Challenges Women Face in Business
It’s 2022, and we recently read that women make up 37 percent of small business or franchise owners in the United States. Most of these women – 50 percent – were born between 1965 – 1980. The four most popular industries to be women-led are health, beauty, and fitness; food services; retail; and finally, business services. But despite these promising numbers of female entrepreneurs, women still face a lot of challenges as small business owners. It’s one thing to start a business, but operating one is where it gets dicey. Today we wanted to cover off on a few of these challenges to raise awareness of the hardships many women in business are trying to overcome.
Funding
Small business loans are often necessary when starting a business. Generally speaking, it’s a lot easier for a male to get funding than a female. And it’s difficult for women to raise capital in an environment where venture capitalists tend only to support those who are similar to them, be it in gender or education. And according to Business News Daily, “less than 3% of companies with venture capital funding had female CEOs.”
Confidence
Society has a difficult time taking women seriously—and this goes beyond owning a small business.
Female business owners are in the unique position of swimming in a sea dominated by men. And a lot of male CEOs struggle to accept women in leadership positions, which can make it even more difficult for women to feel confident in their business endeavors. They have to shut down the naysayers—and rally the troops at the same time.
Juggling
It’s encouraging to see the number of women in the workforce—over 46 percent of the workforce is now female. But despite so many women working full time and running businesses, they are still expected to shoulder most of the housework and family responsibilities. This has become increasingly more true during the COVID-19 pandemic, as women (who tend to make less money than men) are being forced to stop working or shift careers entirely in order to facilitate in-home classroom learning. This delicate balancing act is exhausting for women, and it can lead to a massive level of burnout.
Humility
Females tend to brag less than their male counterparts. It’s not attractive to be seen as boastful, even though men tend to tout their accomplishments vocally and with abandon. This is a catch-22 in a sense. The way to forge ahead in business is to have confidence, however women tend to shy away from exuding that type of attitude. Females should be proud of their successes, own them, and speak of them to whomever will listen.
At ARF Financial, we’ve helped thousands of small business owners secure over $800 million in financing – all over the span of two decades. Between our expert staff of seasoned loan professionals and our unbeatable small business loan products, it’s no wonder clients have seen such great success after partnering with us. When your small business is in need of fast, zero collateral financing with the most flexible terms around, turn to ARF Financial. Our mission will always be your business’s ultimate success.