Women-owned businesses : analyses of growth influences and access to capital

Like all entrepreneurs, women business owners face many challenges in making their entrepreneurship dreams a reality. Some of the challenges faced by women may be specific to women, due to the historical and cultural context within which they do their work. The National Women's Business Council (NWBC), initiated this research to better understand the reasons behind the general lag of women-owned business growth, as compared to firms owned by men. The NWBC looked to the research to provide insights on key considerations when reaching out to women entrepreneurs to encourage maximum growth of their businesses. The research centered on questions about three key attitudinal areas associated with business ownership and growth: risk tolerance, motivations, and expectations. The research team also listened for instances where culture could be influencing behaviors or experiences. This book provides an overview on issues and factors affecting access to capital for women-owned firms with a particular focus on growth-oriented firms. Differences between men and women business owners regarding firm growth, amount and sources of financial capital, and the relationship between the two are also explored. WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES: ANALYSES OF GROWTH INFLUENCES AND ACCESS TO CAPITAL 3 WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES: ANALYSES OF GROWTH INFLUENCES AND ACCESS TO CAPITAL 5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 6 CONTENTS 7 PREFACE 9 Chapter 1: FACTORS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES- RISK TOLERANCE, MOTIVATIONS, EXPECTATIONS, AND CULTURE 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 INTRODUCTION 14 FINDINGS 20 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 42 APPENDIX A: METHODOLOGY 45 SCRIPT FOR OUTGOING CALLS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS, SELF-LIMITING PERCEPTIONS, AND SEGMENTATION FOCUS GROUPS 55 FOCUS GROUP MODERATOR GUIDE WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS, SELF-LIMITING PERCEPTIONS, AND SEGMENTATION FOCUS GROUPS 64 APPENDIX B: ADDITIONAL DATA CHARTS 68 Chapter 2: ACCESS TO CAPITAL BY HIGH-GROWTH WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES 77 INTRODUCTION 77 BACKGROUND 78 PREVIOUS RESEARCH 80 DATA AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 82 CONCLUSION 100 REFERENCES 103 Chapter 3: LAUNCHING WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES ON TO A HIGH-GROWTH TAJECTORY 107 INTRODUCTION 107 BACKGROUND 108 IT STARTS WITH GOALS 109 FOCUSING ON FINANCE AND USES OF CAPITAL IS VITAL 111 METRICS ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY 113 BELIEVE IN YOURSELF 113 TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MULTIPLE NETWORKS 114 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 114 BIBLIOGRAPHY 115 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 117 INDEX 119