Women owned companies only account for 39% of all privately held firms. The world of business is not always a welcoming place for female entrepreneurs. While the ranks of women entrepreneurs are actively growing, there is still much room for improvement. All entrepreneurs face challenges, and entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. However, women entrepreneurs face some challenges that their male counterparts simply do not. Here are a few of those challenges, along with some recommendations for how they can be addressed.
1. Societal Pressure to Act in a Certain Way
Female entrepreneurs may face pressure from friends, clients, and other business associates to conduct business in a traditionally feminine way. Many times, when a woman starts a business it is viewed as a hobby rather than an enterprising opportunity. We may also be for pursuing our goals outside of home life and not giving our undivided attention to raising our children. When women give into this subtle societal pressure, this type of thinking can lead to us selling ourselves short in the business world.
What is the solution?
Women entrepreneurs must rise to the challenge by assuming their rightful place at the forefront of the business world. Instead of playing into traditional gender roles, reject them. The unique challenges that we have to overcome as women are what make so many female entrepreneurs unstoppable. Defying social expectations is an important ingredient in cultivating long lasting change in how women entrepreneurs are perceived.
2. Tendency to Avoid Taking Risks
Entrepreneurs must embrace risk in order to succeed and stay in the game. Embracing risk means you are willing to put something of value on the line in order to reach your goals, whether it is your time, money or your reputation if you were to fail. As women, we tend to avoid risk and play it safe as we like to be fully in control.
Make peace with the fact that starting any new business involves some factors that you simply cannot completely control. Just as a ship is not made to just sit in the harbor; you will need to venture beyond your comfort zone to expand as an entrepreneur. When you weigh the risks against potential rewards, you will see that risks to forward your dreams pay off in the end.
3. Strong Desire for Work-Life Balance
A good work-life balance is the goal of most entrepreneurs. We have dual responsibilities to our businesses and to our families; finding ways to devote time to both is key to truly achieving that balance. However, for women entrepreneurs, sometimes this is a much more elusive achievement. Women usually find themselves handling the bulk of household chores, childcare, and care of aging parents, in addition to the running their business and do it all with grace. In such an environment work like balance is incredibly difficult to achieve.
One strategy that women entrepreneurs can employ is the art of delegation. You do not have to do it all. Find a family member who is able to take the kids for the evening. Hire a virtual assistant to take on some of the routine tasks that you really don’t need to personally do. Learning how to delegate tasks in your business as well as in your personal life can help you achieve a better work-life balance.
