Sisters are doing it for themselves

three confident and smiling business women on white background

Not only are women starting their own businesses at a faster rate than men, they are generating more revenue on average. According to the 2016 Census data, the number of women owning their own business jumped 7.6 per cent over the previous decade versus a rise of just 0.3 per cent for men.

The idea that youth is a key to entrepreneurial success has also been debunked, with the latest ABS figures revealing that the median age of women starting small businesses is 47. A recent Kauffman Foundation-funded study found that twice as many successful entrepreneurs are over 50 than under 25.

And these women starting businesses are not afraid to work hard. Gruelling hours are usual in the start-up phase of a business, but it’s the flexibility of the hours that women embrace and the option to work when they want and how they want. The ability to attend the school assembly without judgment. The option to log back on after the kids are in bed in order to finish the day’s work. Utilising the advantages of modern technology, “work smarter, not harder” is the zeitgeist of the 21st century.

Female entrepreneurs are adept at seeing gaps in the market and capitalising on those opportunities. Take American Spanx founder, Sara Blakely, who used her personal savings of $5000 to launch her iconic body-shaping underwear. In its first year alone, Spanx’s revenue topped $4 million and Sara still owns 100 per cent of the company.

Closer to home, tech entrepreneur Catriona Wallace blazed a trail by starting artificial intelligence (AI) company, Flamingo, in 2014. She led the way again by listing Flamingo on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), making it one of only two listed companies with a female CEO and Chair. As 90 per cent of AI coding work is currently done by men, Catriona’s voice is critical in the debate about avoiding unconscious bias and building diversity into AI hard coding. Then there’s Sydney’s Melanie Perkins, co-founder of design site Canva who, at 30 years of age, became one of the youngest female CEOs of a USD$1 billion start-up.

According to research undertaken by Boston Consulting Group, companies in the US founded by women receive an average of US$935,000 in VC investments, roughly half the amount invested in companies founded by male entrepreneurs. Despite being comparatively underfunded, these female-led businesses generated 10 per cent more in cumulative revenue over a five-year period. Put simply, startups founded by women make significantly better investments.

The venture capital system is highly male-dominated, and it is thought that the lack of diversity creates unconscious gender bias around strategic investment decisions. On the plus side, women know they’re likely to begin with less funding but, determined to make a success of their companies, generally learn early to be more capital efficient.

Julie Hyam-Elliott, Australian Invoice Finance