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The Rise of Women ‘Millennipreneurs’

The Female Entrepreneurs Institute has reported that there is a new generation of wildly successful business owners, who are all under thirty-five years of age. The ‘millennipreneur’ model of business has proven to be advantageous worldwide. The Institute explains,

“[This new] approach to business differs from that of their elders in terms of their ambitions, results and leadership style. Among the successful business owning millennials studied in this research, some 78% come from families with a history of running their own businesses. As a group, each has already established on average 7.7 companies, compared with an average of 3.5 among the 50-and-over Baby Boomers.”

A contemporary and forward-thinking entrepreneurship can be seen in this new generation’s most lucrative areas of business. The top three sectors of wealth for millennipreneurs were listed as: retail (12.5%), professional services (8.5%), and technology (7.3%).

This new generation of business owners has paved a way for women business owners, specifically. The proof is in the numbers…

“89% of women entrepreneurs surveyed expecting growing or stable profits in the next 12 months. Female millennipreneurs are aiming even higher with close to 75% expecting business profits to increase in the next 12 months…”

wegg® knows that the future of entrepreneurship is women entrepreneurship. We can help you start your business, or show you the steps you can take to go global. Join us for our FREE wegginar® on 10/3 with Katie Kollhoff, founder and CEO, NUMiX. You can find all of the details, and register for the event, here.

Unlocking the Full Potential of Women- led SMEs in Indonesia

Published August 20, 2018 Business Development , Country specific , Culture , Education , Enlighten Me! , Equality , Finance , Gender challenges , Global news , Global trade , global women entrepreneurs , Innovation , Inspiration , International business , Leadership , Social Entrepreneurship , Sustainability practices , World entrepreneurship Leave a Comment
Tags: global small business, indonesia, small business ownership, SME Toolkit, SMEs, women around the world, women business owners, women entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurship, women in business, women's issues, women's rights, women-led SMEs, women-owned businesses, WSMEs

In a recent East Asia Forum article, “Unleashing the capabilities of women-led SMEs in Indonesia,” author Naimah Talib reports that 43 percent of the 26 million small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia are women led or women owned (WSMEs). Not only do these WSMEs make up for ten percent of the country’s GDP, they also lead to social development of the culture by empowering women economically. Besides these major benefits, support of WSMEs aids Indonesia in achieving the UN’s “Sustainable Development Goals”, specifically the tenets of ‘gender equality,’ ‘decent work and economic growth’, and ‘reduced inequality’.

The advantages of backing WSMEs are clear, but why are there limitations on the growth of these organizations? This is the question that Talib proposes. She illustrates just some of the difficulties women who head businesses face. Talib explains,

” …common difficulties for expansion [for WSMEs] include limited access to information about financial support, lack of business and entrepreneurial skills, lack of professional networks and limited government support and services at the local level. Financial support is available for WSMEs, but female entrepreneurs tend to lack information about these options. Female entrepreneurs find that information about government funding programs is often limited, difficult to access or unclear.”

One of Talib’s main arguments suggest that Indonesian policymakers fail to effectively provide WSMEs with the necessary resources to solve these issues. Talib writes of the necessary reform,

“Three areas require greater attention: increasing the accessibility of information, strengthening the institutional capacity of the Creative Economy Agency and improving government services at the local level.”

To read more about the specific solutions posed to the pressing issue of the neglect of Indonesian WSMEs, read the article here.

