Women entrepreneurs are on the rise both in numbers and in growing successful businesses; however, entrepreneurship is still largely a male dominated world. The reasons for that are myriad, but Board of Experts member and Metal Mafia owner, Vanessa Nornberg, recently expressed her thoughts on why we still have a deficit of women entrepreneurs and why more women should give business ownership a try.
Vanessa points to some of the qualities that make women awesome both in the workplace and at home as standing the most in the way of becoming entrepreneurs, for example how women tend to put their own needs behind the needs of their children, family, workplace or other responsibilities they take on, which prevents their great ideas from becoming more.
“In other words, the ways in which women are most valuable to others are the very reasons that hold women back from deciding to become entrepreneurs–because we don’t want to risk giving up the stability of a needed paycheck, or because we don’t want to chance missing a moment when a child might need us, or because we just don’t want to risk disappointing anyone, including ourselves. And, as women, we understand innately that choosing to put ourselves and our ideas first may mean failing someone or something in our lives as a result.”
But that’s no indictment against women. On the contrary, Vanessa argues that women are naturally positioned to start businesses that can transform the world.
“However, as women, we also tend to have very strong value systems. We are clear on what has meaning to us, have straightforward convictions on what we want the world around us to look like, and are fully committed to doing what it takes to deliver on any promise we make or goal we set. These are the marks of the best entrepreneurs–whether men or women.”
Vanessa spells out three reasons why she made the leap from employee to entrepreneur.
1 – Live Your Values – Women entrepreneurs are able to live and grow their business according to their own principles. It’s a chance to create the kind of company that she always wanted to work for, whether that’s one that accommodates busy parents, incentivizes performance, makes a positive social impact, or all three. It may not change the world, but it can change the lives of the employees, customers, and end consumers who rely on her business.
The Birthing of Giants community includes some brilliant women who are using their businesses to make a huge impact on their employees and customers. Read about some of them here and here.
2 – Get Paid To Do What You Love – Women are brimming with ideas from new products or services to ways to improve what we already have. Entrepreneurship allows women to channel those ideas and energy into a business that is fulfilling both financially and emotionally.
3 – Leave A Legacy – In leading their own businesses, women entrepreneurs leave a legacy for their family and friends, one that goes way beyond material inheritance. Through their business, women can prove that a business can be profitable AND operate according to their own personal truth – a great message to future generations.
“These are the reasons women should take the leap and become entrepreneurs. Because as a woman, becoming an entrepreneur is less of a risk than one might think. Rather, it is a way to utilize all of our natural strengths and make them work on a much greater scale, far beyond our immediate situation.”
You can read Vanessa’s article in its original form at Inc. Magazine’s website.
