All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose. Brian Tracy
Women are from Venus and men are from Mars, or so the saying goes. But what about their entrepreneurial experiences? Are their journeys different from each other? Let’s take a look.
Statistically, Men Take More Risks
Doug Sundheim recently published a blog on the Harvard Business Review discussing his findings while getting ready to publish his manuscript, Taking Smart Risks. He gathered 129 stories from professionals after asking the question, “Who, from your network, would you consider smart, successful risk takers?” He found that two-to-one participants mentioned men over women.
In many cases, men tend to take more risks than women. Studies show that the male propensity for risk increases under stress while it decreases for women under stress. This means that under stress a man might be more inclined to take action while a woman might perhaps think longer and be more calculated in their response, potentially missing out on an opportunity.
Studies Show Women May be Treated Differently
In the US, studies are showing that venture capital funding is rewarded to male entrepreneurs over female. The gap is staggeringly large. The study shows that women receive only 2% of venture funding despite women owning about 38% of all businesses in the US.
Research from the Harvard Business Review shows that the reason for this could be that men and women are actually asked different questions during venture capital interviews. For example, men are often asked about their potential for profits from venture capitalists while women are often quizzed about the potential for losses. It could be reasoned that these differences can also be found in other types of business, which would be a huge difference between male and female entrepreneurs.
Differences in Age and Industry
Trends show that women entrepreneurs are often younger with less experience than men. This may be because women are decide to become entrepreneurs sooner in their lives. Women also tend to favor businesses in the retail and service sectors including wholesale, tourism, and the service industry. Men are more likely to start a business in warehousing, transportation, and construction.
Men and Women Exhibit Different Entrepreneurial Traits
According to LinkedIn, women entrepreneurs show different personality traits and features that can make their business experience different. Some of the most prominent features exhibited by women entrepreneurs include:
- Accuracy
- Hard-working
- More likely to seek and heed advice
- Quieter than men
- Great people skills
- Propensity to worry
- More likely to underestimate themselves
- More likely to place the blame on themselves
These traits may make it appear that women lack confidence that men have, however, it’s more likely that women are simply more strategic and may overthink situations before acting. Some major features of male entrepreneurs include experiencing more frequent crises, move faster, be better at self-promotion, and appear to be more ambitious.
These features and reactions to stresses can have a huge impact on the overall experience when it comes to male vs. female entrepreneurs.
Irrespective of these differences, the first step to becoming an entrepreneur is to study the traits that makes for a successful one. We invite you to download our guide and have a read before you make up your mind.
