Women in Entrepreneurship: A recent survey examines what’s driving women to start businesses
In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about the growing entrepreneurship among women. In 2016, a Kauffman Foundation report recorded the highest increase in the rate of female entrepreneurs in almost 20 years.
However, a recent survey by EY and the Women Presidents Organization (WPO), examined this trend from a different lens. Their latest Business Outlook Survey revealed new insights regarding what’s driving female entrepreneurs to start businesses and how they perceive their success. For example:
- Majority of women (57 percent) said the “biggest influence of where they are today was their own drive to succeed.”
- An even greater percentage of women attributed their success to deep industry knowledge (63 percent) and their support teams (61 percent).
In addition to crediting their employees, the survey revealed new insights about how female entrepreneurs prefer to run their business. For example:
- When it comes to business financing, women prefer debt from a bank as opposed to giving up equity through venture capital or angel investors.
- “Women-led companies provide strong benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, flex time, maternity leave, and more.”
Given the importance female entrepreneurs place on their employees, it’s no surprise that they see talent as critical for business growth. According to the survey more than 34 percent of women say, “talent is the biggest obstacle in scaling their business” while 26.7 percent say, “people and culture will be the most important factor in their 2017 growth strategy.”
At William Woods University, women who are aspiring to become entrepreneurs can pursue an MBA in Entrepreneurial Leadership, a program that is more than a traditional MBA. With an emphasis in developing students’ entrepreneurial mindset, emotional and social intelligence as well as decision-making skills, this program positions students for a lifetime of entrepreneurial success.