The Women Entrepreneurs Blog @ Simon

Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really That Different?

Recently, I stumbled upon a working paper on the SBA’s Office of Advocacy’s website that piqued my interest. The title asked the question: Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really That Different?

How could I pass with a title so very intriguing? I committed an hour to reading the full research paper - yes, this topic was too potent for me to take in only the summary!

The intent of the research was to study if gender impacts the performance of a venture. I managed to stumble through discussions that included phrases such as bivariate analysis, multiple regression and standard deviations and learned that, at least based on this study, there are definite differences between men and women in their motivations for starting a business. Another interesting difference was in the support that men and women receive while starting their venture.

So, what was the conclusion? Does Gender really impact the performance of a venture?

No! And we knew that already didnt we? ... But ...

Just for fun, ask yourself what you think the differences in motivation and support are before reading the study. In my case, I was "spot on" regarding motivations (full study, pgs. 39-41) but "way off" on support  (pgs. 51-52).

Do the study findings match your observations?

Ask the Entrepreneurs: Three Tips from My Father

[Note: Students in the Entrepreneurship program at Simon have submitted a number of questions and we encourage you to ask yours via the form on our Home/About page. We'll have one or more of our bloggers offer their takes — which should provide starting points for your thinking and more discussion.]

Question: What do you think are the 3 most critical skills a new business owner must have and why?

I will pass along the business advice that has served me well over the last 20 years. Now, understand that this advice came from my father who owned a trucking business for 40 years. He didn’t go to college … never took a business course, but Thomas Dixon was hugely successful in life in so many ways!

Here’s his advice:

Business Franchising

This evening, I spoke to my class of MBA students at the University of Rochester's Simon School of business. The subject was franchising which generated much discussion. In addition to my teaching responsibilities at Simon, I am the owner of two franchised restaurant concepts. Burger King and Friendly's. Friendly's® is a regional, casual dining chain of about 500 restaurants headquartered in Wilbraham, Mass. with an emphasis on ice cream that is made at Friendly's own plant.

The class discussed at length the value of the franchise model and its many advantages.

Some of the advantages that I pointed out include: a uniform system, mass purchasing power, brand identification, a proven format and an advertising program. There are disadvantages as well including: franchise fees, royalties, advertising fees, a limit to your own ideas and others.

On balance, the better franchises are a good value in that the successful format drives sales and profitability. You often receive on going training and a defined standard of operation, leaving little to your own imagination. There are exceptions to that as well.

Ask the Entrepreneurs: Beating the Business "Divorce Rate"

[Note: Students in the Entrepreneurship program at Simon have submitted a number of questions and we encourage you to ask yours via the form on our Home/About page. We'll have one or more of our bloggers offer their takes — which should provide starting points for your thinking and more discussion.]

Question: Name two or three important characteristics that you seek in a partner that provides a substantial amount of capital for your business.

There are so many things to consider in partners that invest capital in your business. Partnerships in business are critical for any company’s success, but can be just as difficult as any marriage. I could argue, in fact, that business partnerships are more difficult than marriage because most marriages begin with a strong emotional and idealistic commitment. Business partnerships are usually based on simple economics so the fundamental basis of the commitment isn’t as strong. I wonder what the five-year failure rate of business partnerships is? I bet business partnerships fail at a higher than do marriages!

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Shakespeare, HenryVI

Hopefully, our readers will find the quote in the title of this post strictly humorous, rather than a call to act.

I am a lawyer. There, I said it. Contrary to the evil persona depicted in the many cartoons and email anecdotes my father and friends have sent me over the years, I pride myself in being a kinder, gentler lawyer and I believe I am in the company of many.

To me, a good business attorney is one of the most important assets a business owner can have, and the sooner he or she retains a reputable business attorney for guidance through the creation and operation of a new business, the better off that business owner will be.

As an attorney who bills by the hour, I understand why someone creating a new business may be reluctant to hire a lawyer initially. It is difficult enough to find the means to fund a new business and often times there just isn’t enough extra cash sitting around to pay a lawyer for legal assistance.

I am confronted with this issue regularly when I take calls from client prospects who ask me to help them differentiate between what is absolutely necessary and what can be overlooked in the beginning stages of operation. Unfortunately, for them – and for me – I don’t have a crystal ball and can’t predict with any certainty what crisis a particular client will face in the near or distant future.

