Happy International Women’s Day. Weirdly started by the Socialist Party of America in 1911 (!) and then adopted by the UN in 1977, this is a day to celebrate and recognize women all over the world. In doing my part of the said celebration, I wanted to look up how we’re actually doing as women entrepreneurs. Here is the state of the nation and some advice for all us women bosses who own their own businesses.
2022
4 out of every 10 business is owned by a woman. Together we generate $1.8 Trillion a year with our businesses (US data). The pandemic was an interesting time for us in that while more women started businesses in 2020, our businesses were also disproportionately affected. Women-centric industries like hospitality, retail and beauty all suffered more. In addition to this, what challenges do we still face today?
Funding
This one is a bleeding sore for all humanity. Crunchbase numbers show that only 2.3% of all venture capital goes to women. That’s probably why only 2% of women owned businesses make over the $1MM mark. There are 3.5x more men who make the same revenue. However, there are a few solutions to the lack of funding conundrum for women. Grants and Crowdfunding. Grants can be government given or privately funded. Crowdfunding such as GoFundme, Kickstarter or Indiegogo could serve as pilots for market success as well as effective marketing to get the word out while raising much needed money.
Perceptions
According to research, women who are direct communicators can still be perceived by both men and women as being aggressive or unnerving. The workarounds for this are focusing on communication styles, mindset, beliefs and self-talk. Especially when we own our own businesses, we can focus on attracting people like us without worrying about climbing the corporate ladder. At least it’s been that way for me!
Work-Life Balance
18% of the workforce are stay-at-home parents with the majority of this bulk being represented by women. So how does it work when you actually have a business as well? It’s a delicate balancing act to say the least! The solution to spending more time with your kids rather than with your business is to first have a strategically sound plan of who to target for new business and what to say to get sales from them. This will cut down on the guessing games of how to do your sales and marketing. The other trick is to increase your prices. You’ll work less hours, I can guarantee it.
Lack of Advisor
According to an article in Forbes, 48% women entrepreneurs have no advisor. When I think of the biggest shifts in my personal and professional life, it’s been through coaching. The advice around getting an advisor is 1. to figure out what specifically you need to shore up with a coach and 2. to go out and beg, borrow or steal to hire the best one in their field. Hint, they will probably be charging 3x, 4x times their peers and you want the results that person can bring you.
So celebrate being a woman business owner by taking care of business and yourself with these tips and each year, the stats will start to skew our way!
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