Even with all the social progress that has been made in recent decades, women still receive a raw deal in the world of business. Women still statistically earn less than 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes for the same position, and they only net 7 percent of venture capital funding despite data showing that companies with at least one female founder outperform those without. Still, there are women across the globe that are making their way into sectors previously thought to be “men’s worlds”. More and more women strike out to form their own entrepreneurships every year, with 1,200 female-fronted businesses launching per day and generation trillions in revenue. How do these women find and maintain success? What obstacles did they have to face, and how did they overcome them?
A common problem that female entrepreneurs run into when starting out is that they feel like they need to adopt a stereotypical “male” attitude. They will act competitive, aggressive, and occasionally harsher than they intend in order to protect themselves in a world dominated by men. This is not the correct approach! Be yourself and don’t feel the need to conform into someone else’s idea of what a leader should be like.
Female-fronted startups will generally attract less investors, as well. If you have ever looked for investors for your own business, you know how hard it can be to come up with a pitch; it’s doubly hard for women. There are two ways to help with this process: number one, recognize that investors like to give money to people from their own circles, so look for people who graduated from the same school, grew up in the same town, and especially other women. Number two, you absolutely need to put together a great business plan to back up your company. If you can show that your company is going to increase in value, you’re that much closer to securing investments.
Go to networking events whenever possible. Mingle with industry leaders and like-minded people to make the most of your time. Make sure that you go into these events with a game plan, such as how many people you want to connect with, what questions you want to ask, and so on. Don’t be afraid to go to a women-only event from time-to-time, as well. Also be sure to create a compelling social media profile. This can help solidify awareness and interest in you and your business.
Our last piece of advice, and this goes out to every entrepreneur and business owner out there, is to be the best at what you do. It can and will be challenging for any woman to succeed in starting her own business, but if there are twelve hundred of them doing it every single day than there is no reason why you can’t be just as successful. Don’t be afraid to be the only woman doing what you’re doing and don’t be afraid of failure. Yes, failure is always a very real possibility in business, but don’t view it as a negative: every “yes” you get will make you a little more prosperous. Work through those moments of self-doubt that every business owner faces, then stand up, brush yourself off, and get back to doing what you do best!
Do you have any specific challenges that you faced when starting up your own business?
