Ok, so I know that right from the start I’m treading on tricky ground here, but bear with me and I’ll explain why I decided to delve deeper into this topic!
First of all, a few facts. A quick look around at some of the ‘Top 100 entrepreneurs list reveals some interesting insight into the imbalance of the entrepreneur world. Of the world’s most famous top 100 entrepreneurs only six are women, while women rank more highly in ‘Britain’s top 100 entrepreneurs’ list with 17 entries. Even though this is higher it still struck me as a low, especially when you consider that there are younger, female entrepreneurs who are achieving success that far outweighs their male counterparts. Kathryn Parsons is a good example. At 35 she is co-CEO and co-founder of Decoded, an agency which aims to increase digital literacy.
But the ‘accumulation’ of wealth takes time, which perhaps explains why women like Kathryn haven’t made it onto those lists, despite a net worth of approx. £1.8M. Wealth needs time to accrue.
Which got me thinking about The Business Buyers Club and the gender spilt of our members. True, we have female entrepreneurs in all of our Elite groups but the ratio of men to women is definitely in favour of men. I’d say it’s similar to the British top 100 – around 20%.
But why does this split exist?
Perhaps it’s something to do with confidence and the effect of failure. Men are far more likely to see a mistake as a stumbling block while women, typically less risk averse, might proceed with more caution or abandon the game altogether. Men might look externally for the cause of that failure – the economy or market factors while women are more likely to internalise the failure and be self-critical. Which is a shame, because many typically ‘feminine’ traits are good for business; patience, attention to detail, humility are all needed when we’re negotiating to secure a deal.
It’s also worth considering how men and women fund their entrepreneurial pursuits. Research shows that men are more likely to borrow or seek investment while women rely on savings or family, creating a natural age gap; it takes time to build up those funds. On the whole, male entrepreneurs tend to be younger (Mark Zuckerberg is the perfect example) while women are generally older, with a few exceptions like Sara Blakely for example, who at 29 founded SPANX with her own savings.
But this still doesn’t answer the question; who makes the better entrepreneur?
Is it men, with our confident, risk taking ambition? Perhaps that dogged, bullishness sees us through. Or is it women, with their intelligent consideration, attention to detail and patience?
The answer lies somewhere in the middle, a hybrid of male and female – (I was never going to take sides – I’m not daft!). A good entrepreneur, regardless of gender, needs all of these skills along with tenacity, a sense of humour and the ability to see the bigger picture.
As a little aside – the son of a friend of mine started school this year and in his class of thirty, bizarrely, there are only seven girls. The school have never seen a disparity of that kind before and they’re being honest about it – they’re finding it tough. It got me thinking about how that can happen in business too and how a significant skew either way creates an often-unmentioned imbalance. But everyone can feel it.
So, we’re debunking the myth at The Business Buyers Club! Our female members are as on-track with their acquisitions as our male members, proving that there should never be a gender spilt in business and it should never be a barrier to achieving financial freedom.
I run regular workshops where you can come and learn more about buying businesses and the crucial elements of my business buying process.
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