Let me tell you a secret. Are you aware that female-owned

businesses make up around 35% (more than 1/3!) of small

businesses in America? Yup, and the number is growing! If you’re

a woman seriously considering setting up your own business,

don’t think you’re in the minority. Fact is, women in small

business are such a significant part of the local economy, they

account for more than $3.5 trillion in annual sales and 6% of total

employment in U.S. firms.

So forget about all you’ve heard regarding how hard it is for

women to establish business credit, gain the respect of peers and

become a force to be reckoned with in the business world.

Numbers don’t lie --- successful female-owned businesses do

exist. What you need to do is start having faith in your

entrepreneurial idea, and begin the process of learning some

business smarts.

Why is setting up small business such an ideal thing for women

nowadays? Consider the following reasons:

Work-life Balance. Managing a small business affords women

some well-deserved family and "me" time. Many women today

still subscribe to traditional family roles: in charge of taking care

of children and making sure the family lives in a comfortable

home. Choosing to run one’s own company means flexible work

arrangements. Life is short; why should we miss the important

milestones of our kids’ life when we don’t have to? Why should

we not have time to engage in our personal hobbies and

interests?

The Glass Ceiling. Some companies just don’t offer

much career advancement opportunities for women. Though it

may no longer have anything to do with gender; today’s

economy is so shaky, there may not be enough career

advancement opportunities for anyone. There’s a preference to

hire fresh graduates to save on pay, or outsource business

processes to get tasks done cheaper. There was a time when

company loyalty meant you can reap the fruits of your labor by

age 40. Now, there’s no security. Even within large and

established organizations, lay-off is a possibility. Better work for

yourself and know what you’re getting into, than invest almost

half of your life for something uncertain.

Opportunities are everywhere. If there’s ever a time to

get into small business, it’s now! Our economic climate is ripe for

the entry of small businesses, and much opportunity is there for

the taking. The internet, for example, has made setting up a

business as simple as signing up for an eBay account or installing

a shopping cart on the company website. Social networking has

expanded markets to virtually the entire world. And with

outsourcing and telecommuting such a trend, there is room for

home-based professionals and independent contractors in large

corporations --- without having to pledge one’s 8-to-5.

Great ideas. And lastly, women and small businesses

are such a compatible team-up, because women have so many

great ideas just begging to be transformed into money-making

endeavors! In fact, most women who have left top corporations to

start their own business say that it’s an idea that they can’t shake

that pushed them on. We all want to be authentic to what we

went, instead of a slave to our employers’ whims and fancy.

Starting a female-owned small business is a good way to

jump start the process of living true to who we’re meant to be.