Starting a New Business: 5 Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Can Face

[This guest post is from Sam Payne of EasyFinance.com.]

 

Unlike in earlier times, women today are ready to come out of the four walls of home and create something new or accept new challenges. Their natural ability to multitask and adapt themselves to the most unfavorable situations helps them to climb up the business ladder with utmost confidence. The sheer commitment towards work and a keen sensibility to make the right move also works in their favor most of the times.

However, women are now part of the same social structure as men, and they have to face a number of additional challenges to make their mark. With new business ventures, there are even more challenges faced by women, as entrepreneurialism involves more risks, involvement in day-to-day work, and improved show of skills.

In the following few points, I have tried to take into account some of those challenges.

1. Lack of funds or investments

As the trend of startups has been formerly set, investors feel more comfortable in lending a startup headed by male than otherwise. The reason can be anything ranging from guts, strategy, planning, competence, involvement in work, and so on, but women entrepreneurs are sometimes let down by investors. Even banks at times are not ready to offer loans to such startups. The challenge arises to raise funds for running the business by other means, such as part-time jobs or borrowing personal loans from family or friends.

2. Over-analysis of stuff

Studies show that women tend to over-think and over-analyze every single step. This leads to undue delay in decision-making and sometimes even doubting their own decisions. Due to this reason, many times they find themselves stuck at a point unable to move forward. This assumption, however, is not true for every woman entrepreneur, of course.

3. Feeling of guilt

No matter how sure or how committed they are to their work, it is possible for women entrepreneurs to suffer from a feeling of guilt. The feeling stems from not being able to spend much time with family, not being there for helping the kid with his homework, and failure in attending school events or family functions. It is only when they shake off such guilty feelings that they can concentrate on something new.

4. The power factor

With great power come great responsibilities too. Sometimes, a perception arises that the “womenfolk” will not be able to take over the highest position because they lack guts and strategy. This false proclamation creates a negative environment for women entrepreneurs looking forward to obtaining funds from investors. The investors sometimes do not take them seriously and prefer not to lend. This creates a serious hazard for a business looking for funds for growth.

5. Balancing both ends

For women entrepreneurs who are really serious about being successful, it becomes very difficult to balance both ends of their lives. They need to cater to all household issues and also need to participate actively in the decision-making process at office. Finding the time and energy to balance both of these worlds becomes strenuous at times.

Still, in spite of all such odds, there is a remarkable growth in the number of women entrepreneurs opting for a startup venture around the world. However, all of these odds are a small price to pay for potentially achieving financial freedom and being one’s own boss!

What are some other obstructions for women entrepreneurs venturing into new businesses? Let us know your views!

 

About the Author:

A financial blogger and an expert by profession Sam is also a regular contributor to easyfinance.com. With over 3 years of experience in the field of creating insightful articles on debt management, he also provides useful information on loans, personal loans, and home equity to help his readers come out of debt.

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