but with hard work, ambition, and determination, you will find that YES will make it all worth your while. Nothing good happens overnight. Most of all, I say, Dont try to be something or someone you are not; just be yourself and take the bad and turn it into something GREAT!
