The Realities of Being a Woman Entrepreneur
Being an entrepreneur can be endlessly rewarding. You get to pursue something you’re truly passionate about and share it with the world. You have the chance to excel in a field you love, and with time and effort, you can make a comfortable living along the way. But especially for women entrepreneurs, the road to success isn’t always easy.
Entrepreneurs face struggles no matter who they are. But for women in particular, building a business from the ground up and keeping it successful can be challenging. Here, we’ll discuss a few of the hardest-hitting realities that women entrepreneurs have to face and how you can handle them with confidence.
Social Expectations
It’s no secret that most entrepreneurs are men. In the United States, only 27% of small business owners are women. When you walk into a networking event, there’s a good chance you’ll be one of the only women there, if not the only one.
Men are often seen as successful business owners when they’re aggressive and competitive, but women can be criticized for possessing these same traits. On that same note, when a woman is more soft-spoken and reserved, she is often seen as incapable of being an effective leader. We know that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Regardless of what others may think about you or your ability to run your business, only you know how truly capable you are. Remain confident in your skills and your passion for your craft, and you’ll find that your supporters will appreciate your authentic self.
Access to Funding
Many entrepreneurs don’t have all the capital they need to begin their businesses without some sort of outside help. New business owners will often borrow money from family or friends, try to secure a loan from the bank, or attempt a crowdfunding campaign.
Venture capital funding can also be helpful, but for women, it can be particularly hard to secure. In fact, the Harvard Business Review reported that women-led startups received a measly 2.3% of all the venture capital funding given in 2020.
There are many reasons why women can have trouble securing funding. For instance, investors often support projects that are run by their peers or those in their existing networks – and since the entrepreneurial world is dominated by men, men are more likely to receive VC funding than women. Just 12% of decision-makers at venture capital firms are women, and many firms don’t have any female partners.
To secure funding, you need more than just a great idea. You’ll have to persevere through rejection and take the time to research all the funding opportunities you can find. Research women-led VC firms or small business grants specifically aimed at helping women-led businesses.
Being Taken Seriously
Many women feel they aren’t taken seriously by men, whether in the workplace or in the world in general. Mary Ann Sieghart, author of The Authority Gap, explains why this discrepancy might be:
“The authority gap is a measure of how much more seriously we take men than we take women. We tend to assume that a man knows what he’s talking about until he proves otherwise. Whereas for women it’s all too often, the other way round, and as a result, women tend to be underestimated more. They tend to be interrupted, talked over more. They have to prove their competence more and we often feel uncomfortable when they’re in positions of authority.”
Unfortunately, this attitude has become so ingrained in our society that women can underestimate other women in positions of power if they’re not careful. It’s hard to break the habit of defaulting to listening to men, but it’s an important habit to get rid of. In order for women to be taken seriously by men, we have to take each other seriously first.
But we can go further than simply eliminating the bias. We can work to actively champion women entrepreneurs. Challenge the gender stereotypes you see or hear playing out in the workplace, and encourage the men in your circles to do the same.
Balancing Business and Family
Women have long been expected to be the backbone of the family, going back to the traditional image of the 1950s housewife staying home all day while her husband brings home the bacon. Thankfully, times have changed, and women around the world can now pursue their educations and careers.
But we haven’t escaped this stereotype yet, either. Even when a woman is successful in her career, she’s often still expected to be the “default parent,” regardless of her partner’s responsibilities. It’s true that striking the balance between family and business can be difficult, but to be a successful entrepreneur, the balance is necessary.
Working for yourself does allow a greater level of freedom than a traditional 9-to-5, so use that flexibility to your advantage. Set aside non-negotiable periods for work and family to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Plus, when you show your employees that both family and work are important to you, they’ll feel comfortable working toward that same balance.
Building a Network
We’ve already established that men dominate the business world. That makes it incredibly hard for women entrepreneurs to find and build the support system they need. In fact, nearly half of women entrepreneurs say they’ve seen a lack of available mentors and advisors.
Finding your “tribe” isn’t always easy, but it’s critical to your success, both as a business owner and as a human. Without a support network, it’s easier to become discouraged and frustrated with your circumstances, which could lead you to give up your pursuits altogether.
Start by finding women-focused networking events and groups with members who can relate to your situation. A great example is the Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women. We’re proud to have been empowering women for more than 40 years! Our members not only support and network with each other, but they also hold community events, host free workshops, and cheer each other on through every success.
Becoming a member of the Long Island Center is just one way to begin overcoming the many challenges that we face as women entrepreneurs. For more information about becoming a member, contact the Long Island Center today!