Bank of America has released key findings from its semi-annual Small Business Owner Report, the bank sponsored study that “uncovers the concerns, aspirations and perspectives of small business owners across the country.”
One key segment of the study took a look at the rise in growth of women-owned businesses across the country. It opened a window into how female small business owners deal with the day-to-day demands of running a business. It also compared attitudes of male and female entrepreneurs.
The big takeaway? Women are winning. Not only are they more optimistic about the future of their businesses, but according to the survey, they’ve managed to maintain optimism while being “more concerned about broader economic issues including health care costs, interest rates and the strength of the U.S. dollar.”
And there’s a whole lot more.
First, women now appear to have a tunnel vision-like focus on growing their business, more so than men. According to the study, two out of five women surveyed started running their business within the past five years. The majority, a stunning 68% plan to continue growing over the next half decade and 70% expect a revenue spike this year. Only 63% of guys surveyed expect to grow their business and just 66% expect a revenue increase.
The BOA study also notes women are planning to hire more employees than men.
Another key finding, “Despite being optimistic about the future of their businesses,
women are less likely than men to count ‘confidence’ as a key character trait. 58% of women counted their ability to multitask as their strongest attribute, only 40% of men rated multitasking as particularly high.”Women also rated creativity (26%) and empathy for employees (17%) as stronger attributes than men. On the other hand, more men considered being tech-savvy (17%) and the ability to strategize (19%) as stronger key attributes.
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The study also concludes, “Women (59%) are also more effective than men (55%) at juggling work/life balance and are more likely to spend time with their families at work, with nearly a third saying their children will always have a place to work in their business. Men are more likely to believe it is better for their relationship if their children don’t work for their business.” The big takeaway? Women are more likely to hire their kids.
Also noteworthy, nearly a third of the women in the survey believe they have less access to capital and fresh opportunities than male business owners. But surprisingly, 18% of women said they think they have better access to clients than men small biz owners.
When it boiled down to making sacrifices for business success, according to the study, Nearly three out of four (72%) small business owners say they have made significant sacrifices in their personal lives for their businesses, with women more likely to sacrifice time for themselves, their social life, and their financial stability. Men on the other hand, are more likely to sacrifice their relationship with their spouse, time with their children, and their sex life.
There were a few instances where men and women biz owners are in total agreement. These include, “not spending enough time with my loved ones” as the top regret for both genders and and “not starting my business sooner†as second. They were also in agreement about their greatest accomplishments: having enough money to support their families, being their own boss, and doing what they love.
You can check out the full Bank Of America Report by clicking here.