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A study of women entrepreneurs released last December by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) found an estimated 187 million women starting and running businesses in 59 world economies. But the men, outnumbered the women in all except one (Ghana).

Women’s entrepreneurship is also falling short in Canada. Only 16 per cent of all small and medium-sized businesses are majority-female-owned, according to the latest data from Industry Canada. Moreover, the average annual revenue of those firms is roughly half that of majority-male-owned businesses.  Why is this the case?

Although some studies cite “inequitable access” to business loans and funding for women vs. men, the GEM study found that many of the barriers come from women themselves.  Similar to men, women are just as likely to see entrepreneurship as attractive, but they are less likely to believe there are a lot of opportunities for starting businesses in their area. In fact, during a nine-year span (from 2002-2010), this report shows that these perceptions about entrepreneurial opportunities declined among women in most developed economies.

Additionally, women’s attitudes on failure come into play.  They are more likely dissuaded from entrepreneurship due to fear of failure and they are less likely than men to display intentions for starting businesses.

Women responding to a recent Canadian survey back this up, citing lack of time and funds as the main issues they face on a daily basis.  Women claim they are short of time and money to the degree that their focus on business development is hindered.  Other responses like lack of customers and need for marketing all stem from their cultural need to do everything themselves.

"Their fierce independence combined with minimal funding, time constraints and lack of focus is what eventually erodes their ability to succeed" maintains Crawford who has coached or interviewed over a thousand women in the last eight years. "What they really need is mentorship, training and a better understanding of how to balance their lives.  If they want to have a business that succeeds, they need to invest time and money with focus.

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Gail

 

 

 

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Although the population of women pretty much matches their complimentary gender (men), thy are still outnumbered as much as four to one when it comes to news and other media. (Ye,s 50% of the populations is female)

According to statistics, although women make up the majority of caregivers and influence over 85% of the buying decisions in North America - reports, opinions and news in general is still basically dominated by men.

This really should come as no surprise to women in business who often build their businesses without fanfare and media celebration.

"Women in general do not blow their own horns enough" quips Mandie Crawford, founder of Roaring Women Ltd - a business support organization for women.  "In the 10 years I have worked with women I have noticed that very few of them send out releases or announcements or appear in the media.  This results in very little media coverage at all."

She challenges anyone to do a simple Google search for 'news on women in business'.  The results are disappointing.

"Women would benefit from more media exposure when it comes to their businesses - and it does not take much.  It can be one of the best forms of marketing for their businesses"  she says.

Learn more here on how you can interact with the media, appear on radio or issue nation wide or local press releases.
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A successful business model?  Yes.  Loyal following? Yes. Millions in sales?  Yes. However the most phenomenal thing that they all share in a world over-run with business to business advertising telling you that you NEED to advertise - these prodigious businesses DO NOT ADVERTISE.

In a recent CBC radio episode, "Under the Influence" hosted by Terry O'Reilly, he examines the successful marketing strategies of several giants, (who all by the way started small) and how they grew to be the giants they are without one ad.  Hear the radio show here.   3.9 Billion dollars in sales of meat a year - with no advertising?  Read more here.

The Lunt Group of lia sophia  has become a multi-million dollar a year team. Together this team has created a strong system that supports others - men & women alike, as well as helping to empower everyone to have the vehicle to Achieve Their Dreams.

Les Hewitt a great mentor and co-author of The Power of Focus has honoured this team by having our team's name and lia sophia on the front cover of his special 10th year anniversary edition.  Visit the bookstore to read "How to hit your business personal and financial targets with confidence and certainty", The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Les Hewitt.

Believe and your will achieve!

I want to thank Mandie for the great webinars she hosted this week. I attended 

Heather Holjevac has made a living out of listening to women and helping them find the missing pieces to their financial puzzles! Heather recently was featured on the front page of Investment Executive January 2012 edition - read more here!  Congratulations Heather on reaching another level of success!

According to Forbes Magazine, one of the wasy to be a "Social Media Power Influence" is to use an integrated approach.  Instead of focusing on one approach - the trick is to use several platforms to build your community and increase your followers.

In Haydn Shaughnessy's article "How to Be a Social Media Power Influencer (And Why!)"  he interviewed top media influencers to get their take on how and why using social media was successful for them.

Pam Moore - one of the experts Shaughnessy refers - to shares her strategies below:

Blog: best possible content to inspire and connect with target audiences.

Twitter: to reach a large network of folks who enjoy and share content with their friends.  Enables building of communities that are taken offline and on to other social networks for further nurturing.

LinkedIn: People validate what I do, what I have done and who I am.

Facebook: Intimately connects with people via my personal Facebook page, business page and private groups.

YouTube: Similar to my blog but in video format.

This can all be very time consuming - however using connective tools like hootesuite and other social media connectors can be a huge time saver.

Want to connect your social media efforts and build you network faster?  Connect with Roaring Women's Social Media Community that connects facebook and twitter and also imports your linked in profile!

First, black is really back this season, which many thrilled about since black is what we see it at least ninety percent of the time at any dress up event! It's a classic shade for formal clothes, and it's perfect for dressier jewellery, too.

People expect to see clear crystal, but sparkling crystal in understated colors tones like black is fresh, chic and festive without ever being over-the-top. Black looks great whatever your age, and dresses up everything from a sweater to a party dress undefined so it's a great place to start.

A very pretty trend we're seeing this season is something our expert likes to call "Feminine with a Twist." It's all about updated classic styles, and modern looks for things like pearls, which continue to be big. For the holidays, there are lots of versatile new designs and fun, fresh ways to wear the classics.  In the other direction, "Factory Girl" is everywhere.

These are designs that have a more "industrial" inspiration without losing their feminine appeal. That means distressed finishes, vintage elements and a worn-in feel, but offset with dazzling crystal and lighter touches. Factory Girl style is based in strong design elements, which makes it versatile, too undefined it looks great with jeans and a white tee or with a dressier evening look, too.

Finally, Sparkle and Shine! These are styles that dazzle, catching the light to add some glam to your look undefined which, of course, is what holiday dressing is all about.

For more information on dressing up that little black dress - please contact Diane Dumont.