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JOIN us for our morning wegg™ workshop on September 12th and hosted by Bank of America (135 S. LaSalle Street, 44th Floor). Julie Smolyansky, President and CEO, Lifeway Foods, will present “Follow Your Gut,” covering:

How global factors influence company values and mission
Why we should empower women entrepreneurs around the world
How to channel inspiration from travel experiences into marketing initiatives

Tickets $40 ($20 for students); includes Continental Breakfast. To learn more and to register, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/weggtm-workshop-follow-your-gut-presented-by-julie-smolyansky-tickets-48655708534
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Closing the Confidence Gap is Key for Female Entrepreneurial Success

Published August 13, 2018 Business Development , Culture , Economic growth , Enlighten Me! , Equality , Gender challenges , global women entrepreneurs , Innovation , Inspiration , Miscellaneous , Risks , Social Entrepreneurship , Startup , Strategy , Trends Leave a Comment
Tags: business confidence, business risk, confidence, risk, strategies, strategy+business, women, women business owners, women entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurship, women in business, women in the workplace, women's empowerment, women's issues, women's rights, women-owned businesses

In a recent Forbes article entitled, “What It Will Take For Women Entrepreneurs To Take Over The World,” author Carrie Kerpen explores what disadvantages women entrepreneurs face in our current market. Kerpen interviews Margaret Donnell, chief marketing officer of Capital One’s Small Business Bank, on how women can subvert the obstacles in their way, in order to succeed. Kerpen’s thesis is: closing the confidence gap between men and women will be a crucial factor in trying to level the entrepreneurial playing field.

Donnell attests the gender pay gap between men and women to be one of the main reasons women business owners are less confident than their male counterparts. She reasons,

“We have pretty clear evidence around us. We’ve seen studies out in media, I certainly have, that document a wage gap between men and women. It means that women don’t always have as much money as men because of that earning power. It also means that their confidence could have been eroded over time, and so I think there’s a lot we can do to lift each other up, and men as allies can lift women up, to help them feel confident and go after getting into business.”

Lacking in confidence can be a hindering quality for any business owner. Not having faith in oneself can lead to a fear of risk. One such risk could be the venture of expanding your SME into a global business, an important move for entrepreneurs.

A potential fear of risk taking is evident in statistics. Kerpen reports,

“…despite feeling more positive about their businesses than their male counterparts, female business owners are more hesitant to take big swings and heavily invest in their companies. According to the same Capital One report, 75 percent of men are likely to hire in the next year, compared to 63 percent of women.”

How do you think women can support and encourage each other to make the bold moves necessary for success in business? How can we increase our confidence to achieve heights greater than we could have ever imagined?

Read several proposed solutions to this issue, in Kerpen’s article, linked here.

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How global factors influence company values and mission
Why we should empower women entrepreneurs around the world
How to channel inspiration from travel experiences into marketing initiatives

Social Entrepreneurs Put Passion Over Profits for Global Growth

Published September 18, 2016 Social Entrepreneurship Leave a Comment
Tags: female entrepreneurs, passion over profits, social work

Women entrepreneurs across the globe, especially in Asia, are re-examining life’s problems through a entrepreneurial business lens. By doing as such, women entrepreneurs are harnessing the power of global markets to tackle poverty and social ills, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation poll on the best countries for social entrepreneurs.

Of the world’s 45 biggest economies, the survey found the Philippines was the country where women fared best when taking into account representation in leadership roles in social enterprises and the gender pay gap. They also discovered:

Women interviewed across Asia described a fairer playing field and higher drive to put compassion over valuation as the reason women are doing so well as social entrepreneurs.

For a full look at the best countries to be a social entrepreneur 2016, visit: http://news.trust.org/spotlight/Best-countries-to-be-a-social-entrepreneur/

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Note: Don’t miss our next WEGG webinar 10/5 on “Cyber Security,” and presented by Linda Kelly, Sr. Relationship Manager, Commercial Client Coverage, HSBC Bank USA. Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7621255329636249348. Event is no charge but you must register in advance to attend.

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Social Entrepreneurs Push for Progress on a Global Scale

Published November 29, 2015 Announcement , Awards/Honors , Social Entrepreneurship Leave a Comment
Tags: push for progress, Schwab Foundation, social entrepreneurs of 2015, Social Entrepreneurship

The Schwab Foundation recently announced that 31 individuals have been named its Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2015 — an award that honors individuals who are pushing for progress on a variety of issues affecting underserved communities. The awardees will become part of the broader Schwab Foundation community of Social Entrepreneurs, which includes more than 300 outstanding social entrepreneurs from 60 countries.

