Entrepreneurship was once upon a time considered to be purely a man’s domain, it is no longer the case now in this rapidly changing digital technology age.  The tide has shifted and women have started emerging as highly successful entrepreneurs. The numbers of women in business has increased manifold and thus Female Entrepreneurship is on the rise.

This can be illustrated by the fact that in United States, more than 9 million companies are owned by women employers.Though the fact remains that the numbers are growing steadily as we speak, still there are a number of growing challenges faced by female entrepreneurs to raise financial capital.

They face challenges that are different from those faced by their male counterparts. These are some major challenges which female entrepreneurs face and the ways they can overcome them:

Social Expectations

Women in Business may feel at times that they are expected to follow stereotype male attitudes which is usually being competitive and aggressive in building their business.

However female entrepreneurs of today’s generation believe firmly in following basic principles they were raised in. Finding their own identity in the industry is most important to rise beyond conventional expectations preconceived by people.

You simply need to be genuinely confident about the path you are treading on chosen by yourself and nurture the self-belief that you will arrive at your destination very soon. Women entrepreneurs are giving a tough fight to male entrepreneurs in various sectors.

Building Network for Support

Most of the female entrepreneurs have found to be complaining about the lack of advisers and genuine mentors who would want them to grow. The fact is that majority of business world is still dominated by men. 

For a woman who wants to make her way into this tough competitive business world, it can be a real challenge and that can make it harder to make connections with the more elite business networks. Female entrepreneurship needs to be further encouraged. 

Finding the right support system at the right time when you need it the most can make or break your venture. A few good places where you can focus on networking include attending women focused networking events, conferences and online forums.

Lately social media groups also have merged which are created specifically for entrepreneurial women who are also business owners.

Difficulties Faced in Raising Funds

Investment is an integral part of running any business. There are myriad of cases wherein investors feel a bit hesitant for investing in businesses that are run by women. Women in business should take these preconceived notions deeply embedded in the society as a huge challenge and make their best efforts for becoming successful.

Society also thinks that since family is the top most priority for women. Therefore this makes it all the more necessary for women entrepreneurs to believe in their dreams. For this, they need to chalk out a fixed plan of achieving whatever they want and prove everyone that actions speak louder than words.

There is little doubt in the fact that a business needs adequate funding, so wake up and try to start off with whatever you can manage to raise in terms of funds.

Let your work be the best judge for proving your capability so that investors will be ultimately willing to invest in your business. In fact if you have a great founder team with all the capabilities of running the business operations efficiently and have a product fit for the existing market, you are sure to be swarmed by offers from investors.

Family Support is Crucial

Irrespective of the marital status of any female entrepreneur, the reality is that family support is a critical factor. If a woman is married she has to strike out a sensitive balance between household work and her business.

This often becomes a restricting factor for women in achieving great heights as they are tied to their responsibilities towards the family.

The best way is to follow a middle path and make the family understand  significance of your aspirations and ambitions. It is not easy to maintain a work-life balance and though it might be a major goal of women entrepreneurs too just like their male counterparts.

Women have dual responsibilities on their shoulders as a home maker and a mother for running their companies as well as their families. Mompreneurs make their best efforts to find ways for maintaining elusive work life balance.

It is a Male Dominated Bastion

Surveys have shown that it is a real challenge for female entrepreneurs when they have to give directions to their male counterparts and earn their respect at the same time.

For mostly all women in business, it is indeed a deep struggle to be on the same pedestal and receive stiff competition from male entrepreneurs within the same industry. There is little doubt in the reality that there are numerous challenges faced by female entrepreneurs.

Many times they find themselves getting underestimated for their capability though they are more than willing to put in long hours of hard work and dedication.

Conclusion

Women entrepreneurs must learn to maintain their self-confidence and neutralize any negative feedback stemming from others which might create hindrances in their path towards success. Woman entrepreneur groups also are proving helpful in learning from other’s experiences and perspectives which ultimately helps them grow. Someone truly said about Entrepreneurship: 

” Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t” 

Are you an aspiring entrepreneur ready to take off a long journey full of challenges, motivation and rewards? Don’t miss watching this video!