Should Women Entrepreneurs Start Businesses Now?

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Keywords: women, economy, small business, economic crisis

Due to the dismal state of the economy, many women entrepreneurs are holding back from starting businesses. But surprisingly, some of the most successful women entrepreneurs say that now is not the time to fret. But to be successful, they say, you must first take careful steps.

"The key engine of a global economy is the entrepreneur," says Amparo Moraleda Martínez, a general manager for IBM in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Israel and Turkey. IBM is No. 9 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® list.

In the United States, there are 10.1 million women-owned businesses, which provide jobs for approximately 13 million people, according to information provided during IBM's Women Speak Webcast. In addition, 1.9 million businesses are owned by women from traditionally underrepresented groups.

Globally, women own one-third of all businesses, representing 29 percent of the global population. And 72 percent of women executives globally are working mothers.

But one challenge women entrepreneurs face involves the very core of starting a business--financing it.

"As I travel the globe, even domestically and in other countries, I still find women sharing with me that they are frustrated that they don't get the same access to capital as do their male counterparts," says Maria Contreras-Sweet, chairwoman of the board of PROMERICA Bank.

Not only is she unique, as a woman who started her own bank, but Contreras-Sweet is also a founding member of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission and the first Latina to start a publicly-traded company.

"There are conventional banks, private equity--but I think as women we need to begin to initiate our own funds and become investors and believe in each other," she says.

Aside from conventional and community banks, as well as private equity, Contreras-Sweet recommends angel investments as another source of gaining capital.

"[Angel financing groups] are clusters of people who want to provide seed capital to make sure that innovation has an opportunity to be tested," Contreras-Sweet says. "Often times, women are coming together and they say, 'I like her idea, and let's get 20 of us together to finance that idea.'"

She credits the help of her "sisters," or other women innovators, with helping to start her business.

"When I thought about financing women, I had to go to about 400 women who came together as the founding shareholders to help me found PROMERICA Bank, which is the first woman-owned bank in California in over 20 years," she says. "Right now, we remain the only woman-owned bank in the state of California. That goes to show you how vast the need is."

Once you have that capital and your business is starting to grow, it's essential to understand your business from a global perspective.

"If women are looking to expand their business globally, I believe the first thing they need to do is do some market research in terms of which parts of the world would be most receptive or have a need for their products or services," says Virginia P'an, managing partner & CEO of China Pacific Partners LLC & TransCapital Group LLC. "Women business owners should be looking at identifying and establishing local strategic alliances when they are entering a new market so that they can tap into the local cultural and business nuances."

When you have financing, an understanding of the global marketplace and an understanding of technology, then you are on the right track to having a successful business.

"I think it is still a good time to start a business," says Marsha Firestone, president and founder of the Women Presidents' Organization. "There are still many opportunities out there, [so] don't forget that there isn't just bad happening. I think we all know that there are many difficulties happening right now and many challenges for us to overcome, but there are also some creative opportunities."

She adds that women business owners should stay positive.

"We just did a survey of our membership and 60 percent report that they feel like [their business] will grow in 2009--given the state of the economy, that's a pretty substantial number," Firestone says. "One of the best ways to identify what those opportunities are is to ask your staff, ask your clients, ask your board, and if you're brand new and you don't have any of those, ask your potential customer because they're going to be a great resource of the innovative ideas that can help you get started."

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