Saturday 21 March 2015

Crowdfunding For Women Entrepreneurs Can Help Overcome Obstacles

By Lelia Hall


When it comes to business, the statistics show that women tend to lag behind in most areas. However, this is not always the case, even if the statistics may not show much success in most business areas, crowdfunding for women is one area that our sisters seem to be outperforming their male counterparts. The success of ladies in running the campaigns to raise capital for business in more natural than you may think. It does not require any magic to know that females are better in communication and expression than men, and these are the primary traits required to succeed in this capital raising method.

Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal Report gives interesting statistics. Of all the venture-backed firms, women account for less than 8% of the CEOs. Only 17% of Fortune 500 companies' board seats are occupied by women and only 30% of all companies are owned by women. However, when it comes to online crowdfunding, the story is completely different. The success rate of female entrepreneurs in this area is 13% more than men.

As a powerful source of seed capital and a good alternative for business startups, this method of funding enables the entrepreneur to tap into a large number of individuals of different backgrounds (crowd), each investing a small amount through a virtual network or a social network. Millions or businesses are funded each year and billions of funds are raised through this method.

In this method of funding, the entrepreneur gets the opportunity to pitch to a large group of individuals, with completely different backgrounds. Each then contributes towards the capital for the business.

In addition to targeting the niche market of ladies, the Plum Alley and other similar sites offer additional services such as bringing experts and people with experience to offer the critical advice to the entrepreneurs. The experts are drawn from all industries and get paid for their services. They act as role models for the entrepreneurs.

The main advantage of crowdfunding is the benefits it offers to the female entrepreneurs. Although very competitive, it offers a very transparent way of raising the capital. As such, it over the sexual harassment that is common when exploiting alternative methods. Several stories have been published where the female entrepreneur ends up getting unwarranted sexual advances from the prospective male investors when pitching their business ideas.

On average, males are more likely to excel in business bitching than females. The females are more conservative and may not make ridiculous projections or exhibit bravado as their male colleagues, and thus needs an alternative playing field.

It is important that as a woman, you are quick to answer as opportunities knock. This is a funding method in which you can get the much-needed capital in the most transparent way. It also gives you the opportunity to use your family, friends, colleagues, and vendors as a sales force; the most powerful tool available today.




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