I recently gave a talk to a business women's network on, what I considered to be the three key characteristics of entrepreneurial women, based on my research and work with coaching clients. Upon arrival, when I first asked how many women in the audience were entrepreneurs, very few hands went up. Puzzled, I asked "who ran their own business?" A multitude of proud hands were then raised. Why the disparity?

As a group, we decided that for some "Entrepreneur" is a loaded word, often invoking images of Richard Branson of the Virgin empire and Stelios Haji-Ioannou of Easyjet (and Easy-everything it seems!).To some, the word had come to denote someone who serially builds businesses with a single intention of dispassionately selling them in as short a time frame as possible. However, I had come to the presentation with the definition of "Entrepreneur" as anyone who decides to start their own business for pleasure and profit - whether they want part-time work that fits around their personal life or have global aspirations. This definition is broader, but also much more approachable and therefore more likely to resonate with a greater number of women.

The entrepreneurial woman is on the increase in the U.K; one-third of all new businesses are started by women, which puts the U.K on par with other Northern European countries but behind their sisters in the U.S, Australia, New Zealand and even South America and parts of Asia. However, numbers in the U.K are still relatively low - only 7% of women in employment are self-employed compared to 15% of their male counterparts.

Interestingly, the age with which women set up their own businesses closely corresponds to key childbearing and rearing years -that is the late 30's in the UK and slightly earlier in other nations. It seems that rather than slow down, women perhaps look at setting up their own businesses as a way of juggling career and family better than they could while in employment.

There is growing support for women entrepreneurs with such networks as Aurora and Enterprising Women leading the way. In my discussions with entrepreneurial clients it seems to me that these women share a special set of three qualities - qualities I will discuss further in my newsletter. In the meantime, think about the following questions, I would love to hear your comments!

Thinking about Entrepreneurship?

What does "Entrepreneur" mean to you? Have you ever thought about working for yourself? What would be the benefits of setting up your own business? How about the costs?

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