Entrepreneurial women are rapidly moving up in the business ladder. Long gone are the days when the business landscape was a man’s world. Women have proven with time that they too are capable of doing this business thing all on their own. As days go by they’re becoming more and more successful, from Whitney Wolfe Herd’s Bumble dating app valued at $1 billion, bringing her to a $230 million fortune, to Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics leaving her at a net worth of $900 million. I’d say it’s safe to say that women are leading in the business world!

Women Make Great Entrepreneurs

Women possess strong communication skills and social intelligence. A stronger network means they will be better resourced throughout the life of the venture. Leveraging their connections will help them avoid more mistakes in the long run. Women make good listeners and are open-minded.  Most women start companies to better balance their work and family lives. Wealth is not their primary focus. Entrepreneurial women know how to collaborate. Women business owners are more likely to have positive revenues because they prefer lower risk opportunities, and are willing to settle for lower returns. Women aren’t afraid to ask for help. Women are less prideful than men and pride can sometimes get in the way of business. Women aren’t scared to admit when they’re not sure how to accomplish a certain task. These are just a few of the reasons why women make great entrepreneurs!

Reason Women Become Entrepreneurs

There are many studies that indicate that women start businesses for fundamentally different reasons than men. Women start businesses in order to meet personal goals, such as gaining a feeling of achievement and accomplishment, unlike men who primarily look for opportunities of career growth and profit. Financial success usually isn’t their primary goal or motivation to starting a business, although they do recognize financial profitability is important in its own right. Women are also more delayed in starting their entrepreneurial careers than men due to motherhood, lack of management experience, and traditional socialization. Some women start a business due to some traumatic event, such as divorce, discrimination due to pregnancy, the health of a family member, or economic reason such as a layoff, but women today are choosing to leave corporate America to fulfill their own dreams. Women business owners concentrate more in the retail and service areas of business, such as cosmetics, fashion, food and personal care.

Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face

Starting a business comes with its challenges, but women face their own fair share of challenges.  Women often find it difficult and stressful when balancing between life and work demands. Running a business with demands for attention from your family can be distressing, and most times you have to choose between one of the two. Most women will sacrifice the business for family. There is often lack of proper support when it comes to female business owners. Females have fewer role models as compared to men. Women are naturally more emotional than men and it can spoil business deals. These emotions make it hard for women to handle business disputes and transactions they way they should. Potential businesswomen fail to understand the basic rule of being successful in trading – the possibility of massive failure in order to succeed. Every business owner regardless if woman or man goes through this doubting phase. Women need to work through the moments of self-doubt which arise more than often. Women want to show that they are and remain in control and often push themselves too hard. Women should learn how to manage time and resource well. There is a lack of opportunities for women in some sectors and when some of the opportunities arise women are paid less.

Who Runs the World…Women

Women have the necessary skills and abilities that are needed for business. These skills include building long-lasting relationships, networking and negotiating. It’s important for women to learn how to utilize their strengths and abilities to succeed in their business ventures.

Entrepreneurial Women Working Together

Women in business as advocates, collaborators and allies would be powerful. Women that can use their innate strength to their best advantage, overcome barriers and build relationships to drive growth to their business and careers. Women are highly effective at multi-tasking but need to focus on building more networking opportunities. Networking builds business!