Among the barriers, the Kaufman Foundation research report suggests that keep women from entrepreneurship are:
Lack of mentors
The perception of starting a business as masculine, not feminine
Work-life balance issues, i.e., being a working mother ~ Kim Kyosaki, from “The 3 Things Women Entrepreneurs need Today”
Mentors are highly valuable as a means to encourage women to launch their own business, to create role models, and to provide a place where we feel we belong, a place that is part of our “tribe”.
Experienced mentors can assist fellow entrepreneurs assemble a room full of people, the new entrepreneur’s center of influence to pitch for product or business presentation. The mentor’s invaluable experience, especially for women business owners who have a tendency to be more hesitant and less confident in talking with family and friends.
Grow a Business
While people’s first instinct with a “New Business” is to tell them why it will not work, you will find relationships are critical to success, critical to finding fellow business owners, product users and people you love as associates. That initial work of searching out a product line has been done, a history of 35 years of success stories assure that you feel you can share with people you care about, yes, it will be your family and closest friends that you will be able to help. Women are naturally skilled at building relationships. Women are also masters of work-life balancing issues that pretty much cease to exist in a this business, they will work from their own home.
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