Recent surveys of Australian businesses show that as many as 20 per cent of companies have female founders with another 13 per cent officially listed as owners.
Based on figures from just five years ago – this represents a massive increase in real terms and a trend which has mirrored similar statistics in the US. What’s more, Australian women entrepreneurs have increasingly come from business education backgrounds compared to the predominantly liberal arts backgrounds, with most moving away from traditional ‘female industries’ into sectors once identified as strictly male domains.
Yet in spite of research undertaken into female entrepreneurialism in Australia, Germany, Denmark and Canada, which found women face more challenges than men because of their family and home commitments – the growth chart continues to spiral upwards – with factors including informal networking among friends and family rather than with banks, business consultants and industry associations improving the chances of survival for women.
Jo Hobbs, a mother of two and proprietor of the recently launched on-line group, The Liberator couldn’t agree more.
“Women aren’t waiting for the corporate tide to turn anymore.
“And frankly, too much time and energy has been wasted in political and boardroom forums on the whole male vs female debate.
“At the end of the day everyone has to make the judgement call on what they want to do with their lives – both professionally and on a family level – and if you aren’t happy with the direction its headed then only you can make that change.
”Jo, who along with the support of husband Nigel and several close family and friends, journeyed head-first into largely uncharted waters with the establishment of what is labeled as ‘adventure bedroom furniture’ and boutique-style lingerie business, said the hardest part of making the decision to go ‘solo’ was the initial jump.
“I quickly found that when it comes to men and women in start-up businesses that men sometimes had it tougher, particularly when it came to emotional support and encouragement, which is more likely to come from women.”
Overseas studies also found that 60 per cent of women also ranked obtaining work-life balance among the top three challenges in starting up their own business while a lack of women mentors and coaches also ranked highly.
