Decor & Style > It's More Than Money
The Future is Bright for Enterprising Women
by Candace Bahr
This month marks the 20th anniversary of National Women’s History Month, our annual celebration of the accomplishments of women in America. With ever-growing opportunities, women continue to make great contributions to science, medicine, law, government, sports, education and the arts. Nor should we forget the amazing role women are playing in the economic life of our country. Enterprising women across America are building businesses that, as of 2005, employed 18.2 million people and generated $2.32 trillion in sales.
More and more women are discovering the excitement of being their own boss. If you’ve ever thought about that possibility, the prospects have never been better or the resources greater to help you get started. You’ll be in good company as you launch your company.
Born to Sell
The story of America’s enterprising women may begin with Betsy Ross and her sewing skills, as many colonial women created cottage industries to help support their families.
“Women have always been in business,” says Harvard Business School professor Nancy Koehn. She cites as success stories Brownie Wise, whose Tupperware parties became a national phenomenon, and Oprah Winfrey with her ever-expanding Harpo Entertainment Group. The secret of their success? According to Koehn, each woman found a niche of her own and used all the opportunities available to her.
Starting small and tackling an uphill road is no real disadvantage for America’s enterprising women. One of the nation’s earliest self-made female millionaires was African-American Madame C. J. Walker, born in 1867 to newly freed slaves who left her an orphan at age 7. From a difficult beginning, Madame Walker worked to create hair care products for blacks and marketed them in the early 20th century. Her success made her a central figure in black leadership and one of the first black philanthropists. Her secret? Hard work and a knack for getting the word out about her products.
Finding a Niche
Where do successful women entrepreneurs come from, and how do they decide on a business idea to pursue? Experts agree that the process should start with something you like to do and are good at; the things you enjoy doing and your greatest strengths tend to be one and the same.
Look around for some current examples that inspire you. Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals have taken her from television chef to book and magazine author to talk show celebrity. Along with her meteoric rise to fame and fortune, doesn’t she always look like she’s having fun?
For many women a passion becomes both a business and a way of giving back. My colleague, Ginita Wall, and I began working in a field we enjoy: financial planning. We found ourselves reaching out to women who needed our services; moreover, they needed the knowledge and confidence to take care of themselves in the money arena. We created the nonprofit Women’s Institute for Financial Education and The Money Club, a model for women’s self-help groups.
If you are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur yourself, assess your strengths, interests, passions and assets. Then search for business ideas that seem appropriate, and do some research.
Women have always used their ingenuity to create opportunities, and you can, too. Here are a few suggestions for evaluating your best direction: (1) Your strengths will be those things about which people compliment or praise you, or for which they ask for your help. (2) Your interests are things you enjoy so much that you would still do them even if you won the lottery. (3) Your passions are things you could do to make the world a better place. (4) Your assets or resources are things in which you have life experience, education or training.
Reach Out for Opportunity
Once an enterprising woman has found a service or a product to be the heart of her business, what next? She must reach out and connect with the world—communication, networking, contacts, advertising, marketing, funding, planning—all the ways that a business is connected to the marketplace. She can make use of the many resources available for help in growing a small business, from the nonprofit SCORE counseling organization (www.score.org) to the government’s Small Business Administration. (See http://women-21.gov.) Possibilities for a businesswoman to find support among her peers are growing, too. The SBA projected a 77 percent increase in the number of self-employed women from 1983 to 2005—to a total of 4.7 million. Lots of networking partners are available now!
What special qualities do women bring to their entrepreneurial ventures? Some abilities that come naturally to women are very useful in business: good listening skills, a knack for tactful communication, the ability to share tasks and build teams and a tendency to nurture. There are a few things to watch out for, too. Women may tend to give away too much and charge too little. Never be reluctant to market your work and take credit for your achievements if your business is to thrive.
Today’s women have unparalleled opportunities to find fulfillment and express themselves through their work. And they can use their talents and skills to give opportunity to others. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “Women entrepreneurs are creating jobs, hope and opportunities in every community in America.”
