Why it is a good time for Women to start their own business
Starting a business can be very tough during the first couple months or maybe even years. Regardless of our gender, venturing out into entrepreneurship by yourself can be quite challenging and even scary.
However, for women, there are bigger obstacles.
Nowadays, overcoming this burden, there are more women starting up their businesses every day; the statistics have increased to the point where women-run business are exponentially growing, especially among minorities. Despite how many industries have always been run by men, upcoming groups of women are beginning to dominate the market.
A great example is Cuban-born Nely Galan, who despite all prognostics of her competitors, is now the owner of Galan Entertainment. She has produced 700 episodes of original shows, including The Swan.
Recent statistics show that eight out of every ten women of color are entrepreneurs, making it one of the fastest entrepreneurial growing demographics in the U.S. This decade there’s been a 137% rise on Latina-run-businesses, which is significantly larger than any other demographic group at present. Not only are more and more women fighting the stereotypes made by men, they’re also very good at it.
However, the pace with which it’s growing could be even faster if numbers were different. Behind closed doors, it is still a widely men dominated world where although an equal education and better opportunities are being offered to people of color, including women, of course, the big businesses are still run by white men. Sexism can still be experienced on many boards where women feel they’ve been victims of some sort of oppression. Women are generally outnumbered and underestimated, due to gender and race bias.
Another good example of women rising above stereotypes is Jazmin Truesdale, founder of Aza Entertainment who reportedly claimed to have been the only woman of color in meetings. She felt like her colleagues reflected a rather negative and skeptical mood towards her race, gender and achievements. This issue is prevalent and it becomes intimidating, if not disappointing for young entrepreneurs who are starting to climb the executive ladder.
It is true that our modern society is noticeably fighting gender and race stereotypes. It is also true that women, in general, have access to a much better education than what they had compared to men. However, the co-founder of StudentMentor.org says it’s “kind of a boys club”.
Nevertheless, relentless women are taking the challenge regardless of their nationality or skin color. Where many see discrimination and patriarchy, some others see a challenge worth taking where there’s often going to be a hidden opportunity.
In 2007 and before, most of the women-run businesses were rather small, generating in average less than $70,000 per year in revenue. In 2016 that number has dramatically increased and the amount of women-of-color-run-businesses is well over 4,500,000, a number that appears very promising for young entrepreneurs looking to dive into the market with a new idea or who want to skip the branding process and run with a franchise.
Not everything is sexism and oppression though. Women are nowadays being encouraged to start their own business regardless of the field and only based on their education. There are currently multiple government and private based programs focused on helping women to build their brand, business or entrepreneurial spirit. Within the coming years, the gender-gap will hopefully be reduced to zero, and the amount of opportunities offered to women and men will be just the same.
Although it is still a tough time to get their game on and leave their job to start a business of their own, women have a much higher chance nowadays of making any business a successful revenue generator under any circumstances. Family values and the general mentality of the average American are changing towards a more balanced and equal distribution of duties, professions and so forth. Racial stereotypes, though still present, are being addressed. A more tolerant attitude is being cultivated among American citizens.
With motivation, dedication, respect and hard work from both men and women across the country, there shouldn’t be anything in the future that will only be a “man’s job.”
Written by Steven Phoenix. Edited by Christian Poutge.
This piece was created as a part of the affiliate marketing effort of The Revoluzionne for Tony Robbins. Attend Tony Robbin’s live event “Unleash The Power Within” this coming March.
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