Women Entrepreneurs Prove Its Not Just A Mans World
Women Entrepreneurs Prove Its Not Just A Mans World
In her defense my dear wife has no idea what I do for a living. She's never read a single one of the several hundred columns I've written. She's never attended a function where I'm speaking or sat in the audience at any of my seminars.
She just knows that we live a very comfortable lifestyle and believes me when I tell her our money doesn't come from the drug trade.
Beyond that, she's incredibly happy in her ignorance of her husband's skills.
When I feigned hurt feelings she waved a hand at me and said, "My point is, what in the world can a man tell a roomful of women that they don't already know?"
Henny Youngman, Ralph Cramden, Rodney Dangerfield, Tim Knox. At least I'm in good company.
But she had a point. What the heck did I know about women in business? So as not to look like a total idiot in front of this group of what I now call "womentrepreneurs" I decided to do a little research on the topic.
Here's what I discovered: while some still believe it's a man's world, when it comes to business, women are catching up 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.
Women start businesses at two times the rate of men and women-owned businesses 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.
One thing that I found particularly interesting was that the top growth industries for women-owned businesses in recent years were construction, wholesale trade, transportation/communications, agribusiness and manufacturing, industries traditionally dominated by men.
In the past 25 years the number of women-owned firms in the US has doubled, employment has increased four-fold and their revenues have risen five-fold.
Here is the question I sought particularly to answer: do women approach business differently than men? I've been compared to a bull in a china shop when it comes to business. Would a female counterpart approach things differently? More gracefully, perhaps? As my lovely bride would say, "Duh."
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.
Baskin reported that women tend to use three unique strengths more than their male counterparts: trusting their intuition, focusing on relationships, and putting more emphasis on keeping their life in balance.
Trust Your Gut
Women are much more likely to make a decision based on a gut feeling. 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.
Build Strong Relationships
Men 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."
Find A Balance Between Work and Life.
A number of women interviewed for this book cited or 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."
Baskin offers one more piece of advice to women in the early stages of their business:
You Don't Have To Know Everything.
My wife would argue this point because she really does know everything, but Baskin says when it comes to business, thinking you know everything is not the key to success.
"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."
Solid business advice: for guys and gals.
Here's to your success!
Women Entrepreneurs Prove Its Not Just A Mans World - To learn more about this author, visit Tim Knox's Website.
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I had the honor of speaking this week at a women's business association luncheon on the topic of entrepreneurship. When I mentioned to my wife the day before that I was speaking to group of women entrepreneurs she asked, "Why on earth would they ask you to speak?"
In her defense my dear wife has no idea what I do for a living. She's never read a single one of the several hundred columns I've written. She's never attended a function where I'm speaking or sat in the audience at any of my seminars.
She just knows that we live a very comfortable lifestyle and believes me when I tell her our money doesn't come from the drug trade.
Beyond that, she's incredibly happy in her ignorance of her husband's skills.
When I feigned hurt feelings she waved a hand at me and said, "My point is, what in the world can a man tell a roomful of women that they don't already know?"
Henny Youngman, Ralph Cramden, Rodney Dangerfield, Tim Knox. At least I'm in good company.
But she had a point. What the heck did I know about women in business? So as not to look like a total idiot in front of this group of what I now call "womentrepreneurs" I decided to do a little research on the topic.
Here's what I discovered: while some still believe it's a man's world, when it comes to business, women are catching up 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.
Women start businesses at two times the rate of men and women-owned businesses 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.
One thing that I found particularly interesting was that the top growth industries for women-owned businesses in recent years were construction, wholesale trade, transportation/communications, agribusiness and manufacturing, industries traditionally dominated by men.
In the past 25 years the number of women-owned firms in the US has doubled, employment has increased four-fold and their revenues have risen five-fold.
Here is the question I sought particularly to answer: do women approach business differently than men? I've been compared to a bull in a china shop when it comes to business. Would a female counterpart approach things differently? More gracefully, perhaps? As my lovely bride would say, "Duh."
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.
Baskin reported that women tend to use three unique strengths more than their male counterparts: trusting their intuition, focusing on relationships, and putting more emphasis on keeping their life in balance.
Trust Your Gut
Women are much more likely to make a decision based on a gut feeling. 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.
Build Strong Relationships
Men 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."
Find A Balance Between Work and Life.
A number of women interviewed for this book cited or 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."
Baskin offers one more piece of advice to women in the early stages of their business:
You Don't Have To Know Everything.
My wife would argue this point because she really does know everything, but Baskin says when it comes to business, thinking you know everything is not the key to success.
"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."
Solid business advice: for guys and gals.
Here's to your success!
Women Entrepreneurs Prove Its Not Just A Mans World - To learn more about this author, visit Tim Knox's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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