Female Supremacy Articles - Page 21

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The explosion in women-owned businesses explains why women’s companies now employ more people than America’s largest 500 companies combined. Women now own 46% of the private businesses in the U.S., demonstrating daily just how tough, innovative and commercial women can be.

But this success masks some important questions: If women are so successful working for themselves, why aren’t they just as successful in traditional corporations? Why do they have to leave in order to prove just how good they are?

After all, setting up your own company is fraught with risk--and women typically fund their ventures with higher levels of personal debt. So these women aren’t choosing the easy option. If anything, they’re leaving their jobs to do something harder. They’re not feeling exhausted and bitter either; they’ve leaving full of the determination and energy that every company needs.

But time and again, as I talk to female business owners, I hear two refrains: No one would take me seriously, and I wanted more control over my life. Both themes are important. Much of the growth of women-owned businesses is fueled by ideas that fell on deaf corporate ears.