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Fear of Failure and Lack of Confidence Block Women’s Entrepreneurial Growth. Instead, They More Often Start Mission-Driven Businesses

BUSINESSFear of Failure and Lack of Confidence Block Women's Entrepreneurial Growth. Instead, They More Often Start Mission-Driven Businesses

Women remain a minority in company boards and are less likely than men to start their own businesses. In the EU, 10% of working women opt for entrepreneurship, while in Poland, this figure is 13%, according to the report “Business on High Heels” by PIE. Fear of failure and lack of confidence in their skills hold women back more often than men when it comes to starting a business. Mentoring programs led by women could play a key role in addressing this.

“Polish women are highly entrepreneurial, starting from managing their homes and everyday life, to creativity, earning a living, and self-determination. They are leaders in Europe, and the growing entrepreneurship of women in Poland over the past several years can be a source of pride,” says Anna Somorowska from the Network of Entrepreneurial Women in an interview with Newseria Biznes.

According to the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, referencing the ManpowerGroup report “What Employees Want,” 81% of women value professional development, which is 11 percentage points higher than for men. Women also show a greater willingness to develop their professional skills, and three times more often than men, they declare an interest in participating in training and courses, as shown in the report “Soft Skills and the Need for Their Development: How Employees Are Learning Today,” prepared by Nowe Motywacje and Mobile Institute.

“In the Network of Entrepreneurial Women, we observe a growing group of entrepreneurial women in the network. It includes 53,000 women, so I can say that networking and the desire to learn are huge,” notes the expert.

The Polish Economic Institute, in its “Business on High Heels” report, states that according to data from the Central Register and Information on Business Activity, by the end of 2023, there were nearly 883,400 active businesses founded by women in Poland, accounting for 34% of all sole proprietorships. One in five of these businesses was in trade, with a similar proportion (17%) in healthcare and social assistance. Other sectors of note include professional, scientific, and technical activities (15%) and other service activities (12%).

“Women who want to start their own business or enter into a partnership often not only want to fulfill their missions and dreams, which often differentiates them from men, but primarily they want to create a better tomorrow. This mission, life approach, self-determination, and independence—being the head of their own business—are there to create something that can benefit others. Often, we want to realize our own visions and ideas,” says Anna Somorowska.

The growing role of women in business is supported by 83% of respondents in the “The Growing Strength of Women – Women in the Labor Market” study by Bigram and ThinkTank. Women’s key advantages are growing professional experience and the ability to adapt to changes, which are crucial competencies in today’s job market and business world. Furthermore, women invest more actively than men in their own development, both in terms of formal education and through additional training and courses.

However, according to the PIE report, fear of losing the stability that salaried work offers, fear of failure, and lack of confidence in their abilities hold women back from starting their businesses more often than men. Women also cite difficulties in balancing business with caregiving responsibilities and family life. Running a business has a varied impact on the family life of Polish women entrepreneurs. According to research by the Success Written in Lipstick Foundation, 44% say it facilitates family life, for example, due to flexible hours, while 31% say it makes things harder.

“Women are most often held back from starting their businesses by fear, lack of belief in their own strength, and often a very low sense of self-worth. That’s why in the network, we focus on strengthening self-esteem, and we help to ensure that there are more of us so we can work one-on-one with business mentors. We teach that making mistakes is not failure; it’s something we learn from. Fear can be minimized,” says the expert from the Network of Entrepreneurial Women.

The Network of Entrepreneurial Women emphasizes that blocks and fears caused by limiting beliefs hinder actions. The mentoring process can help raise awareness of this, and it’s also worth seeking an environment that is supportive and encouraging, such as through networking. The network offers programs that help develop entrepreneurship. The Mentor Club is a community of women sharing knowledge, experience, practices, and support. The Black Swan Prestige Club is a community of mature and experienced successful women who are not resting on their laurels but continue to seek new knowledge, experiences, and valuable relationships. The club serves as a place for discussions, meetings with art, building a network of contacts, and financial education. There are also programs available to help take the first steps in starting a business or expanding into international markets.

“We have a lot of programs for entrepreneurial women, including those from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, as well as programs in boosters across all regions of Poland. Currently, there are over 16 boosters in each region,” says Anna Somorowska.

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