Are there differences between men and women entrepreneurs? According to Harvard Business Review , there are!
While men and women rated themselves similarly on many dimensions, women were more confident in their ability to efficiently manage operations and in their vision and influence, while men expressed greater confidence in their comfort with uncertainty and finance and financial management.According to the
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2014 Women’s Report, women around the world have narrowed the gender gap in entrepreneurship by 6% from 2012 to 2014. They are finding paths to launching more businesses in industrialized and developing nations, according to a new report. On average, more women globally are taking advantage of educational gains and perceived economic opportunities to start businesses that can pave the way for financial independence.In their United States Study titled,
Force Multipliers How Three Fundamental Adaptations Can Help Women Entrepreneurs Scale Big, Ernst & Young found that:
In the US, women start businesses at 1.5 times the rate of men and are at least half-owners of 46% of privately held firms. In 2015, the number of enterprises with full or partial female ownership was expected to increase by nearly 7% with sales growing to reach $2.967 trillion, representing nearly 18% of projected GDP in 100 countries, as measured by the World Bank. Yet, only 2% of women-owned businesses in the US break $1 million in revenue Businesses owned by men are 3.5 times more likely to reach the $1 million threshold. Women-owned businesses currently employ 7.8 million workers in the US and generate $1.3 trillion in revenue .However, in a Global survey conducted by the French bank BNP Paribas and consultancy firm Scorpio Partnership, their findings found that
women-run businesses reported average annual sales of $9.1 million, while their male rivals manage about $8.4 million. Additionally, they discovered that female entrepreneurs launch more businesses (4.9) than male entrepreneurs (4.3).Ernst and Young conclude by suggesting
entrepreneurs develop a flexible, adaptive leadership style, highlighting the need to be self-aware and to know when to change focus, and how.This last observation from Ernst and Young, i.e., entrepreneurs develop a flexible, adaptive leadership style, highlighting the need to be self-aware and to know when to change focus, and how holds the key to understanding the mind and genetics of entrepreneurs, regardless of gender.
DNA Behavior International, through extensive research using their highly-validated
Business DNA Natural Behavior Discovery Process, has identified several key personality traits that define entrepreneurs, and detailed in their latest book, “
Mastering Your Entrepreneurial Style“. These findings go to the core of individuals knowing themselves and understanding their hard-wired genetics. The Discovery process specifically reveals, in addition to the hard-wired personality traits, the characteristics inherently ingrained into successful entrepreneurs, regardless of gender. This is the “go to” behavior which repeatedly reveals itself under pressure, during all the stages of the entrepreneurial journey.The natural hard-wired behavior reflects a person’s genetics and the experiences from the first three (3) years of their life. So, we recommend the use of the Business DNA Natural Behavior Discovery Process to measure a person’s entrepreneurial genes.Regardless of the success of the individual sexes – each demonstrates certain degrees of measurable traits that determine whether they have the entrepreneurial gene.
The five (5) key traits of an entrepreneur are listed below Figure 1. Figure 2 identifies how these traits break down between men and women entrepreneurs.
Figure 1
Figure 2Understanding how to manage and use these entrepreneurial traits determines success or failure in terms of the enterprise, regardless of what that is.Finally, the
National Council of Women in Technology (NCWIT), whose analysts assessed data to discover the differences between men and women entrepreneurs determined, there was almost no difference between men and women company founders
Both had an equally strong passion for building wealth. Both started their companies to capitalize on business ideas. Both enjoyed the culture of startups. Both were tired of working for a boss. Both had a long-standing desire to own their own businesses. Their average ages at startup were the same. Men and women were equally likely to have children at home when they started their businesses. (However, men were more likely to be married.) Do you have what it takes to be an Entrepreneur?
It is more than a desire to control your own destiny, though that’s a major key.Not every person possesses all the qualities required to be successful in business. Whats important is to understand if you have the entrepreneurial genetics. Completing the
DNA Behavior Discovery process is a first step to revealing your personality traits.
