The seven big challenges of women entrepreneurs

Although more women are becoming entrepreneurs, they often face a set of challenges not typically shared by their male counterparts. This is in addendum to the challenges that any business owner would face invariably. Lets shed light on the seven big challenges that limit mompreneurs and womenpreneurs.
Carrying the brunt of perceived image
Most female business owners can relate with this feeling of being in someone else's shoes, being perceived as someone. Entrepreneurship has been man's forte from a long time. Many women find themselves in man's business suit, may be required to act, behave and think like business men. Being clad in an armor (business) suit, women find it difficult to put their right think caps on. Since traditionally business owner is perceived as a man in business suit with heavy voice, and a few assistants around him, it is not easy for women to present her as a serious business women without being rude and well suited booted.
It is unnerving sometimes to talk and walk business with primarily male business attitude. In these situations, women often feel as they need to ape and adopt aggressive male attitude towards business to run the show. Thanks to some successful female CEOs who believe that remaining true to yourself and finding your own voice are the keys to rising above preconceived expectations. Let me name you a few... Huda Khattan, the fashionista..Marie Forleo, the life and business coach..Vani, the food blogger.
Many other such women have defied laws to take up challenges and enter a new world of modern business that completely has changed the way business women dress and present her. Declined business suits, despised heavy briefcases and yet owning and successfully running a huge business, that is how we identify womenpreneurs today.
Bottom line is.. Be yourself, and have confidence in who you are, you made it to where you are through hard work and perseverance, but most importantly, you're there. Don't conform yourself to a others idea of what a leader should look like
Limited access to funding
Not all women who start their business have funds when the idea strikes them. Startup founders look for venture capitalist, financial institutes or a mentor to help them kick start the business. Pitching your idea and raising capital is exhaustingly difficult for women-owned firms not only in this part of the world but anywhere in the world. A 2014 Babson College report found that less than three per cent of venture-capital-funded companies had female CEOs (US data).
More and more women are coming up together, creating synergy and inspiring and encouraging each other. Investors typically look for business that can grow their valuation. A good team can be an asset. Women can look for help in their own tribe also, finding support to grow through funding and strategic educational help from fellow women.
Online business is probably the right answer for those starting small. These businesses though require more sweat and time than the normal ones. It took years of hard work for Marie Forleo to follow her passion and dream to create an online business she loves.
Shying away from your own credit
The normal women upbringing is different from a man. Girls are encouraged to own and nourish consensus-building qualities that will help them crate and manage harmony around them. However, this can leave women unintentionally downplaying their own worth. They find it difficult to own themselves as leaders and often when they talk about themselves, you will find them saying 'we' instead of 'I'.
Being genetically creative, women have mostly business built around their creative skills. As they find it difficult to own their own worth, they end up giving away too much without a financial commitment from a potential client. Vrushali, healing and meditation expert is an educator, an artist and a freelance trainer. She doesn't have any physical product to sell. She has expertise only. She is struggling to make all understand that what she does is a business and that she is giving away too much without commitment.
I recommend all women to value their knowledge. I think many women naturally have extraordinary common sense, a sharp intuitive sense and a great focus on people. One needs to use them to develop and groom oneself so much that your services can boast a price tag. These are extremely valuable in business and can help to set us apart as leaders.
Support system
Women are renowned emotional species. In a US study, about 48 per cent of female business owners/founders report that a lack of available advisers and mentors limits their professional growth. This needs a powerful network and support around to consult and council in times of need.
It is important to know where to find the right support network isn't always easy. It can be an online forum or groups created specifically for women in business. Connectivity is the key word here. Most of the valuable business happens on golf course in UAE, should we take a hint from here?
Balancing business and family life
This is more of a cliché. Work-life balance is not any more a worrying fact though. Most of the women have equipped themselves with arms and armor to deal with this. What is concerning is that the traditional gender expectations often still prevail.
But girls, do not beat up or kill yourself over the little things, such as missing a mother's day meet with your child at school. Instead, gear up for a coffee evening with your children and live up to your promise more often than not. Rebuilt and not unnecessary raise expectations of your loved ones around you. They know that you are there for them.
Coping with a fear of failure
Almost we all have faced it at some point of time. According to Babson College's 2012 Global Entrepreneur Monitor, the fear of failure is the top concern of women who launch startups. Failure is a very real possibility in any business and it shouldn't be viewed as a negative.
Tony Robins also said that you have to have failure to have success. And possibly you need to have massive failure to have massive success.
Success doesn't have gender. So if you fail or succeed, it is not because of you being a man or women. The bottom line is, if you're successful, no one cares whether you are man or a woman.
Fear of success
This is latest virus in air. Mostly enterprising women carry themselves the way they want, find finances, acknowledge their worth, can balance work and home, have no fear from failures. but..they are afraid of their own success.
This limits them to get to the next level and turn their success into massive success. What they actually fear is how they will live up to the success? How will they maintain that success? Growing big and staying big might take them away from their family. The idea of success can be scary, the reality is generally easier to cope with than what you had before. If you've been resourceful enough to keep yourself going during the tough times, you'll probably be able to do the same with the good times. Yes, you'll have to make changes and learn new things, but you're creative and adaptive enough to do that. If you experience doubts, remind yourself of all the extra resources success will bring you. Make a fair comparison of what you will gain versus what you will lose, I am sure you will be able to the right thing for yourself.
The author is an entrepreneur and financial planning consultant. Views expressed are her own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy.