Confidence grows amongst female startups |
|
|
| Economy | |
| Written by Roberta Murray | |
| Tuesday, 09 March 2010 | |
|
New poll suggests significant improvements in outlook for woman entrepreneurs. Gender barriers are narrowing amongst the UK’s entrepreneurs, according to a major poll from Business Link. Small businesses headed by women focussed heavily on improving their service levels through the recession. As the nation emerges from the downturn, the poll suggests women business owners feel on a more equal footing with their male counterparts.20% of women entrepreneurs still feel they have to work harder than men to prove themselves in the business world. This is a significant improvement from this time last year, when a similar poll showed 38% felt they had to work harder. The number of women business leaders who feel they have had to impress the rest of the business community more than men do has also dropped from 29% to just 7%. The poll has highlighted customer service as a central tenet of women entrepreneurs. Women place customer satisfaction much higher up the list of business health factors than sales – 53% saw great service as a key indicator that their business was succeeding. Many felt that service leads naturally on to repeat business, with 51% reporting that repeat customers were a crucial characteristic of a thriving business. The poll took into account the views of over 1,000 women entrepreneurs throughout the UK. Nearly half (47%) felt that their ability to adapt was a key factor in coming through the recession in good shape. When asked what makes a successful business owner, the customer again featured heavily in the responses of women entrepreneurs. One respondent felt that women had “a better understanding of customers than men.” Another reported that a good business owner is one that is “aware of the service element of the business and has empathy with the customer. This is more of a female trait than a male one.” Diana Robertson, marketing and communications director at Business Link in London, comments: “This poll shows a significant shift from last year. Women business leaders in the SME sector are making noticeable inroads to gender barriers, and using customer service to the spearhead the change. As International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March, women entrepreneurs have never been in a stronger position.” The poll also revealed social media may be the tool that promises even greater strides forward for entrepreneurs. Around a third (28%) of women entrepreneurs that use social networking are able to generate sales leads. However, 61% of all women-led SMEs are do not use social networking for business, revealing an area with huge potential to further grow the sector. Diana Robertson continues: “Harnessing social media effectively can have a profound effect on a small business, opening up new markets and building its brand in an incredibly efficient way. We’re seeing a lot of women use social networking tools to grow their companies, but it’s still only happening in pockets. This is likely to be an area where women entrepreneurs can realise even more growth as the wider economy recovers.”
Comments (0)
 Post a comment
|
|
digg 
del.ico.us 
Newsvine 
Reddit 
Furl 
technorati 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
