Although over the past decade it has become much easier for women to enter the working world, there are still some struggles that female entrepreneurs have to endure. And with about 1/3 of the entrepreneurs in the world being women, that’s a a large number of them who aren’t getting the breakthroughs that they work so hard for. Here are the seven challenges that female entrepreneurs still face to this day.
Table of Contents
1. Having A Lack Of Capital
Money is to the business what food is to the human body, so without money, there’s no way for a business to get off the ground. Unfortunately, women have to prove themselves time and time again that they’re capable of pursuing business ventures of their own. But obtaining business loans for women with bad credit can make the situation even more complicated. Banks do not see women as credit-worthy, believing that they will give up their business at any time once they have the money. This forces them to rely on their own savings to get their businesses off the ground, which can be expensive.
2. Lack Of Confidence
This isn’t to say that women can’t be confident. However, because their talents are constantly being downplayed, it can be difficult to maintain that confidence in the face of adversity. It doesn’t hurt to have good support systems in place to help with the self-confidence issue.
3. Societal Expectations
Women are expected to be the ones who stay home and devote their attention to their partners and families. So when they do venture out to start their own businesses, they are looked down on for it. It takes even more time to gain the trust and recognition that they need from the public than their male counterparts.
4. Building Market Access
The networks for female entrepreneurs is often a lot smaller so that they can’t reach a wide of an audience as they’d want. That means that they have to work much harder to get themselves noticed in the marketplace.
5. Lack Of Support
There is a serious lack of advisors and mentors for female entrepreneurs, which can minimize their professional growth. And because the high-level business is mostly dominated by men, it can be difficult for women to excel in their professions.
6. Little To No Business Networks
Women have reported that they were not part of the business networks that they needed to help build their businesses, build connections, gain suppliers, and obtain partners. Without these fundamentals, it can be difficult to get one’s business off the ground.
7. The Balance of Personal And Professional Life
Even though female entrepreneurs are frowned upon for not wanting to stay at home, they’re still expected to take care of their own homes and still manage successful businesses. It can be difficult to find the right balance, but society pretty much demands a woman to prioritize her family over her career.
These struggles remain to this day, and it seems next to impossible that these expectations and difficulties can be changed any time soon. But there are still support networks out there for female entrepreneurs; they just have to know where to look.
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