In recent years, entrepreneurs of all types have likely seen their small business opportunities improve dramatically as the economy moved back toward pre-recession norms. Interestingly, though, it seems female small business owners specifically are feeling pretty good about their chances going forward as well.
Today, 50 percent of women who are even thinking about starting a small business say that they feel optimistic about their chances for success and don’t see too many barriers, according to a new poll from PayPal. The most popular reason why female entrepreneurs in the U.S. want to start their own company – cited by 55 percent of respondents – is that they believe it can improve their work-life balance to a desirable level. Further, 68 percent of those polled also said that they thought it would take them less than a year to get their companies off the ground.
Of course, even those who are optimistic obviously understand that there may be some hurdles to clear, and the one most often cited by those polled – at 41 percent – was the ability to find enough customers, the report said. Another 35 percent believed that finalizing a business plan would be their biggest issue, and 31 percent said they’d need to get more financing than they have currently.
Other issues discussed
Meanwhile, as women look to start those companies, they tend to trust a number of major online brands differently, the report said. For instance, 51 percent said they trust Facebook, while 37 percent felt the same way about PayPal. Not far behind was Google at 36 percent, and YouTube (which is owned by Google) at 29 percent.
Finally, it seems that more female small business owners in the U.S. are aiming to start consulting businesses than any other type, the report said. And if given the chance to give advice to their younger selves, these entrepreneurs would most often tell themselves to trust their own instincts (45 percent).
In addition, owners might also want to make sure that they’re doing all in their power to make sure their ongoing expenses are as limited as possible, especially when they’re first starting out. That might include finding the most affordable small business insurance coverage possible, including for general liability insurance, to potentially help them save thousands of dollars per year.
