Let me tell you a secret. Are you aware that female-owned
businesses make up around 35% (more than 1/3!) of small
businesses in America? Yup, and the number is growing! If you’re
a woman seriously considering setting up your own business,
don’t think you’re in the minority. Fact is, women in small
business are such a significant part of the local economy, they
account for more than $3.5 trillion in annual sales and 6% of total
employment in U.S. firms.
So forget about all you’ve heard regarding how hard it is for
women to establish business credit, gain the respect of peers and
become a force to be reckoned with in the business world.
Numbers don’t lie — successful female-owned businesses do
exist. What you need to do is start having faith in your
entrepreneurial idea, and begin the process of learning some
business smarts.
Why is setting up small business such an ideal thing for women
nowadays? Consider the following reasons:
Work-life Balance. Managing a small business affords women
some well-deserved family and "me" time. Many women today
still subscribe to traditional family roles: in charge of taking care
of children and making sure the family lives in a comfortable
home. Choosing to run one’s own company means flexible work
arrangements. Life is short; why should we miss the important
milestones of our kids’ life when we don’t have to? Why should
we not have time to engage in our personal hobbies and
interests?
The Glass Ceiling. Some companies just don’t offer
much career advancement opportunities for women. Though it
may no longer have anything to do with gender; today’s
economy is so shaky, there may not be enough career
advancement opportunities for anyone. There’s a preference to
hire fresh graduates to save on pay, or outsource business
processes to get tasks done cheaper. There was a time when
company loyalty meant you can reap the fruits of your labor by
age 40. Now, there’s no security. Even within large and
established organizations, lay-off is a possibility. Better work for
yourself and know what you’re getting into, than invest almost
half of your life for something uncertain.
Opportunities are everywhere. If there’s ever a time to
get into small business, it’s now! Our economic climate is ripe for
the entry of small businesses, and much opportunity is there for
the taking. The internet, for example, has made setting up a
business as simple as signing up for an eBay account or installing
a shopping cart on the company website. Social networking has
expanded markets to virtually the entire world. And with
outsourcing and telecommuting such a trend, there is room for
home-based professionals and independent contractors in large
corporations — without having to pledge one’s 8-to-5.
Great ideas. And lastly, women and small businesses
are such a compatible team-up, because women have so many
great ideas just begging to be transformed into money-making
endeavors! In fact, most women who have left top corporations to
start their own business say that it’s an idea that they can’t shake
that pushed them on. We all want to be authentic to what we
went, instead of a slave to our employers’ whims and fancy.
Starting a female-owned small business is a good way to
jump start the process of living true to who we’re meant to be.
