Younger women not so keen to be the boss
by Shivani Gupta,
Adelaide Advertiser,
published Tuesday, 22 November 2005
The number of young women setting up small businesses is very low, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting in 2002 the average small business was home-based and run by a man.
Of male business owners, 80 per cent work full-time (35-50 hours) whereas only 39 per cent of women owners do so.
It would seem that women running these businesses part-time are addressing a hobby rather than a business idea.
There are so many successful businesswomen who have taken a hobby and converted it into a multimillion-dollar business by taking a risk. Who would have thought ice cubes of baby food for a young mother would convert into a business idea?
Or our own SA example of handmade handbags, ultrafunki, which capitalised on an occasion to launch its bags in Copenhagen. It can be done.
If we have education and experience behind us, then we will always find jobs in the event that the business venture fails but you won't know until you try.
Here are some tips, for men and women who may be looking at starting their own business:
MARKET research - learn what customers will buy, whether a product or a service, and how much they will pay.
SPENDING a fortune on logos, cards and websites is unnecessary. As more funding comes your way, you update and spend more money on it.
GET expert help, whether an accountant or a solicitor.
HAVE a business plan. It need only say who you are, what you do, how you do it and what you will do over the next month.
BELIEVE in yourself.