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[[category:{{Project|Has project output=Content|Has sponsor=McNair Projects]]Center|Has title=Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face (Wiki Page)|Has owner=|Has start date=|Has deadline=|Has keywords=|Has notes=|Has project status=Complete|Is dependent on=}}
Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face Although women-owned businesses are the fastest growing segment in the US economy, there are some significant obstacles that women entrepreneurs have to face, especially those pursuing a hihghigh-growth pathway.
=Lack of Mentorship=Women entrepreneurs with high-growth firms require affordable, customized support services. They require committed mentors, who are experienced business leaders available to answer urgent questions and minimized unnecessary risks. These services are scarce in our current ecosystem.
*===From Corporations:===
*===From Investors===There are more women investors:looking for women-led companies and supporting young and less experienced women entrepreneurs. Here is a [http://blog.girltank.org/angel-investors-looking-for-women-entrepreneurs/ Listlist] of angel investors focus on supporting women entrepreneurship.<!-- flush flush --><!-- flush flush --><!-- flush flush --><!-- flush -->
Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face (Wiki Page) (view source)
Revision as of 12:39, 21 September 2020
, 12:39, 21 September 2020no edit summary
=Limited Access to Capital=
Partly due to the financing and funding problem, women-owned firms are typically smaller than men owned firms. Average sales, assets, profits and employment for women owned firms are much lower than men-owned firms, and have grown in a slow rate. only 3% of majority women-owned businesses have revenue over $1 million compare to 6% of majority men-owned business. The average revenue of women-owned firms is 27% of the average revenue of men-owned firms, as of 2008[https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/files/growthpap.pdf].
=Mentoring Gap=
Although a notable amount of existing programs provide useful services and good foundations through the early stages of business, there is a lack of offerings beyond these services. The need for women entrepreneurs pursuing high growth pathway(especially those transitioning from lower growth to high-growth strategies), however, tend to be more sophisticated and complex. These businesses need special mentoring at their critical transition phases. Women-owners in high-growth ventures often experience working capital deficiencies, lack experienced personnel, lack the internal processes and systems that enable scalability and may also face complex international matters. Moreover, these problem may be amplified for women-owned businesses because they tend to be smaller in size with less debt equity, have fewer employees, and have fewer networks to leverage[http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/initiatives/ep-ce/ep-ce-en.pdf]. Mentoring programs can give significant assistance to those fast growing companies that are facing greater market and organizational complexity and seeing new opportunities for growth.
=Work-life Balance=
Work-life balance is a challenge for many entrepreneurs regardless of their gender, but mothers who start businesses may have dual responsibilities to their businesses and to their families. Finding a way to balance the two is not easy.
===Mompreneurs===
Mompreneur is a neologism defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of entrepreneur. A 2011 MSNBC article declared the rise of the mompreneur to be a hot trend in the small business sector[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40969268/ns/business-small_business/t/successful-mompreneurs/#.V1ryQvkrLRY]. Most of mompreneurs are self-employed since self-employment promises more flexibility than wage earning occupations in which hours of work are rigid. And internet allowing mompreneur to sell products out of the home.
==The Problem==*(Resource:[https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/files/Access%20to%20Capital%20by%20High%20Growth%20Women-Owned%20Businesses%20(Robb)%20-%20Final%20Draft.pdf Access to Capital by High-Growth Women-Owned Businesses]) **(Resource: [http://www.microbiz.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/21st-Century-Barriers-to-Womens-Entrepreneurship.pdf 21st Century Barriers to Women’s Entrepreneurship]published by Overcoming the 2014 Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.) Challenges==Reasons== (Resource:[https://www.dol.gov/wb/media/Women-Owned_Businesses_in_The_21st_Century.pdf Women Owned Businesses in 21st Century]prepared by U.S Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration in Oct.2010) This is a very comprehensive report on women owned businesses in the US, concerning both status of women owned businesses and the role of gender in business ownership. ==Effects==*Women owned firms are typically smaller than men owned firms*Average sales/assets/profits/employment for women owned firms are much lower than men-owned firms, and have grown in a slow rate(Resource:[https://www.dol.gov/wb/media/Women-Owned_Businesses_in_The_21st_Century.pdf Women Owned Businesses in 21st Century]prepared by U.S Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration in Oct.2010) From government==Efforts in Solving the Problem==*From government:
Congress has focused on improving and expanding SBA-backed small business lending programs. Women are three to five times more likely to be approved for an SBA-backed loan than a traditional loan[http://www.microbiz.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/21st-Century-Barriers-to-Womens-Entrepreneurship.pdf]. Through the [https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-initiatives/small-business-jobs-act-2010 Small Business Jobs Act], Congress increased the maximum SBA Microloan amount from $35,000 to $50,000, which has given women-owned businesses access to more credit to start and grow their businesses.
Capital program from [http://www.toryburchfoundation.org/about/ Tory Burch Foundation] with Bank of America offers access to affordable loans through Community Lenders to women entrepreneurs.
Goldman Sachs launched [http://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000women/news-and-events/10kw-progress-report/progress-report-full.pdf 10,000 Women] to provide women entrepreneurs around the world with business management education, mentoring and networking, and access to capital.
