Women Entrepreneuers

I would like to start with a quote by late Prof. C.K. Prahalad, “Poverty in the world [in particular in India] cannot be removed by doles and charity, the answer is to create more entrepreneurs”.

Entrepreneurs emerge from an individual creative spirit. They are highly motivated person driven by “a little inner voice”. They are self-directed, creators of new wealth and revolutionize the society and economy.

It is imperative to identify them, mentor and encourage such person. But no parent or teacher says, “Betta / Betti entrepreneur bamo”. This has to change.

Can entrepreneurs be differentiated based on gender? Man or Women who opt to become entrepreneurs invest money / capital and are prepared to take risk.

Genders differentiation needs to be removed. The fact is among the entrepreneurs in the world, 30% are women. What makes women entrepreneurs:

Need to meet personal goals; To gain a feeling of achievement and accomplishment; Women considers financial success as an external confirmation of their ability and ; With long years of experience they are unable to break the corporate glass ceiling hence opts to become entrepreneur.

In the last decade women have crossed their threshold of homes for financial independence. They have mixed their desires and dreams juggling between roles in-gained in their DNA.

They have learned to live on their terms commanding respect. Women are no longer the helpless but the capable she has explored the possibilities of managing wealth without stacking coins in lactogen tins or asafoetida boxes. Constantly screaming “enough is enough” she lives a life of dignity enabled by legal reforms.

A study was conducted by Kauffman Foundation, May 2010 to understand the similarities and differences between men and women entrepreneurs. Both were similar in many aspects, had equal levels of education; had access to funding, used their saving as seed money and had a strong desire to capitalize on business idea. 65% of men and 55% of women entrepreneurs according to the study indicated similar life-work balance.

Then what are the differences? Men entrepreneurs had difficulty in funding. Co-partners and they lacked mentors. On the other hand women lacked networking skills and found it difficult to protect their companies intellectual property.

They were encouraged to do stereotype business thus reducing their self-confidence. Women who have excelled in academics and professors are hard to find. Men find rich, successful, brilliant and beautiful women in time dating. Women are attracted to power and success but men are attracted to youth and beauty. A meaningful sustainable relationship for a successful woman depends on finding a right man!!

Entrepreneurship means a stereo type masculine image behavior; assertive achievement oriented and risk taking – therefore low representation of women in this stumbling blocks have to be overcome realizing that work for women is 24/7 or 25/7.

The message of successful leading ladies which wish to summarise and as follows:-

Perceiving glass ceiling is self limiting

- Timidity kills confidence feeling

- Guilty is corroding

- Success cannot be achieved at the cost of personal happiness; it is necessary to find a right balance.

- Everyone has a cross to bear, do not allow circumstances to pull you down

- Remember nothing is perfect you need to change

- Do not sweat the small stuff, remember great opportunities are lost because you concentrate on small problem.

- Delegating easy task schedule flexibility.

- Do not worry or be pre-occupied with work because it may strain your home front.

“Don’t negotiate freedom even for love”.

Candace Bushnell who works for women emancipation says, women have to be identified as person first, and then by their gender; she tells that it is important to be willing to experience whatever she can in life; get a job, become an entrepreneur, earn money and be independent.

I wish to re-iterate to all the young women that, “Reality is what we take to be true; what we take to be true is what not believe; what we believe is based upon our perception and what we look for”.