Single Entrepreneurs
Q: In your book, “Single, Women, Entrepreneurs,” you explain that single female entrepreneurs seem to be on the rise – can you share some statistics to support this claim?
What intrigued me to write this book was the fact that in a study by the Kauffman Foundation, it was found that more single/divorced and widowed women than men start businesses in their respective categories. See table 2 in this report, it speaks for itself.
Q: How do you explain this trend?
For the first time ever, as of October 2010, the number of single adult women in the U.S. actually outnumbered the number of married adult women. Women are also graduating from college more than men. They also go to grad school more than men. People are waiting to get married. And, divorce rates are still high. All these factors play into the rise of the single entrepreneurial woman.
Q: Starting a business on a single income is no easy feat. What advice would you give to those who are stuck in a full-time job, with dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, but cannot get out?
This is a really interesting question, and one I asked all 30 of the women in my book. Should a SWE start a business on the side, on top of a full time day job? If so, when can she safely quit her day job and go full time on her own company? Answers were all across the board; but I personally think the rise of having multiple career streams occurring simultaneously is yet another argument for sustainability and the future of business in this country, because it allows for more 'safety' in terms of income streams. If you put all your career eggs in one basket, and you have one job, and you receive a pink slip--what else do you have to fall back on?
Q: The number of women C.E.O.’s is significantly less than men. Despite all of the start-up challenges, did the women you interviewed find starting their own business the better option?
Yes, fascinatingly. I discovered this as well in the book: the best and brightest females are tired of banging their heads on the glass ceiling in corporate America. The inflexibility of corporate America causes frustration, to the point where women are fed up with the rigidity and leave to start their own businesses not only to create a "job" for themselves, but more importantly to them, create an entire "life" or "lifestyle" for themselves through business ownership. One woman in the book even remarked that she's so creative and bright that corporate America will hire her as a consultant through her business, but they wouldn't touch her if she was a full time employee candidate, BECAUSE she's so creative and bright. I found that...ironic. And, I think that is a serious wake up call for big business in corporate America. Note to big business: if you want to keep your best and brightest women, you'd better start thinking about flexibility and allowing these women to design their entire lives around their work, rather than just having work be one, rigid way. Another way of putting this is the results oriented work environment - or ROWE, which many authors talk about. Who cares when and where you do your work? Just get it done!
Q: Any lessons learned that would-be or struggling female entrepreneurs might not initially consider?
I asked each woman in the book what advice they would give a young woman thinking of starting a business. Answered ranged from writing a plan, to finding mentors, to understanding that failure is OK, as long as you learn something from it.
Q: A big issue for women, particularly those who are venturing out on their own, is setting boundaries. How would you advise them to protect themselves without harming their business?
A lot of the women in this book found that was a huge challenge to them with their businesses. Women don't compartmentalize like men do; in fact, a lot of women in this book said they admire men for having this ability. I personally think the word "balance" should be thrown out, and a lot of these women confirmed this for me in this project. I asked about success too, and success is doing what you love when you want to do it for many of them...and if that is more work than other stuff, the women thought that was OK. A lot of women viewed their businesses much like their children - it is truly a part of them.
Q: Tell us more about YUSPIE?
Yuspie, or young urban single professionals of Indiana, is in the connection business. We are an informational portal and now have a series of books as well that helps young professionals who are out of their college bubbles or new to the city of Indianapolis find meaningful ways for them to get connected to the city--whether that means starting a business, developing their means of giving back or just living green. I don't care how young people get connected to the city - I just want them to "only connect" as E.M. Forester famously wrote. We work with colleges and universities as well to show college students all the awesome things that Indianapolis has to offer, in hopes of retaining them and creating brain gain after college.
Q: 2010 was supposed to be the year of the entrepreneur. If we could do it all over again, how can government better help budding businesses?
I'm honestly starting to think the best way for government to help the entrepreneur is just get the hell out of the way, as one of my entrepreneurial teaching mentors says. The more burdens we put on the entrepreneur, the better other countries like China and India look to corporations. Why keep the workers here and deal with unions, increasing wages, and a bunch of red tape, when they can pick up, head to China, slash wages and not have to deal with unions and bureaucracy? Furthermore, we have new business models available, like the Benefit Corporation and/or the Low Profit Limited Liability Company, or L3C, that should be available in ALL 50 states, which are business forms which allow the entrepreneur to create sustainable business rather than for-profit companies with the sole motive of creating profits. Why can't a business have a mission AND create profits, but not sacrifice one over the other? The pure profit motive is not a sustainable model. For example, if a business builds a plant in the middle of nowhere, but pollutes the land around it and treats its employees like dung, yet makes a profit, is that ethical? Is that business doing the right thing? Conversely, businesses like TOMS shoes is an excellent example of a for-profit company that actually gives back and makes it part of their business model.
Q: Any other words of wisdom?
If we truly want to get back to our roots and become the United States of Awesome again, as I like to call it, we need to seize, foster and develop the entrepreneurial mindset in this country. We need to get back to innovation, creativity, and trying new things. Entrepreneurship in my opinion should be part of all college curriculum and for that matter, even earlier in the curriculum. It isn't a school of business thing; it is instead a way of life. And I argue a way of life that we've lost. To get it back? We must make it a priority. The women in my new book are making it a priority. We just need to support them, and encourage more of them to go for it!
