Can Women Entrepreneurs emerge successfully?
By siliconindia   |    5 Comments
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Bangalore: It is amazing to find women prospering and finding a way of success and career for themselves in the field of entrepreneurship, but what is strange is that despite the success that they gained in the market recently; less number of women are opting to enter this field. What could be the reasons behind it? Is it that they are not confident about their success in this field or is it that they do not get the family support or is it that they feel they are not ready to flow with the stream of the market? There is no denying that women business owners have come a long way. "Today's women are not satisfied just to earn a good living, they look to make a statement by following their heart," says Sweta Mangal, CEO, Dial 1298 for Ambulance, an organization providing life support ambulance service. But they usually face different challenges to reach their goal. May it be cultural or family or market challenges, all have different opinions. In the words of Jessie Paul, Managing Director of Paul Writer, a company that develops B2B marketing infrastructure, "The challenges a woman entrepreneur faces are - in my experience - the same as a male entrepreneur. You have to figure out the market, understand the economics of your business, and wrap your arms around the regulatory issues." If we view the globe to league for any difference in countries regarding the sphere of women entrepreneurs, its only a matter of thought. "It is the inner strength and controlled focus needed to establish a stability of mind. May it be America or India, there is no much difference between the circumstances through which a woman entrepreneur undergoes. I focus on my strength and never think that I am a woman so I am different or a man has different capabilities," says Indu Navar, CEO, Serus, a U.S.-based SaaS provider company. There is a perception among some people that women tend to start a business as a hobby and are not seriously committed to it. When it comes to family, support and mutual understanding are the essential bricks to the foundation and trust worth a lot. According to Mangal, "It is more difficult for a woman to start an enterprise than a man, as it requires a strong desire and support of a family. We just cannot pull in capital to pursue a hobby." The fear of earning more than the spouse is another challenge for them. A slight shift in the income may create a bundle of problem in the personal life. "There should be a proper understanding among the spouse to eliminate the fear of getting into rough relationship. It is a common picture in India that if a lady earns more than her spouse, it usually seeds out to be a cause for conflict. Infact family plays an important role in the success and failure of your business. The strong social network of family and friends work as a great support network," adds Anisha Singh, CEO, mydala.com, a social buying site. Women are multi-tasker and sometime it becomes difficult to focus on a particular task. Women tend to run with constant guilt feeling of not spending time to work and family. Prioritizing things and balancing time between family and work is important. "It is easier to achieve this in business than in the corporate world. When you run your own firm, you are more in control of your time and can build in the flexibility that you need. Moreover in a start-up you do not waste your time in politics, bureaucracy and pointless emails - that saves a lot of time! So no issue of neglecting either side of the coin," says Paul. 'Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't.' Have the end in mind and every day make sure you are working towards it to carve a place for success. Then we will have more of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's evolving as Indian entrepreneur.