Women Entrepreneurs Are Better Because
Melinda Emerson, MBA
America's #1 Small Business Expert | Keynote Speaker | Business Coach | LinkedIn Top Voice | Author
Women entrepreneurs are still underrated today. Plus, they face many challenges than their male counterparts like lack of funding and lack of a support system.
Despite these barriers, women entrepreneurs are making huge contributions. In the US alone, women-owned businesses generate $1.8 trillion per year. That’s HUGE right?
Let me tell you the reasons why entrepreneurship comes naturally to us, as women, and why we are even better.
5 Reasons Why Women Are Better Entrepreneurs
#1 As women, we already play multiple roles in a day.
Small business owners on average perform 10-13 jobs all at one time, including chief sales officer, market researcher, bill collector and secretary. Moms do too. In fact, 82% of all women business owners are mothers, so managing details from work to home is a skill most women do as a reflex. In the early stages of a business, it’s all about the juggle, and women are better equipped to handle the stress and responsibility of running a small business.
#2 We are better delegators.
We understand that we can’t do everything, even if many of us believe that no one can do it better than us. We put support systems in place to get the job done. Whether it’s a team of virtual assistants to follow up on sales leads, chase down opportunities or keep our social media networks working or a college student or nanny so that our children will have someone looking after their safety, we make sure that a full team is in place so the trains run on time. While our team has our back, we can be present wherever we are, so that everyone we connect with knows we care.
#3 We are willing to ask for help.
We don’t just ask for help with driving directions, we are willing to ask others (especially other women) for advice and mentorship in our businesses. As women, we are willing to admit that we do not know everything and can show enough vulnerability to get what we need for our businesses. We are also willing to take advice. Being coachable is our secret weapon.
#4 We are better equipped to make big decisions.
We think about the long-term impact of our business decisions on our families, customers, vendors, and employees – we’re not just about the short term gain. We also use our intuition as an additional tool when dealing with customers. If it feels like a client is going to use double the project management budget with a bunch of hand-holding nonsense, we might have an upfront hunch and hopefully, the sense to double the budget – or walk away from the contract.
#5 We are better communicators.
As women, we believe in talking through opportunities, problems, and conflicts. We work better at consulting with others on critical decisions, especially if we think we need more information. We are not afraid to get face to face with a difficult customer to work through any challenges and we are also naturally friendlier and less likely to intimidate sales targets or our employees.
For more great tips to run your small business, visit the Succeed As Your Own Boss blog and check out the #SmallBizChat Podcast.