how women entrepreneurs improve their game 2014

WHITE PAPER

Vol 1|No.1

How Women Entrepreneurs Improve Their Game

Success Triggers for Women Entrepreneurs July 2014

2 | WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: Success Triggers, Dilemmas and Readiness for the Future

Cover Photograph

After years of training to become a

professional ballet dancer, artist Kylli

Sparre realized it wasn’t the path for her

and instead channeled passion for dance

into photography and image

manipulation. We are indebted to Kylli

for giving us permission to use this image

as the cover of the white paper. This

image is aptly called ‘when impossible

ends’. Please visit and support the

incredible Kylli on

http://www.sparrek.org

Endorsements

"This whitepaper on Entrepreneurial

Women contains a lot of accessible

data on the challenges of female

entrepreneurs. The paper itself is a

good start to tackle one of these major

challenges and that is the lack of

knowledge." Prof. Fons Trompenaars,

THT Consulting – Selected as one of the

50 Most Influential Management

Gurus by Thinkers50

Endorsements

“ What I like about this publication is that it

practically inspires business women to reach

greater heights. Women are powerful,

creative and independent innovating

agents of the enterprise but this is not

always seen, understood or believed - There

is no doubt that women deserve more

opportunities and support than they are

getting”. Prof Dianne Bevelander

Rotterdam School of Management,

Erasmus University. Dianne is the

Associate Dean, MBA Programs at

Rotterdam School of Management,

Erasmus University (RSM).

UnitedSucces is delighted with the

contribution WeSoar makes to Women

Entrepreneurs. The research has

demonstrated that businesswomen

often know more than they believe they

do and are persistent and resilient.

WeSoar provides hands-on pointers for

female entrepreneurs to grow further.

Corinne Heijn, Founder and President

UnitedSucces

Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved.

http://www.sparrek.org/

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http://www.rsm.nl/wersm/

http://www.rsm.nl/wersm/

http://www.unitedsucces.com/


FOREWORD

I am writing this white paper to encourage and

salute all women entrepreneurs across the globe

(including myself). Regardless of your motive for

starting your business initiative, the fact is that it

took courage. Perhaps it seems enough to settle

for the success and accomplishments you have

achieved or those within reach. I’d like to ask you

to stretch much further. The chances are that

you can grow bigger, work smarter and make

more impact than you currently are. Not at the

expense of you, any one or any thing you hold

dear.

If you are like me, the biggest barrier you have

had to overcome to get this far has been

yourself. The amount of personal energy wasted

by self-doubt, lack of direction, financial fears,

lack of confidence or knowledge, playing it safe,

retreating due to failures, etc. is only redeemed

to the extent that we learn from our setbacks and

then act.

Moreover, learning from our shared experiences

is a powerful antidote to negativity and slow

growth. When a fellow or accomplished

entrepreneur says “yeah me too..” it normalises

our woes or failures and provides the perfect

context in which to be more objective, ‘lean in’,

and do things better.

In fact, ‘failure’ is your most underrated and yet

your best opportunity to succeed. Failed

partnerships, talent jumping ship or aborted

attempts to globalise your product are learning

opportunities – not opportunities to retreat.

We created this research project not to gather

data but to provide a shared learning experience

in which we discover together how other

successful women entrepreneurs across the

globe have succeeded (and failed) along the way.

We were not looking for the idealised sugar-

coated candy version, but the real stories. When

we relate to and recognise ourselves in other

stories, it triggers hope, revives energy and

strokes our endurance. We also learn how to run

better and smarter businesses and get there

quicker.

This study does not end here. It is the beginning

of a learning platform that provides a series of

online publications, newsletters, webinars,

workshops and forums, which will empower

women to take their businesses to the next level.

We hope it compels you to reach more of your

potential to grow a business that yields higher

returns on a more sustainable basis.

I would especially like to thank UnitedSucces, THT Consulting, The WeSoar Board of Advisers and my project team for supporting or co-creating this ongoing project. It has been a wonderful jouney and we look forward to the next phase!

Madeleine van der Steege Originator of WeSoar and owner of

Synquity

http://www.synquity.com/


INTRODUCTION

Many factors contribute to the ability of women

entrepreneurs (WE) to achieve success. Personal factors as

well as contextual factors in the entreprenurial

environment influence success.

Think of your business as being part of an ecosystem. The

interdependence in an ecosystem sustains all life. A

healthy entrerprenurial ecosystem is present when the

environment actively supports your business and vice

versa. An environment brimming with enabling people,

networks, opportunities, clear policies and laws will

activate and enable WE. Furthermore, you are your most

important resource. Ongoing self development and

increased business competence expands your potential to

reach and maintain success. Through this publication we

hope to encourage more WE to start-up and to encourage

existing and established WE to develop further, generate

higher returns and ensure long-term sustainability!

