The Top 5 Issues Facing Female Entrepreneurs

What if you had only one chance to seize an opportunity that could change your life forever?

Turn YOUR business into a

SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISE IN 3 DAYS!

Most people want success, fulfilment, financial freedom with excitement. But the issue is, what is the easiest, quickest and, probably, the best way of achieving this?

A Labour Force survey in 2006 found that 8.4% of the female workforce in London is self-employed. It also found that 81% of self-employed people surveyed are happy with their choice loving a single mom quotes.

A white paper titled 'The Observed Characteristics of Outstanding Women in Business' (2006) found that while businesses run by women contribute £70bn to the UK economy and employ more than a million, there would be 750,000 more female-led start-ups if rates matched those in the US.
For a growing number of women nowadays starting and running their own enterprise is deemed to be the best way of achieving success, fulfilment, etc. The days of a job for life are long gone and even with the flexible hours which some employers are offering now it doesn't still match the substantial benefits which can be gained from running your own business. Let's look at some of these benefits:

You can be in control of your destiny without worrying about being made redundant. As a business owner you can gradually evolve your business to be successful at your own pace, to suit your personal or family needs, or your lifestyle.
As you are creating and deciding on your products or services and your own income you can run a business life your way that feels refreshing and invigorating.
The level of commitment and growth of your business is determined by you as you make the calls, set appointments, etc. For instance, if you have a baby to nurse or you work part-time, you can evolve your business to suit your circumstance.
You are constantly learning new things and new ways to improve yourself. This keeps your mind active and youthful.
Imagine how you will feel when your friends excitedly let you know they've heard someone praising your product and your local community paper recognises you for been a role model!
Many business women started from the kitchen table and their business evolved numerous times, and some have become well-loved brands passionately supported by customers worldwide.
What has Psychology got to do with business?

As you can see, most of these benefits fall under the highest of human needs of self-actualisation and esteem. According to Abraham Maslow's Theory of Human Motivation, self-actualisation, creativity, self-esteem, respect by others, confidence and achievement are all at the top of the pyramid and are what everyone strives towards. A famous quote from Abraham Maslow 'What a man can be He must be'. This, in other words is stating that a person's ultimate need is for self-actualisation, always striving to reach one's full potential.

However, once women take on the challenge of starting an enterprise as a route to self-actualisation there are a number of stumbling blocks along the way which tend to either discourage or completely destroy the dream of success and self-fulfilment.

These blocks can be linked directly back to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs in that if the lower levels of the hierarchy are not met and mastered it will lead to helplessness, depression, weakness, demotivation and stress. These lower level needs are:

Security - finance, safety, personal health and well-being
Physiological - air, water, food, clothing, environment
Love and belonging - friendship, emotional support, intimacy and belonging
As a Female Entrepreneur, some of the blocks are self-inflicted whilst others are environmental and can't be avoided or can they? How do you cope with self-doubt, loneliness, absence of income in the early stages of your venture, family life balance, being ripped off in business, having to learn new skills or buy them in?

All these are critical to the success of female owned businesses. As such, I have compiled what I have found from research and experience to be the top 5 issues facing female entrepreneurs;

Not having a good and strong enough idea and prototype: most women have wonderful ideas for business but they tend to revolve around their lifestyle and whilst it can sometimes be enough to cover their household bills and a bit extra, they are not really scalable business ideas that would earn them the financial freedom they actually desire.

Lack of access to funding and finance: studies have shown that entrepreneurs and start ups in general (and women are a subset of this) find it particularly hard to raise finance for their ventures. Women have the extra disadvantage in that their ventures tend to be more micro of un-scalable nature, hence, most financial institutions find them un-investable. Obviously without a financial backing there is a lack of financial security and the business is, therefore, unable to grow appreciably.

Lack of promotional skills: women, more than men, tend to undersell themselves and this comes through in business. When promoting their businesses they do not engage their customers adequately by highlighting all their qualities and value propositions. Hence, there is a missing link between their businesses and their customers. The use of online social media and digital marketing has changed this significantly as it is impersonal and a non-judgemental way of getting business.

Balancing work and family life: women have the extra challenge of balancing their business efforts with the family requirements. Even in today's society where men play an active role in the home, it is still primarily the role of the woman to ensure the children are catered for as well as older dependent relatives. This leaves women with little time and energy to devote to their businesses. Traditional financial institutions and the wider business community still have the assumption that businesses run by women are more likely to be interrupted at anytime due to family issues including childbirth, sick family member, divorce, etc.

Building business relationships: women are fantastic at building relationships! However, most of these are not necessarily the appropriate 'power' relationships that will propel their businesses forward. They tend to network with friends and peers on the same level or experience. In addition, whilst networking they do not use it as an opportunity to sell themselves and their business. Men are great at getting to the point and letting you know what they can offer and what they want from you. Women need to learn from this. If you are to grow your business you need to move outside your comfort zone and network with people on higher levels in the power houses that can elevate you to where you want to be. This doesn't mean neglecting your existing network but simply investing quality time in the higher networks.