By Raam Anand, Author, International Speaker and Serial Entrepreneur
I was invited to speak to a group of women as part of their business association seminar. The topic was entrepreneurship. When I said about this honor to my wife she quipped, “Why would they want you to speak?” She looked surprised, thinking what would I tell a bunch of women about start-ups and entrepreneurship. After all, she thought, it’s a man’s world!
I don’t blame her for the ignorance. She’s not exposed to those hundreds of articles, videos and seminars that I have done. She has participated at the seminars where I speak nor she is aware of my clients, students and mentees, who have had great successes with my expertise, teachings and coaching.
All she understands is that our money doesn’t come from any illegal means. She enjoys her comfortable lifestyle, will always be present and takes very good care of my two boys and me! Beyond that, she’s incredibly happy in her ignorance of her husband’s extraordinary skills.
When I expressed displeasure at her remark, she clarified, saying “That’s not what I meant, honey. I just asked what a man can teach a roomful of women that they do not know already? You said, they belong to a business association. What else can you teach them?”
Hmmm. She was right. She had a point. What in the world did I know about women entrepreneurs and how they run their business?
Next step… research. I wanted to know everything about women entrepreneurs that I can learn. I asked some of my friends and students to join me on this research project.
The result of our quick research was a cool discovery. We found out that while a small percentage of women still believe it’s a man’s world out there, a very big group of women business owners were catching up really fast.
According to the Center For Women’s Business Research there are over 10 million women-owned businesses in the US, employing 18 million people and generating $2.32 trillion in sales. Can you believe this? It is true, per the facts. And, these are facts from 2010. Now, it could be easily 1.5 times those numbers.
Okay… hang on. Here comes another mind-blowing statistic.
Women start businesses at two times the rate of men. This means, women are starting more businesses and twice as fast than men. Womentrepreneurs account for 28 percent of all businesses in the United States and represent about 775,000 new startups per year and account for 55% of new startups. Now, is this really a man’s world?
More startling news and statistics are coming. Stay focused.
Here’s one thing that caught my attention and found extremely interesting. The top growth industries for women-owned businesses in recent years were construction, real estate, wholesale trade, transportation, communications, agribusiness and manufacturing, industries traditionally dominated by men. Tractor queen Mallika Srinivasan is a good example. This woman entrepreneur from India took her company to the top two tractor manufacturers in the country with her grit and unique working style.
During the last 2 decades the number of businesses owned by women in the United States has doubled. As a result, the employment has increased four-fold and the total revenue from women-owned businesses have risen five-fold. Women are gaining that elusive stardom that they truly deserve.
These statistics intrigued me so much that I sought particularly to answer one big question: Do women entrepreneurs approach business differently than men? When it comes to business, men have always been thought to have had that aggressiveness, like a bull in a china shop. How would a woman business owner treat things differently? More gracefully, perhaps?
In her book, How to Run Your Business Like a Girl, Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin explored common female traits and how women entrepreneurs – and perhaps men, as well – can use those traits to their entrepreneurial advantage. A good book with lots of cool concepts, that are useful to both men and women. In fact, today, there are more and more women who are becoming authors and spreading their message across, like Baskin.
Baskin goes all the way to reveal that women tend to use three unique strengths more than their male counterparts. They trust their intuition, focus more on relationships, and put a lot more emphasis on keeping their work and life, carefully balanced.
Trust Your Gut Feelings
Research reveals that women are much more likely to make a decision based on a gut feeling. And, most times, they are right. That’s my personal opinion. Women may gather the facts and figures necessary to back up that feeling, but they generally know what they want to do based on intuition. Women exhibit stronger intuitive capabilities than men.
Foster Strong Relationships
Winning the game or sport is the forte of Men. They always play the game of business like a sport. They are out to win and dominate. “Women,” Baskin says, “are much more interested in establishing a connection.” Women’s way of looking at business is totally different than men.
Find a Perfect Balance Between Work and Life
Baskin interviewed a number of women entrepreneurs for her book. Most of these women cited on quality of life as their reason for starting a business, alluding to their desire to find a way to juggle family and work. “If having more time for your family is important to you, find a way to work that into your day. It’s not so much how much work you do, but being able to decide when you’ll do it.” Allocation of resources and multi-tasking are inherent to women. Research has also proven that women can talk and listen at the same time, which men aren’t wired to do!
Baskin offers one more piece of advice to women in the start-up stages of their business:
You Don’t Have To Know Everything
My wife would argue this point because she really does know everything or thinks she knows everything, but Baskin says when it comes to business, thinking you know everything is not the key to success. It’s the other way round.
“It’s amazing how many women say they didn’t know anything when they started their business,” Baskin said. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help – you don’t have to be perfect at everything.”
Having said that, we need both men and women to work cohesively and contribute to the world economy. Women can be as much or more successful than men in the business world. All they need is a little encouragement, support and understanding.
