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While hikes in the cost of alcohol and car taxes grabbed most of the headlines in Alistair Darlingâs first budget the Chancellor also tucked away some sweeteners for women entrepreneurs.
Anyone listening carefully would have heard Darling promise to launch a £12.4 million new capital fund aimed at businesses run by women. Enterprise: Unlocking the UKâs Talent, which was published on Budget Day, included further indications of how the Government wants to help women succeed in business.
The document puts forward the Government's 'new Enterprise strategy' and points out that, 'On measures of enterprise culture women score consistently lower than men.' Darling hopes to put that right by funding a 'high level media campaign' to promote women's enterprise.
Women in charge
There are now more than a million self-employed women in the UK and a recent survey by GEM Global Report showed that over half of women see entrepreneurship as a good career choice. Two in five women say they have the skills to start a business.
A new book also shows the benefits. In Why Women Mean Business authors Avivah Wittenberg-Cox and Alison Maitland say being an entrepreneur can be 'hugely attractive' to women in their 40s who may have missed out on promotion.
"This is often a different kind of business ownership, bigger and more ambitious than the 'lifestyle' options they tend to go for in the 30s," the authors say.
A survey by Yell.com found that 40% of business women who started their business in the first five years after giving birth made the decision while pregnant or within a year of the baby's birth. Yell.com, which sponsors Inspirational Business Mum of the Year, found that over 90 per cent put their success down to skills theyâd developed after becoming a mum.
Commenting on the results, Professor Geoffrey Beattie, Head of School and Dean of Psychological Sciences at the University of Manchester, said: "Pregnancy has a big effect on the body and brain; it can elevate your mood for significant periods of time. When people are in an elevated mood state, they are prepared to consider riskier types of initiatives such as launching a business."
But figures from the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) show that only 14 per cent of businesses in the UK with employees are led by women, compared to about 30 per cent in the USA.
The Enterprise report says that women have a greater fear of failure, know fewer entrepreneurs than men and are less confident about their business skills. Research also shows that women gain most from support based on ârelationsâ, rather than 'transactions'.
Girl power
The Chancellor aims to give female entrepreneurs some concrete business help. Many of the ideas are inspired by models in the US, where there is a greater percentage of female entrepreneurs:
⢠Regional Development Agencies (RDA)s will pilot Women's Business Centres (WBC) in the South East, East of England, East Midlands and the North West. They will try approaches such as physical centres, outreach in to the community, virtual units and networking. The West Midlands RDA is piloting the Womenâs Entreprise Centre of Expertise.
⢠Children's Centres will offer advice and support tailored at women in a family-friendly setting. The Government wants 3,500 by 2011.
⢠A4e, which specialises in public service reform, will work with the Government to roll out a nationwide mentoring network - both face-to-face and via the internet - over the next four years to help women start and grow businesses.
⢠Some 1,000 successful women entrepreneurs are already acting as ambassadors to help inspire women of all ages to start their own business.
Finance fillip
Research has shown that women who run small businesses are often reluctant to approach outside backers, such as venture capitalists and private equity. They are more likely to rely on expensive, informal funding and to be undercapitalised when they start in business.
The Government hopes to make women better at raising money and to improve their networking skills. The South East England Development Agencyâs Finance South East, for example, will continue to help women entrepreneurs through its South East Funding Escalator Scheme and several High Street banks are targeting women entrepreneurs.
Useful links
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform: http://www.berr.gov.uk www.bizmums.yell.com/ http://www.everywoman.com