Women all over the world are increasingly becoming more

responsible for their own personal, family, business and

regional economic sustainability. This in itself is

empowering and exciting. Along with the increasing

number of WE, there is a great need to increase our

personal and financial confidence.

The success of WE is obviously inhibited where attitudes

toward women, discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice

to WE exists. Some countries explicitly differentiate

between women and men in terms of property rights and

legal capacity and, therefore, limit WE from achieving their

full potential.

However, a businesses is run with a certain future

orientation being implicit – that is the desire and intention

to exist in the future despite the constraints.

Can you keep up with market changes, globalization,

digitization, environmental sustainability, genetics, nano

technology, online education, large scale changes in world

economies, mobile technology, disruptive technologies like

cloud, big data and emerging technologies like 3D printing?

It is challenging. However, if entrepreneurs don’t stay

ahead, or at worse, remain up to date and transform, some

businesses will become obsolete. Life long learning and

knowledge sharing amongst entrepreneurs is paramount.

This report presents the results of WeSoar – a global

reseach pilot study, which includes interviews with 30

successful WE across 11 countries. We asked them, despite

the challenges they faced, what triggered success? Who

was critical to their success and who gave them a leg up?

How did the environment trigger or enable their success?

How do they view they future and what challenges lie

ahead?

If entrepreneurs don’t keep

up, transform and innovate,

some businesses will become

obsolete


OBJECTIVES OF THIS REPORT

To share the outcomes of WeSoar research on the personal enablers of successful women entrepreneurs

(WE)

Personal enablers of success for WE in this study included a consideration of ‘how WE defined success’, as well as the critical behaviours, habits, characteristics and values they thought had enabled them to generate their success.

To share the environmental enablers of successful WE

Environmental enablers were viewed as anyone or anything in the ecosystem that WE thought had played a critical role in enabling their success.

To share the future perspective of successful WE

Future orientation for the purposes of this report included WE awareness of future trends that could impact on their businesses, challenges that might threaten the future of their businesses, what they need to scale up the businesess, as well as readiness for the future.

Who Participated?

WE in this study are generally highly educated and in control of significant assets. 46% have a turnover exceeding $ 1

million, 27% exceed $ 5 million and 10 % have more than $ 20 million turnover per annum. WE from Brazil, Canada, China,

Greece, Japan, Kenya, South Africa, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States participated. A

total of 30 women entrepreneurs (4 of whom are intrapreneurs i.e., driving new initiatives for existing corporates)

participated.

Personal and Environmental Success Trigger of Women Entrepreneurs

Personal Enablers Environmental Enablers Future Orientation


Hello! What Is ‘Success’?

Your definition of ‘success’ has

probably not ever been said out

loud. In fact, for most of us, our

belief of ‘what success is’ may be

unconscious. Yet this belief

shapes, drives and influences the

impact that we make (or don’t!).

In the interviews, we discover how successful WE view

success and how this relates to what they believed

triggered their success.

The author, Marianne Williamson, writes ‘we become

successful when we decide to become successful.’ Along

the way we have the power to generate success as well

as to fear success. Williamson quotes George Elliot who

said, ‘It is never too late to become who we might have

been’ and she adds ‘It is never too late to become who

we fully are.’

It is clear from this study that, although WE defined

success both in terms of social and economic factors,

social factors in this case, simply featured more often.

For example, more WE listed meaningfulness,

empowering others, developing potential and helping to

create a better world (46%) rather than economic factors

such as scaling up the business and making a profit

(17%). This finding backs up previous research, which

found that WE tend to focus on personal fulfilment,

meaningfulness, professional growth, challenges and

want to create a safe future. These motivations also

define their entrepreneurial priorities.

The realisation of how you view ‘success’, provides you

with the opportunity to be honest with yourself, and to

check whether you might be ‘playing it safe’ due to a lack

of: inner resources, support or development or the

culture around you. Or does your view of success reflect

your courage and best version of yourself? Check your

reality and use it as an opportunity to realign your

actions and decisions with your truly strategic, desired

end goals.

FIGURE 1 Women Entrepreneurs View of Success

17%

17%

17%

17%

17%

17%

17%

17%

21%

25%

29%

46%

Achieve Purpose of Business

Scaling Up the Business

Making a Profit

Perseverance and Tenacity

Helping to Shift the Gender Bias

Achieving My Life Purpose

A Sense of Personal…

Gaining Pleasure from Work

Contributing to a Better World

It is Using my Potential / Actualizing

It is Empowering Others to Succeed

Its More than Just the Money

Before you read

what our respondents say –

take some time to think and

write down: What is your

definition of success?

