Women entrepreneurs

The number of women entrepreneurs in Canada has been growing slowly but steadily. If you're one of them — or want to be — it's important to know what it takes to succeed, what you're getting into, where to get the information you need and how to get connected with like-minded people. It also helps to be familiar with the rewards and challenges women entrepreneurs face.

According to Statistics Canada, in 1976, 8.6 per cent of women were self-employed, and women represented 26.3 per cent of self-employed Canadians. By 2003, 11.3 per cent of women were self-employed, and women represented 34.2 per cent of self-employed Canadians. That's a significant increase — so if you're one of them, you're in good and growing company.

Do you have what it takes?
According to research by the Washington, D.C.-based National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO), women entrepreneurs are a fast-growing segment of the business community around the world, and their shared characteristics — the qualities it takes to succeed — include optimism, self-confidence, an independent mindset and willingness to take risks. You should also be realistic, have plenty of energy and are adept at juggling career demands with those of their family.

Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian MacMillan, the authors of The Entrepreneurial Mindset, say successful entrepreneurs are people who "passionately seek new opportunities" and are able to "pursue opportunities with enormous discipline." They also know how to balance work and family life, and distinguish goals worth pursuing apart from goals that are likely to be unachievable or unrewarding. Entrepreneurs "pursue only the very best opportunities and avoid exhausting themselves by chasing after every option," they say.

Some women may be motivated to start a business to make more money, but more women are mainly looking for more control over their personal and professional lives, says Connie Glaser, the author of When Money Isn't Enough. "Many women feel frustrated by the restraints and the glass ceiling of corporate America," says Glaser. "They feel like stepping out of that structure."

A survey by the NFWBO backs up Glaser's sentiment. The survey found that women perceive the greatest rewards of entrepreneurship relate to having control over their own destinies. A whopping 45 per cent of women surveyed cited issues related to control and independence as being among the greatest rewards of business ownership.

How to get connected
For more information about women entrepreneurs, or to join a group of like-minded women, try some of these organizations:

• www.wec.ca - Women Entrepreneurs of Canada offers person-to-person networking opportunities for women, with online networking options.
  
• www.cawee.net - The Canadian Association of Women Executives & Entrepreneurs offers monthly networking forums, special events, professional development programs and national affiliations.
  
• www.womenpresidentsorg.com - The Women Presidents' Organization is the first Canadian chapter of the New York-based Women Presidents' Organization (WPO), a group that unites women business owners to discuss business and personal issues.
  
• www.wiredwoman.com - Wired Woman Society is Canada's largest group of women in technology, providing education, networking and support for "women with a passion for technology."

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Women entrepreneurs