Challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and how to overcome them

The following are challenges faced by female entrepreneurs.

Aside from the typical entrepreneurial pitfalls, the female business owners we interviewed cited several challenges women entrepreneurs face. These challenges include obtaining funding, growing a support network, and reckoning with feelings of inadequacy and the fear of failure. Some other difficulties are bucking social expectations, being seen and heard, and achieving a positive work-life balance. [If you’re having trouble getting a conventional loan, explore these private funding sources for small businesses.]

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This ranks high among problems of women entrepreneurs. Women tend to be low-risk takers, and rightly so since they have to look and care for so many factors surrounding them and the impact of their actions. Many a woman lead sheltered lives and are not financially independent as well.

“I believe the biggest challenge female entrepreneurs face is their own self-doubt stemming from a past negative experience or relationship … Insecurity can get the best of some and lead to a less-than-supportive community of women. It is only when women support each other can we squash our self-doubt, take a risk, and breathe 100% confidence into our new endeavor.”

Among the challenges that women experience are less-established business networks, and social and traditional constraints that restrict women’s participation in business. Religion hinders women from owning businesses. In some countries, women may be required to have a male partner will do deals, negotiate, and be the face of the business. Regardless of these challenges, the business world is gradually accepting women’s abilities and contributions.

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. From cash flow problems and marketing woes to saving for retirement, business owners must overcome myriad obstacles to become successful. These challenges are especially notable for women, despite the increasing share of women-owned businesses around the world.

It is observed that the larger consensus when it comes to challenges that woman entrepreneur faces in Indian cities is that they stem from socio-cultural notions that define what a woman’s role is in the Indian society. While those notions need to change and are certainly changing focus also needs to change on improving the ease of doing business for women entrepreneurs be it getting loans more easily or helping in better networking opportunities.

While the inability to obtain capital is the biggest entrepreneurial challenge across the board, Harris noted that it's harder for women, particularly women of color, to get loans than men. Investors are an even less likely path, as just 2.2% of venture capital went to female-founded startups in 2018.

But these numbers only tell part of the story. Women-owned businesses are still in the minority, and the hurdles faced by women who have embraced entrepreneurship are vast and often very different from those experienced by their male counterparts. To shed light on some of these disparities, Business News Daily asked female CEOs about the key challenges women entrepreneurs face and how to overcome them.

Starting a business is far from easy, and can be even more difficult for women, as they are often kept out of financial conversations, impacting their financial confidence as they age and preventing monetary discussion within their communities. While women face many obstacles in business, there are several powerful solutions that can take you far down the path of creating your own business.

Lack of capital: It is often said that “Money is to a business what food is to the human body and is vital for any business, big or small.” Unfortunately, in this day and age even after women have proved themselves time and again that they are more than capable, people find it hard to believe and hesitate to invest in a business venture which is established by women entrepreneurs. It is also disappointing to see that banks do not consider women as credit-worthy as they believe that they can give-up their business at any time. Therefore, women entrepreneurs do not have any alternative other than to rely on their savings, or maybe take the financial help of their family.

5 Ways on how to overcome the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs.

Despite the promising statistics, women still encounter many of the barriers to entry or industry obstacles that kept them out of entrepreneurship for decades. The best way for women in business to succeed is to be aware of the specific challenges they may face and learn about the female entrepreneurial resources available that will push them forward. 

The following are five ways in which to overcome the challenges facing women entrepreneurs:

1. Find women you admire and take inspiration from them. You can search for books, blogs, virtual talks, podcasts and so much more to learn about females in business and entrepreneurship. Additionally, work to build your network of women to help you feel more connected and supported.

"Another way to overcome this issue is to get more female investors to support one another," said Felena Hanson, founder of the Hera Hub coworking space for female entrepreneurs. According to Hanson, groups like hers are “looking to not only inspire and encourage female investors, but to grow and support other female entrepreneurs through both funding and strategic educational workshops.”

2. Start by finding and attending women-focused networking events in your area. You can find in-person conferences as well as online forums created specifically for women in business. Once you’ve built your network of supporters, don’t hesitate to reach out for help.

3. Another issue that women face when trying to raise finance is that they are perceived to be more (and also too) risk averse. An education on risk taking, on investment opportunities and peer learning from the few female investors who are leading the way in these areas will help demonstrate that this is just a perception, and no more.

In this sort of situation, women may feel as though they need to adopt a stereotypically “male” attitude toward business: competitive, aggressive and sometimes harsh. But successful female CEOs believe that remaining true to yourself and finding your own voice are the keys to rising above preconceived expectations.

4. Though we can’t help with increasing the number of female venture capitalists — which some source as the root of the funding problem — we can teach female entrepreneurs the fine art of communicating with Venture Capitalists (VCs). Knowing how to pitch and speak the language of funders can drastically increase your chances of securing funding.

There’s only one way to deal with this challenge: diligent research. You must come up with a detailed business plan that you can defend to any potential investor or partner. Your research should describe your target market in great detail and offer realistic plans for how you will become profitable -- not pie-in-the-sky predictions based on nothing more than hope.

5. “The first step to overcoming this challenge is to dig deep and identify the source of any insecurities. Why do you doubt yourself? These are the barriers to our success and cannot be overcome unless they are recognized, validated, and released.” [Learn how to beat the biggest confidence killers for women in the workplace.]

Having said that, I also strongly believe that this is the time for women and women entrepreneurs. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether you are a man or a woman, as long as you have the drive and passion and your goal is backed by a solid plan, anyone can score big.