Often the conversation on gender parity has centred on females in the workforce and the boardroom. What I find interesting is the difference in dollars that exist in one area where women should be on equal footing – running their own businesses.
A 2015 Startup Muster survey discovered the percentage of start-ups founded by females had risen from one in six in 2011 to one in four in 2014. While the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported in that same year, 34 per cent of businesses operators were women. This represents an increase in business ownership by females of more than 46 per cent in the past 20 years.
![Jim Collins wrote about the hedgehog concept in his book, Good to Great.](/web/20161115090009im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/o/o/y/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsoou5.png/1479086450862.jpg)
So it's fairly clear women are starting businesses faster than ever.
What concerns me is that we're generally not doing it as well as our male counterparts. A 2015 ABS study reported that in 2012 women were earning on average $423 a week compared with $890 for men for an unincorporated business and $998 as compared to $1451 a week for an incorporated business. Female business owners were also likely to have less money a week from all sources than their male counterparts and other employed women.
It's also clear from research and reports that women who run their own businesses are neglecting to pay superannuation and other benefits for themselves. Which means sure, women might be starting businesses at a faster rate, but at what cost?
Now I'm all for the rise of the female entrepreneur. After all, I am one. But I'm for the rise of the female entrepreneur who refuses to use the word "just" when describing their business and who is determined to make their business, whether that's a two-day a week enterprise or a global business, the most successful one it can be. Which also means the most profitable one. After all, you don't need to avoid money to do good, in fact wanting to make a profit can mean you effect more social good.
So how do women close the gap and not simply start businesses but start businesses with just as much potential as our male counterparts? I believe it comes down to accepting an updated version of Jim Collins' hedgehog concept, outlined in his book Good to Great. This involves three equally important parts:
1. Developing a passion for business
Collins talks about developing passion for what you're doing but generally women start a business based on passion, so they already have that in spades. Instead, they need to develop a passion for business. Often this means putting on your big girl pants and choosing to understand the numbers side of your business. That includes embracing business basics such as budgets, business plans, costs, capacity, pricing, critical numbers and more. Now many women leave corporate where they are dealing with all these things on a day to day basis so it's not the fact that they can't, it's the fact that this doesn't necessarily light them up. The thing is, you don't need to become an accountant, you just need to understand the numbers that are critical to your business and the activity that will help you achieve the results you want.
2. Being best in the world at what you do
Now I know many male business owners who truly believe they're best in the world at what they do. That's because they have something some female business owners lack – confidence. But the point isn't being best in the world but rather being the best version of you doing that thing in your business that you do. In other words not being a carbon copy of something or someone you think you should be but rather bringing the best version of you to the business. It's about authenticity, showing up for your tribe and developing a product or service that others can't replicate because it has your secret sauce.
3. Figuring out what drives your economic engine
Yes, it sounds blokey, but it's hard to find a better description. That's because there are some women (and men) who are calling their hobby a business and they'd be much better off going and getting a job because what they're doing and what they're able or willing to price it for just isn't viable. Figuring out what drives your economic engine is all about understanding your numbers, understanding where your profit pools are and making smart decisions about what you're going to spend your time and business doing. That's because you may love tea cosies, you may be passionate about them and about business, you may be the best in the world at making them and your creations could light up Instagram but if you can't sell them for enough and with enough scale to make your business worthwhile then you probably shouldn't start a business selling tea cosies. Understanding where your profit pools are can turn your business from a ho hum business or hobby into a standout one.
There are more and more people and organisations championing the rise of the female entrepreneur and I think that's a great thing. However, what I advocate is not just more women starting businesses but rather more women committed to understanding how to run successful businesses, who are paying themselves superannuation, building wealth and through their influence, truly creating a difference. After all, when it comes to parity in the business world, it really is up to us.
Melissa Browne is CEO of accounting firm A&TA; and author of Fabulous but Broke.
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