Here are a few reasons why women make such good entrepreneurs:
A key factor in the success of a business, particularly in the early stages, is the ability of the entrepreneur to develop and leverage his/her network. Because women are naturally gifted in the relationship arena, they are predisposed to being great networkers. They are able to gather and store vast amounts of personal information and using that, develop trust that forms the foundations of great business relationships.
It is a generalisation, but women make better entrepreneurs because they are more honest. Not only with those around them but also with themselves. The lack of an ego means that they are able to face up to their failings, correct them and move on while learning from the experience. This saves time, which in turn saves money and embodies the fail fast, fail cheap mentality.
In the business of negotiations, the ability to be empathetic to the values of others is what makes a true zero sum game possible. If this term is new to you, this is the best possible outcome for negotiations, where both parties win and meet their needs. Women possess the ability to put themselves in someone else's shoes and so are able to make a zero sum negotiation possible, which may mean sustained business with the relevant partner.
But the bias towards male entrepreneurs still exists particularly in the area of funding. Even as gender issues are highlighted across human resource platforms in internal corporate strategies, it is very different for female business owners. This was demonstrated in a study released by the Babson University earlier this year, titled Women Entrepreneurs 2014: Bridging the Gender Gap in Venture Capital. While the study showed that there was a marked increase in the number of venture capital funders for women entrepreneurs, there is a lack of overall regime change that needs to happen. Yet the study also pointed out that the female-led companies that were awarded VC funding at the same time as their male counterparts were on average out-performing them.
