An exploration of the challenges facing women starting business at fifty

Abstract

Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the motivations, goals, challenges, successes and needs of older women starting new ventures. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten successful female entrepreneurs who had created their businesses at age 50 or over. The key areas of focus included the women's motivation for starting a business, their previous work experience, potential barriers/enabling factors (including their human, social and financial capital), and the performance of their ventures. Responses were taped, transcribed, coded, grouped and analyzed. Findings – The primary trigger for older women to start a new venture appears to be the need to find a creative outlet (self-actualization). Further, more than half the women stated that because they now had significantly reduced family responsibilities, this was the time for them to pursue their own goals. Interestingly, a majority of the women had started new ventures in an area completely unrelated to their previous work experience. Family support, particularly from their spouse/partner, was acknowledged by virtually all the women as an important factor contributing to the success of their ventures. All the ventures were profitable and growing. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that well-trained mentors could make a significant difference to this older cohort of female entrepreneurs, particularly in terms of helping them to grow their businesses. Originality/value – This study fills a gap in the literature by providing an understanding of the motivations and needs of older female entrepreneurs.

Effect of Mentorship on the Early Entrepreneurial Journey of University Students

“…Post-secondary institutions are now aware that a higher chance of producing more entrepreneurs in the future relies on developing entrepreneurial skills that a student can achieve during their university program. According to GEM's 2018/2019 Global Report, recent university graduates fall within the most popular age group of entrepreneurs (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35) in almost every geographic region [9]. This is consistent with findings by Blanchflower et al [10], which argue that the willingness to be self-employed is more common among the younger generation and decreases with age.…”

“…Studies in this category investigated the gender differences in entrepreneurship as influenced by mentoring (among other factors). While some studies focused on gender differences in specific cultures [24], [25], most studies aimed at understanding the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and how mentoring and other resources (e.g., entrepreneurship education, funding) can help reduce these constraints [26]- [28]. Some of these findings are as follows.…”

Entrepreneurship and Family Role: A Systematic Review of a Growing Research

“…On the contrary, were excluded: chapters of books and conference papers, publications that did not make any connection between the two constructs, or that analyzed the role of family members other than the parental couple (for example, possible partners or brothers), and all articles written in a language other than English or Spanish. For example, we have excluded the article by Fernández Robin et al (2017) because they mention "the role of the family" in the abstract, but they refer specifically to housewives for women and how entrepreneurship and of family assistance seem incompatible, or the article by Logan (2014), as it analyzes the relationship between family and entrepreneurship, but refers to the support received from the partner or spouse. A total of 92 articles were analyzed in this study (Annex 1 in Supplementary Material).…”

The life cycle in women-owned businesses: from a qualitative growth perspective

“…It is mainly access to external capital that can be considered as a barrier for businesses possibility to grow (Orser et al, 2000), and although Davidsson et al (2010) downplay the importance of financial capital for growth, it is evident that women entrepreneurs have significantly more difficulties to obtain external financing for their businesses than their male counterparts (Brush et al, 2004;Carter et al, 2007;Johansson and Malmström, 2012;Marlow and Patton, 2005; Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, 2012; Verheul and Thurik, 2001). Furthermore, there is an unequal distribution of housework between the sexes which has a negative impact on women's opportunities to run and grow a business (Fleck et al, 2011;Holmquist and Wennberg, 2010;Jennings and McDougald, 2007;Logan, 2014;Marlow and McAdam, 2013). According to a time use survey in Sweden (SCB, 2012), the result indicates that women spend significantly more time on housework than men do.…”