Hilde Schwab, Co-Founder and Chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship says:

“Social entrepreneurs are visionaries but are also realists, and are ultimately concerned with the practical implementation of scalable solutions.”

She goes on to say:

“The 31 outstanding social entrepreneurs we have selected into the Schwab Foundation community this year are designing transformative models in collaboration with government and business partners to generate truly inclusive growth. As such, social entrepreneurs represent an integral and dynamic community of the World Economic Forum.”

One awardee is Community Solutions which “helps communities become better problem solvers, so they can fix the expensive, badly designed systems that low income people must rely on every day.” (Source: Community Solutions). Ms. Rosanne Haggerty (pictured) is co-founder and CEO of Community Solutions and is on a mission to end homelessness and strengthen communities.

Congrats to the awardees and a big thank you to Schwab Foundation for recognizing innovative approaches to progress and the potential for global impact.

Complete listing of awardees.

Screenshot courtesy: Schwab Foundation

Invent Something That Can Lift Your Neighbors Out of Poverty

Published January 5, 2014 e-commerce , Exporting , Global trade , global women entrepreneurs , Poverty (tackling it) , Social Entrepreneurship Leave a Comment
Tags: Exporting: The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably, Laurel Delaney, lift neighbors out of poverty, Sarah Collins, South Africa, Wonderbag

The Wonderbag

South African Sarah Collins, who grew up under apartheid, was driven to become an entrepreneur so she could invent something that would help lift her neighbors out of poverty.

She tried earthworm farms and co-op vegetable crops, yet never got very far until a countrywide electricity shortage caused rolling blackouts in 2007 and she was forced to figure out a way to keep her dinner warm without power. She remembered her grandmother used to use couch cushions to keep pots of soup warm.

Collins made a prototype called Wonderbag with the help of an African seamstress. Her invention would mean an end to women spending several hours or more a day cooking and hunting for firewood, a backbreaking chore made even more dangerous by rapists who have been known to prey on women who gather cook-fire fuel alone. Wonderbag allows women to work the way they want to. Better yet, for each Wonderbag purchased in the United States, one is donated to a woman in Africa.

Read the entire article here. Check out Wonderbag at Amazon and the Wonderbag home site.

Photo courtesy: Wonderbag

Posted by: Laurel Delaney

Note: For information on how to set up an Amazon store just like Sarah did for Wonderbag, read Chapter 7, “Using e-Commerce and Social Media Sites as Stepping Stones to Export Success,” in my new book: Exporting: The Definitive Guide To Selling Abroad Profitably.

Invest in Women Who Change the World

Published May 25, 2013 Economic growth , Enlighten Me! , Finance , Inspiration , Social Entrepreneurship , Sustainability practices Leave a Comment
Tags: crowdfunding, crowdrise, global philanthropic, Laurel Delaney, raise for women challenge, women who change the world

CrowdRise is a unique blend of crowdfunding, social networking, contests, and other good stuff. It is about giving back, raising lots of money for great causes and having a whole lot of fun while doing it.

The CrowdRise community was named a “Top 25 Best Global Philanthropist” by Barron’s. We beat Oprah. And, Mashable named CrowdRise something like “the best place to raise money online for your favorite causes.” CrowdRise is one of the fastest growing online fundraising websites. We used to try to keep CrowdRise a secret but we’re making a slight change and encouraging you to tell two friends and one person who you don’t like all that much about the site.

Let’s go with The RaiseForWomen Challenge – a fundraising event on Crowdrise (already raising more than $500,000)!

Illustration courtesy: The RaiseForWomen Challenge, Crowdrise

Posted by: Laurel Delaney

Archive for the 'Social Entrepreneurship' Category

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