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It’s time to challenge the fact that women are underrepresented as business owners.

&lt;p&gt;Hi, I'm Ceylan (call me&amp;nbsp;"J"). I'm on a mission to empower female entrepreneurs to build and grow fulfilling businesses that help them achieve&amp;nbsp;their financial and life goals while living enjoyable lives. I do this by developing their business acumen, strategic mindsets and entrepreneurial skills.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I am a strategist and marketing expert who spent 15 years resolving corporate companies’ issues. Then I decided to put my know-how at the service of SMEs and more specifically female entrepreneurs.&amp;nbsp;I like to call myself an entrepreneurship coach and business strategist.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;As the co-founder and CEO of Academy for Women Entrepreneurs or 'AWE' (https://academyforwomenentrepreneurs.com/) I'm building a comprehensive network of like-minded female small business owners to help them dare, lead and change - all supported our award-winning&amp;nbsp;business training, coaching and collaboration opportunities.&lt;br /&gt;
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Female entrepreneurs are key drivers for innovation, productivity, growth, employment and social progress. Women business owners can, and want to change the world for the better and I want to help them to bring about that change.&lt;br /&gt;
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So if you want to join a community of AWEsome female founders&amp;nbsp;please connect, PM me and say hi!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ceylan x&lt;/p&gt;

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CEO, founder

Did you know that women are grossly underrepresented as business owners, with 

And did you also know that women are over-represented in solopreneurship, with the majority of solopreneurs being women?

Another fact: the number one reason that women with children start a business is to gain 

 for family care, meaning that more self-employed women work part-time compared to men (53% versus 17%).

In this situation, it is pretty unrealistic to expect women to build, grow and scale businesses at the same rate as men, even though we know that, according to our own 

 data, more than 70% of women solopreneurs and micro-business owners want to grow their businesses.

We've witnessed this ambition first-hand through the work we've been doing throughout COVID-19. I also heard the phrase" "I became a stay-at-home mother overnight", with many women solopreneurs and micro-business owners having to drop their businesses and get back home to become tutors, cooks, cleaners, housekeepers and caregivers - while their partners had to be on Zoom calls from 7am!

The system, as it is, is not empowering women solopreneurs or micro-business owners to take their business to the next level. And this isn't just the case for those with families. The barriers to fundraising, access to networks, access to training or coaching are other reasons why women are not scaling their businesses at the same rate as men.

Acknowledging the reality of women entrepreneurship

This is the society and the system we live in, so providing 'how to grow and scale your business' advice would be a little bit presumptuous without first acknowledging the current reality of women entrepreneurship. So, first and foremost I would like to take a moment to celebrate all women solopreneurs and micro-business owners for their resourcefulness, resilience and strength in the face of these challenges.

On a related note, I recently attended the re-inauguration of 

, an EU initiative to support women in starting, building and scaling successful businesses. The opening speech was inspiring. In essence, the message was "stop trying to fix women, instead fix the system… but let's admit, the change will come from within".

Strategies for women entrepreneurs to take their business forward

I believe business growth can only happen if the entrepreneur is mentally ready to make it happen. If you're in the mindset of simply wanting to earn a 'good enough' income, I would suggest you go out and look for a job. There are much easier ways than entrepreneurship to earn 'good enough' income. If you're in business, I strongly suggest examining what you have created as a profitable asset that can survive and thrive without you being in it.

This is the famous 'work on the business' mindset. The main mindset ingredients for this to happen are:

2. Keep doubt at a distance by having a plan

Your energy, motivation and mood will fluctuate day by day. You will face adversity and challenges. When the road is bumpy and things go wrong, the most common thing that happens to women entrepreneurs is that doubt and lack of confidence creep in.

Don't get me wrong, many male entrepreneurs I have coached suffer from the same scenario, but they are better trained socially to deal with doubt and failure. Entrepreneurship is a journey during which you take a lot of wrong turns, fall flat on your face and spend sleepless nights.

The only way to keep doubt at a safe distance, keep on top of things and prioritise in a strategic way is to have a plan. A dream that you can transform into a tangible goal, a strategic roadmap to get there, and a detailed, timely action plan. This is the only way that you can make progress beyond the dark days of doubt. So, know your business type, size, your turnover, and make strategic planning and regular assessments an entrepreneurial habit.

3. Dedicate half your efforts to promotion

When I say 'promotion' I mean marketing in a large sense, and not just what you post on social media every once in a while.

For solopreneurs and/or micro-businesses who are serious about growth, 50% of your efforts (time, energy, budget) should be dedicated to promotional activities: marketing, sales, networking, speaking in front of your audience... and every single activity should be tracked, measured and adjusted strategically to ensure it's providing value to you and your business.

Do not underestimate the power of people, whether it is your clients, your team, or someone you meet on a plane.

Here's a little story for you: I have a client who had a handmade chocolate business in Paris. One day, she decided to fly to Belgium for a special truffle workshop with a renowned chef. She sat next to a stranger on the Eurostar and they began talking about her business. When they arrived, she handed over her business card - and a box of her chocolates. That stranger is now her main investor and helped take her business to a national level, making her the number one supplier to one of the biggest luxury patisseries in France.

I have three philosophies when it comes to people:

Women-owned businesses unfortunately don't grow at the same rate as men. One of the main reasons is the fact that women are more risk averse when it comes to financial decisions. On the other hand, women-owned businesses' survival rates are much higher. So what if we do not like to gamble or 'take risks'? Why don't we just ensure that we take the risk factor out of our financial decisions?

One strategy for doing this starts with planning. You have to financially plan for your business. And when doing your financial planning, focus on the cash: turnover is vanity, cash is reality. So, let me ask you one thing, if you did a cashflow forecast that showed you exactly how much cash you'll have in your bank account in six months' time - best and worst-case scenarios - would you still be afraid to invest in that special marketing tool that will actually allow you to grow your company?

When it comes to finance, grab the bull by the horns and transform your 'risk awareness' into a super-power!

 Enterprise Nation adviser and the founder of the 

. From strategic planning sessions to power-hour business coaching, 

Five strategies for female entrepreneurs to overcome barriers

Ceylan Boyce offers strategies for overcoming the fact that women are grossly underrepresented as business owners.

It's time to challenge the fact that women are underrepresented as business owners.