7 | WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: Success Triggers, Dilemmas And ‘Readiness For The Future’

Personal Enabler: How Women Entrepreneurs Created Succes

Once your business is running, what are you are doing that actually makes your business succeed?

Look beyond the barriers and rather concentrate on success factors and enablers. One factor might

be that WE integrate a unique mix of personal, family and business aspirations that symbolise the

realities of our feminized life course. Most of the WE we interviewed started their businesses while

they were in a ‘full-nest’ family life cycle. To succeed they have to deal with the tensions that occur

between family, employees, clients, shareholders and society. In this section we share the actions,

behaviour, characteristics or habits that 30 successful WE thought were critical to success.

FIGURE 2: Behaviours, Actions, Habits Or Characteristics That Triggered Success

The courage to step into the ‘unknown’ and having a ‘sense of agency’ (i.e. the belief that your actions will create an impact

or the desired outcome) was one of the top factors reported as being critical to success. This mindset is build on having

failed and bounced back. To be successful you need to take risks. You need to fail. You need to bounce back stronger.

These women do not see themselves as passive observers, but as active participants who are responsible for bringing

about structural changes in their environments through active participation and using their unique women’s intuition.

Furthermore, having a goal orientated approach centered on ‘what customers want and need’ requires hard work, long

hours and discipline. What stood out in this study is the inherently collaborative manner in which these women build up

their companies by, for example, asking for help and involving and investing in others to achieve an even better end result.

17%

17%

17%

17%

20%

20%

23%

23%

30%

33%

37%

37%

37%

40%

40%

Collaboration

Get Support or Help

Driven By Significance and Meanigfulness

Strategize

Develop People and Team

Network

Flexibility and Openmindedness

Ongoing Learning and Development

Align and Include Others

Discipline and Work Hard

Customer Care Orientation

Goal Focussed

Perseverance and Tenacity

Courage to Risk Stepping into the Unknown

Personal Sense of 'Agency'


Personal Enabler: Which Core Values are Critical to Success?

When we honor that which we hold dear, we are expressing core values. When these core values are

just as important to our employees, customers and stakeholders, they become powerful, critical

triggers for sustainable success. What generic values did WE in this study uphold regardless of the

country or industry they operated in?

FIGURE 3: Values that trigger success

From this study, the core values that are critical to success also represent a long term view for business. For WE in this

study, business was not about making a ‘quick buck’ and sacrificing repeat business, but about establishing long term

relationships and a trusted reputation with all stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This helped to weather the

inevitable storms and ride the peaks of business.

“I like doing things fairly. You should compete fairly as well. I believe that in the mentoring of others, particularly in South Africa, you have to help people, be aware of the need to foster people and you have to deal honestly. This is a great problem, because people do not all deal

honestly. You have to tell people exactly what is happening” Margrit Wolf, South Africa.

“Core values? I have always been myself. I never lie. I am not “a political guy”. Perhaps this is one my ‘failures’? My values mean that everyone knows that what I say is what I stand for – that is integrity. I have always worked with key customers and they really want to work with me. If I am there, they know I can help them solve their problems. Although my current business is totally different, the same values are

coming back and I am able to translate customers’ needs” Franciose de Groeijen, Netherlands.

17%

17%

20%

20%

23%

23%

23%

23%

23%

27%

27%

Develop Others

Creativity

Openness

Inclusivity

Respect People

Make the World Better

Integrity

Customer Orientation/First

Collaboration

Honesty

Authenticity


People Enablers:

Support Systems that Played a Critical Role

In this study we were interested in who or what played an important role that enabled WE to achieve

success. Getting support, encouragement, advice and having role models from whom to learn can be

empowering – but who was really critical? Is there someone without whom success would not have

been possible? Malcom Gladwell cautions: “Because we so profoundly personalize success, we miss

opportunities to lift others onto the top rung...We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far

too dismissive of those who fail. And most of all, we become much too passive. We overlook just how

large a role we all play—and by “we” I mean society—in determining who makes it and who doesn’t.” Malcom Gladwell, The Outliers.

FIGURE 4: Who or what ‘gave you a leg up’?

Husbands or life partners get the top spot! Followed by family of origin. Support, encouragement and role models from the

people who are the closest are very important enablers. It follows that if we have this kind of support, it is wise to nurture it

and show our appreciation. Mentors, women’s networks, previous employers or bosses were important catalysts for the

women in the study. The onus on us is is to ‘pay it forward’ i.e., to act as a catalyst for other WE.

