Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
On October 25, 1988, President Reagan signed the Women’s Business Ownership Act into law. The purpose of the act was to recognize the importance of female entrepreneurship in the economy and to aid in the success of female entrepreneurs.
Not only did it emphasize how women could positively change the business landscape, but for the first time in history, women were allowed to apply for business loans in their own name—without the requirement of a male co-signer.
Prior to this time, the predominance of male-led businesses created a very unwelcoming environment for female entrepreneurs. However, this monumental act began to change that landscape.
Fast-forward more than 30 years and the number of female entrepreneurs in this country is rapidly growing—with 42 percent (about 13 million) of all U.S. businesses owned by women, according to the Small Business Administration.
So why is female entrepreneurship so important in today’s business world? Read on …
Female Entrepreneurship & Building a Small Business
For women, there is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic created a unique situation. Not only were many women laid off, but they also began searching for flexible child/elder care options and started to look for ways to contribute to their family finances.
As a result, women began to take a closer look at their professional and personal lives, which led many to choose the entrepreneurial path—defined as the process of initiating ventures led by one or more women—in addition to leadership initiatives in which females hold high professional positions, such as management and leadership roles.
In fact, there are numerous reasons to pursue entrepreneurship. Some of these justifications include the following:
- Readiness to be your own boss
- Dissatisfaction with corporate culture and values
- Interest in pursuing a passion or hobby
- Urge to build generational wealth
- Desire to have more control over your work schedule and finances
- Yearning to feel inspired and motivated in your career
- Interest in building your own team
- Need to be brave and take risks
- Longing to create a positive impact
- Desire to reduce the prevalence of gender inequality and increase equal opportunity across all genders
- Wish to diversify the entrepreneurial landscape
Advice for Women Trying to Succeed in the Business World
While many women are interested in entrepreneurship, some wonder how to break into the small business world. Below, we share sage advice from several successful female entrepreneurs:
Always support other women: “Other female entrepreneurs are not your competition,” explains Maria Jones, founder of The Third Millennium Woman, a global online community built for and made up of ambitious women. “A success for one woman is a success for women everywhere because it means strides are being made towards equality in the industry.” Adds Baby Shark Networks’ CEO and founder Shomaila Niaz: “It is crucial to support other female entrepreneurs. You never know what kind of connection they’ll become. They could be a future business partner, a vendor, or even an investor.”
Failure should never be feared: It is important to take risks and move outside of your comfort zone. “Often, women are more affected by failure and let it affect their confidence,” explains Kavita Sahai, CEO and cofounder of 21 Drops, a wellness company that strives to remove the guesswork out of essential oils by creating unique blends to address common ailments, such as stress, sleep issues, congestion, and pain. “But don’t let it. Failure is an inevitable part of success, from which we learn. Remember the great advice from George Burns: ‘I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.’”
Do not overlook the importance of feedback and research: Validate your business through feedback and competitive research. Because understanding exactly what customers want is vital to success, spend time researching competitors’ websites, as well as reading positive and negative reviews, and articles about competitors. “This in-depth analysis will help you determine your competition’s strengths and weaknesses,” explains Sahai. “Once you find their weaknesses, you should ensure your product or service fills that gap for customers.”
According to Sahai, crowd funding is a great way to validate your product idea. “Even though there are several crowd funding sites, iFundWomen is a great platform for women-led startups and small businesses, which offers free crowdfunding coaching.”
The mission of iFundWomen is to close the funding gap for female-owned businesses. In addition, the site provides immediate access to capital through a premium online fundraising experience, access to small business grants from corporate partners, expert business coaching, and a network of female business owners.
Consider joining women’s entrepreneur groups: It is important to recognize the power of peer groups. Explains Karen Leonard, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Strategist of Innovative Global Vision, a website design and digital marketing company:“These groups have given me friendship, mentors, peers, and provided the sometimes not-so-easy-to-take reality checks and the understanding that sometimes an outside perspective can remove the blinders that come from being too close to a situation or issue.”
According to Leonard, you don’t have to go it alone. Try to seek out companionship from others who are going through similar situations and can provide advice when you need it most because entrepreneurship can feel lonely at times.
Becoming a female entrepreneur in today’s business world is clearly becoming more common. While there are definitely difficult days and challenging situations to navigate along the way, having passion, tenacity, creativity, and grit are the ways to find success and achieve your dreams.
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