Smile and Have Fun on St. Patrick's Day

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

As an entrepreneur and business owner, don't take yourself too seriously.  Remember to smile and have fun, especially on St. Patrick's Day.

Women-Owned Businesses Are the Growth Engine for the U.S. Economy

Happy day-after International Women's Day!  I hope you celebrated the successes of women entrepreneurs all over the world.

Women-owned businesses continue to be a growth engine for the U.S. economy.  The number of women-owned businesses that applied for funding in 2018 increased by 13 percent, according to an annual study of women-owned companies by Biz2Credit, a leading online credit marketplace for small companies.

But it revealed that loans for women entrepreneurs where nearly one third less than for their male counterparts.

The study also revealed that the average loan amount for women-owned companies was $48,341 last year. The most common type of funding was working capital for business expansion.

Learn more how the lending gap narrows for women business owners, but it's still 31% less than for men.

Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash.

Experience and Wisdom Matters When Starting a Business

There is no deadline for success, period. As the the Fast Company article says:

For some entrepreneurs, figuring out their ideal industry and starting their own gig didn’t happen until they had already blown out 40 (or more) candles on their birthday cake.

Yes, entrepreneurship can happen at any time.  Tune in to these 3 dynamic women entrepreneurs who launched their businesses after 40 to hear their stories.  Don't wait.  Be inspired.

Photo by rawpixel for Unsplash

Tips, Tools and Resources from the Escape From Corporate America Blog

We feature a ton of resources, articles and opportunities here on our Escape From Corporate America blog to help women entrepreneurs grow but I want to make sure that on occasion, you check out the actual site on the right sidebar to see many of the amazing articles we feature.  Here's a sampling of six:

1. How to Market Your Business Lady Gaga Style
2. 5 Signs of Loosy-Goosy Management
3. From Cupcakes to Moneycakes:  3 Ways to Increase Sales and Profitability
4. Making the Most Out of Failure
5. Turning Limes to Limeade:  Entrepreneurship Can Surface in Many Places
6. 5 Actions for Double-Digit Business Growth

For more, visit Escape From Corporate America!

Women Run the World

I don't care what this article below says; women still and will continue to run the world.  We have our challenges but we know how to overcome them and excel.  Lindsay Tigar, at Fast Company, may not agree with my lead statement but she at least believes the following:

But gradually and strategically—women, if you pay attention to statistics. Over the past two decades, the number of women-owned businesses has grown 114%, compared to the 44% national growth rate for all new companies. As more women venture into entrepreneurship, they will tackle the laundry list of gaps women are continuing to change.

Heck, even the great management guru Tom Peters knows that women rule.

But back to Lindsay.  Read her article on 8 predictions for the state of women entrepreneurship this year.

Sometimes You Just Have to Chill

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

With Chicago's record-breaking low temperatures, it's a good time to hunker down and just think about what's next for a business.  New ideas.  New products.  New partnerships.  New markets.  New hires.

Then when the great thaw begins, execute on all the things you have been thinking about.  What about for you?  What are you working on?  What's next? 

Let's Put Power in the Hands of Female Entrepreneurs

According to Mr. Robert Sauer, a professor at University of London, Royal Holloway and Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies, and written for the Jerusalem Post, when women are business owners, their firms are generally smaller and are less valuable than those owned by men.

Researchers have considered a number of factors that might help explain why a gender gap in entrepreneurship might emerge. The possible explanations include gender-specific approaches to balancing career and family, different choices of business sector in which to operate, a differential aversion to financing one’s business through debt, and greater obstacles for women to access business funding in general.

The article goes on to say that a number of initiatives by policymakers and practitioners have already been introduced to try and promote female entrepreneurship. They include training programs, counseling, mentoring, and access to finance on favorable terms.

I vote that we put power in the hands of female entrepreneurs. What's your vote?

Read more about a better way forward for female entrepreneurs.