“I have a wonderful, wonderful husband, and he supports me. That’s wonderful because you’re not always the best of

company when things aren’t going right but you get the unconditional support at

home. What also has kept me motivated is the fact that I meet so many great

women”

– Carien van der Laan, NL.

“I come from a family of entrepreneurs and it was in our upbringing. It is also a

personality thing - when you are young and think in terms of ‘risk and return’. We were

always taught to think for ourselves. We were also taught, “don’t be afraid of what others think of you”. We were all curious.

And work ethic is one of the things you have to have to become successful in any business

or corporate life”.

– Eva Hukshorn NL.

10%

21%

24%

24%

31%

38%

45%

Business Partner of Associate

Other

Women's Network

Previous / Current Boss

Mentor

Family of Origin (grew up with)

Husband / Life Partners

I learnt incredible lessons from how my husband managed his partners. I could not have brought this experience through any MBA.

Leslie Meingast, Canada.


Environmental Enablers of Success

Your environment or entreprenurial ecosystem can either hinder or foster your success.

Partners, family, friends, colleagues, the business community, culture, country, policies and

market trends, to name a few, can all help trigger or inhibit business success. Some of these

factors are beyond your control (e.g laws), but entrepreneurs benefit their cause through

proactive and creative relationships and collaboration within the entrepreneurial ecosystem that

they are part of.

FIGURE 5: Environmental and institutional factors that triggered success for WE

The results of this study remind us that, in order to be successful, firstly, you need a good idea – a plan that the market is

receptive to. Furthermore, your virtual or physical location is an important strategic benefit that needs to work to your

advantage in running a sustainable business. Moreover, funding and beneficial policies are important opportunities or

barriers for WE. Although some businesses are booming, there are a number of women who are part of a disempowering

or dysfunctional ecosystem or environment that inhibits women from achieving full potential and greater business success.

The resilience and ongoing personal effort to mitigate this requires a lot of energy.

“Being a woman in Brazil, working in business that require complex negotiations in a men's arena, is a big challenge to me. Not from my perspective but it is clear that men want to liaise with men.” – Tania Magalnic, Brazil

“The whole field of bio-technology is booming. There is money in that area and there are many opportunities.” - Jacqueline Vet, NL

“In Canadian Environmental law, environmentally things were becoming much more regulated and more attractive as a field. I was in the

right place at the right time, but also the changes in the law provided me with new opportunities.” - Michelle Pokey, Canada

“The problem is people are very risk averse and business somehow still sees it as a risk to have ‘only women’. It kills me. I think the real risk is having the same sort of guys in high positions. I have seen top of business take huge risks, mergers, and acquisitions. Capital gets destroyed

every time you do an acquisition. Very little of perceived added value of buying companies is realized, but they still keep doing it. There is usually a brief moment of euphoria but then reality sets in- by then the top guy is gone. Women in top positions are seen as risks though.

Who’s kidding who?” - Carien van der Laan, NL

61%

46%

25%

21%

18%

18%

11%

Market Trend / Business Model

My location

Policies / laws

Funding and grants

My environment worked against…

Gender equality

Culture in community / region /…


A View of the Future

Your connection to the future is created by the desires and aspirations you have for yourself and

your business. The impact you can make in the future is also fuelled by staying in touch with global

events, trends and continuous innovation and building your capacity. Ongoing personal

development and enhancing business knowledge and skills (reading, attending courses, webinars

or conferences and collaborating with others) contribute to sustainable business success. In this

study we encountered a positive group of women, who have achieved remarkable results and

share the challenges they need to manage.

FIGURE 6: Repetitive themes that emerged in participants’ view of the future

“I love the future, because there are always new challenges. The world is evolving and you have to evolve with the world. With my business I

always have to be on top of what is new: be informed and understand the business. You do it for the clients.” Elisabeth Werter, Greece.

“I have been the eternal optimist. I am excited about the future, because I have a level of clarity now that I haven’t had in a while. Some of

the hiccups along the way existed because of the lack of the clarity” Nkhensani Nkhosi, South Africa.

“Environmental sustainability! A few years ago Al Gore’s movie woke up people. Now there is a new movie about plastic oceans coming. We

throw a lot of plastic away; it ends up in the ocean and in our food chain. I would like to see consumers turn away and ask for alternatives.”

LIzette Smook, Hong Kong.

