Now the proud mother of two sons, ages 3 and 1, Marsh is among a growing number of women entrepreneurs who say they want to control their own destiny and are unafraid of being the boss. "Women are catching up to men across the world," says I. Elaine Allen, professor of Statistics and Entrepreneurship at Babson College in Massachusetts, where she worked on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2005 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship that was released on Mar. 7.
Female entrepreneurs say being your own boss enables you to crash through the glass ceiling, maintain job security, and better balance family and work. The GEM report, prepared by scholars at the Center for Women's Leadership, shows that women have lots to celebrate. The study, based on data from more than 107,400 respondents in 35 countries, found that women entrepreneurs feel more optimistic than men even though men are still twice as likely to launch startups in high-income regions like Britain and the U.S.
FILL THE NEED. The study demonstrated that women across the globe envision a higher growth potential in early-stage and established businesses than men do. Part of the reason women to take risks: They develop strong networks and see other women succeeding (see BW Online, 10/30/05, "What Women MBAs Want: Role Models"). Almost 32% of women in middle-income countries and nearly 31% in high-income countries reported knowing an entrepreneur who started a business in the past two years.
Women are taking the leap into entrepreneurship, especially in countries the GEM study terms middle-income, such as Venezuela and China, because a startup is often a necessity. GEM researchers found that 34.6% of women, compared to 31.4% of men, in middle-income countries started businesses out of necessity. "It's a way to improve their standard of living," says Allen. "If jobs aren't there, you go out and make them. That's what women are doing."
Even though women in high-income countries are more likely than their counterparts in middle-income countries to start a business because of an opportunity, the rate of males entering a new venture for that reason -- as opposed to out of necessity -- is higher than that of women.
FEELING SECURE. When the economy takes a tumble in middle- or high-income countries, women start looking for ways to make ends meet. When the dot-com bubble burst, Sharon Schanzer found herself without a job -- and with no apparent hope of finding one. So she created employment for herself by launching Red Letter Day, a graphic-design business in San Francisco.
Today, she has two other businesses as well. One is the soon-to-launch Omago.com, which sells magazine subscriptions, and the other is a greeting card company featuring her travel photos. Schanzer says she sees her job today as much more secure than positions in the corporate world, where people often get laid off and are vulnerable to the changing market and uncertain economy.
Necessity isn't always a bad thing, and it takes many forms -- from wanting out of Corporate America to raising a family. Keeping vigil while her mother was in a coma in 1993, Rebecca Schumacher reflected on her life and career. A career that could endure as long as she desired and would allow for rest if and when she needed it was suddenly important, says Schumacher. Starting her own business was the obvious solution. She's now the president and founder of The Schumacher Group, an executive search firm she launched in 1995<
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