Female business owners recommend more women set up in business

More than four-in-five (83%) female entrepreneurs would recommend other women have a go at running their own business, according to a new report from Vistaprint.

The Women-owned Micro Businesses Trend Report, which surveyed 1,200 female business owners located in the UK and US, showed that more than half (54%) of British female owners expect their company to improve financially in 2016.

The women were questioned about potential gender divides within business, but almost two-thirds (60%) of female entrepreneurs said they now believe women have either the same or more business opportunities than their male counterparts.

More than two-thirds (67%) of female entrepreneurs said they wanted further support to solve business issues such as tax incentives or credit (33%), advice from other micro business owners (33%) and finding networking or mentoring opportunities (34%).

Laura Tenison, founder and CEO, JoJo Maman Bebe, said: “The study carried out by Vistaprint is encouraging; growing numbers of female-launched companies have sprung up.

“However, there also appears to be a lot of talk that women-run businesses are stilted by lack of funding or ambition. I would suggest confidence and fear of failure is the strongest reason for women-run companies not growing to the next level.

“My advice would be: ask for additional support if you need it, whether it is financially or in any other area. It will give the shot of confidence to move to the next level.”

Another recent survey of UK entrepreneurs by YouGov found that 55% felt that starting a new business was actually much easier than they thought it would be, suggesting that aspiring entrepreneurs needn’t be afraid of launching their own business venture.





Image: NEXTConf

Date published 26 Sep 2016 | Last updated 26 Sep 2016