FEATURE
The more firms can provide flexible options , the more women will believe they can succeed alongside taking time out to have a family .
The more women are succeeding in their careers , the more likely they are to consider going it alone and setting up their own businesses .
Balancing risk and reward
I haven ’ t met many women who have a ‘ risk it all ’ attitude . It ’ s generally the men I meet in my sector that are willing to take more risks .
A cautious attitude to risk can be healthy , but sometimes we need to silence that niggling voice and take the plunge .
Our fear of risk taking can arise from our need for approval . Again , I ’ m speaking generally , but I think women worry about being liked more than men . Being liked is not a negative .
It can also be great for more mature businesses – it ’ s proven to lower staff churn and create better working environments , for example .
But it doesn ’ t always translate to driving growth in the early years of a business . That ’ s when the difficult make or break decisions need to be made .
This lower risk profile can hold us back from starting our own businesses and can make it harder to secure start-up funding . That ’ s why we need to lead by example and role models are
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