19%

19%

19%

26%

26%

26%

26%

30%

30%

30%

I have big personal challenges ahead

I need to be more strategic in the future

I expect financial growth

I am going to need to manage myself better

I will achieve my business goals

I am going to need a new business model

I will be active in making the world better

I expect company expansion

I see myself actualising / developing further

I am optimistic, committed and excited


Challenges and Threats to Future Well Being

Keeping an eye on the future whilst managing present

dilemmas is a key enabler in entrepreneurship. To

what extent do you have your head down, only

focussing on the present or short-term future of your

business? What price are you paying? The growth of your business could be inhibited by the lack of

future orientation. Dare to dream and dream big. Start-ups run the risk of either living day to day,

trying to survive or having their head in the clouds, pinning all hope on that passionate idea whilst

losing track of the harsh reality. Mature businesses may have more resources and financial stability or prosperity to take

the time to look ahead. However, smaller businesses must realize that markets shift and therefore should attempt to

embrace the future by strategic planning.

Figure 7: What Do You Need To Do In Order To Scale Up And Grow In The Future

“The biggest change will be the resource pool; there is a huge need in our industry for an incredible amount of knowledge vested in one

person. Large teams of diversified knowledge are no longer saleable. These people are quite scarce and the pipeline for this kind of person is

not great” Michelle Booysen, South Africa.

“New technologies are coming up. The technology we use could end. We are also developing new technology ourselves.

You cannot predict what will happen. It is scary, because it could have a negative influence. If we put enough energy into our own technology

that could help”. CJ. Scartlet, USA

“Social media is a huge tool, but we have to learn – teaching people how to use and control it. We need to train people for the future. It has

massive potential if people know how to use it” Renee Veldman –Tentori, Netherlands.

4%

8%

8%

13%

13%

17%

21%

29%

29%

29%

42%

Exchange rate

Negotiation skills

Technology

Work / personal life integration

Managing growth

Multi-cultural skills

Succession planning

Marketing Skills

Managing and leading people

Defining business goals

Financial Skills

Face the future and manage your risks.

Risk management safeguards your

business. Through the identification,

assessment, prioritization and mitigation

of risks you can counteract them.


From this study it is clear that women regard their gaps in financial skills as a top threat to future sustainability of the

business. Women need more knowledge and skills regarding the financial solutions that can help them grow. Another

factor that emerged was the importance of defining core business goals clearly (not only up-front, but also along the

lifecycle of the business) to drive strategic growth. Furthermore, you usually need to bring other people on board as a

consequence of growing. Scaling up a business involves managing and leading people to achieve the goals and objectives

of the business in an aligned and engaged manner. Entrepreneurs are inventors and most of us benefit enormously by

developing further leadership and management skills as the company grows. Scaling up for the women in this study also

required ‘marketing skills’. Some women identified succession planning as a critical issue to resolve in order to achieve

sustainable future growth. Most of these women function in the global economy. Multi-cultural skills are seen as critical in

order to scale up. This is particularly relevant because a high percentage of women in this study trade across borders and

cultures. Scaling up meant further international expansion. In this study it was clear that a high turnover related to

international trade and vice versa.

CONCLUSION

Multiple personal and environmental factors need to gravitate together to help create your success. These factors include

personal traits, histories, values, skills, education, knowledge, efforts, supportive networks, positive organisational

cultures, economic and financial factors, market factors, policies and cultural aspects. Furthermore, once you attain

'success', you will face ongoing dilemmas requiring resolution and ongoing development to remain successful. However,

the benefits are worth it.

The aim of this pilot study is to create a more holistic understanding of the collective triggers for the success of WE

including personal and environmental enablers and their future orientation. Valuable insights have been gained for the

next exciting phase of this global study.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A hearty thank you to the women entepreneurs who participated in the WeSoar Research and, despite their full schedules,

made time available for interviews. We would also like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the people and

institutions who made the pilot stage of the WeSoar project possible.

WeSoar project team : Madeleine van der Steege, Annemieke Lof, Riana van den Bergh, Hannah Spaeth, Ruth Dixon, Tina

Thomson, Yvonne Finch, Corinne Heijn of UnitedSucces, Prof Fons Trompenaars.WeSoar Board of Advisors : Dr Bettina

von Stamm (UK), Dr Karen Ortlepp(SA), Grant Ashfield (SA)and Dr Julie Weeks (USA).

This research study was presented as an academic paper authored by Madeleine van der Steege and Dr Bettina von Stamm at

The XXV ISPIM Conference – Innovation for Sustainable Economy & Society, Dublin, Ireland on 8-11 June 2014. The full

publication is available at www.ispim.org

how women entrepreneurs improve their game 2014

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