However, experience has taught me that dealing with crises is an expected part of running a business. That knowledge is by no means intended to incite clients to act through fear; it is merely the practical reality of operating a business and ignorance is not bliss in the business world. It is far better to be aware today of potential problems rather than learn about them when they have become the crisis du jour.

Are you ready to start a business?

Thinking about starting a business?  Business ownership is not for everyone, however, so ask yourself these questions:

1. Are you willing to spend well over 40 hours a week running your business?
2. Can you support yourself/your family while your business is in its early stages?
3. Have you formulated a business plan?
4. Do you have personal savings set aside to start your business?
5. Do you have experience in the industry?

If you've answered "yes" to most if not all of these questions, you're on the right track.

If you're ready, here are some resources from the M&T Bank Small Business Resource Library and the SBA's Small Business Planner to help you get started. 

Ask the Entrepreneurs: My Biggest Mistake? Hiring "Clones"

[Note: Students in the Entrepreneurship program at Simon have submitted a number of questions and we encourage you to ask yours via the form on our Home/About page. We'll have one or more of our bloggers offer their takes — which should provide starting points for your thinking and more discussion.]

Question: Describe to me a mistake you made while starting your business and what you learned from it.

The single mistake I made while starting my business what that I hired "like minded" people, "Lauren Dixon clones" — people who were in the office at 4:00am and worked crazy hours. Work was life. Life was work.

Women Entrepreneurs: A Likely Group of High Achievers

Just the other day my partner, Tom, sent me a link to an article about the myths of being a woman entrepreneur. I'm sure all of the outstanding women who contribute to this blog can see themselves in that article, as I see myself in it.

Here are some key points the writer, Margaret Heffernan, makes in her "5 Myths About Women Entrepreneurs" for the Boomer: Lifestyle section of MSN.

First, she notes that not all women entrepreneurs are 'young.' That's a touchy word with women - especially today since we women over 40 still think of ourselves as young and... 40 is the new 30, right? Still, many new businesses are being started today by women who are either retired from corporate America, or just ready and eager to do something new and exciting with their lives. In the article, Heffernan showcases a woman of 67 - who didn't let that number connected to her birth certificate keep her from starting a new business!

Heffernan's #3 Myth-busting piece of advice is that you DON'T have to be an expert. I found this one very telling as I would have thought expertise was crucial to successful entrepreneurship. However, as Heffernan says of her example (a woman named Fisher who knew nothing about sewing but started a women's clothing business, anyway), "What Fisher did have was the insight that as women's lives got more complicated, they would want their clothes to be simpler." She also notes something I tell people all the time over at my marketing to women blog, "Women are responsible for 83% of consumer purchasing. We are the ones buying not only for ourselves but also for our children, husbands, and parents."

It speaks to the realization that what you don't know, you can learn. Believe it.

This is an excellent article for all students of entrepreneurship. This is an excellent article for young women in high school - a true demonstration of the "can-do" spirit we call entrepreneurship. The other points Heffernan makes will rock your socks off.

(the article was originally published in MORE magazine, July/August 2007)

Ask the Entrepreneurs: Overlooking the "Mousetrap Fallacy"

[Note: Students in the Entrepreneurship program at Simon have submitted a number of questions and we encourage you to ask yours via the form on our Home/About page. We'll have one or more of our bloggers offer their takes — which should provide starting points for your thinking and more discussion.]

Question: Having successfully run a business for several years, what are one or two difficulties in starting a business that many budding entrepreneurs overlook or fail to consider?

"If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap, than his neighbor, though he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door."

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

To me, it is this famous “mousetrap fallacy” that leads to the doom of thousands of start-ups every year. It seems to be particularly common among the aspiring “high tech” entrepreneurs. Some engineer or scientist develops some new widget that does this really cool thing but they have no idea whether or not there is any potential need or demand for the product.

Losing It ... Valerie Bertinelli's story

So I just finished the new book by Valerie Bertinelli, Losing It ... And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time. I really wanted to read it because being a child of the 70's, I used to love watching the sitcom she was in, "One Day at a Time", with Bonnie Franklin and McKenzie Phillips.  Sure, the show was a little corny, but it was good for a laugh or two. 

Her life story is pretty interesting and quite a roller coaster ride!  She has two brothers and had an older brother who died suddenly at 19 months.  She has constantly battled weight gain and has tried every dieting fad under the sun.  Her marriage to rocker, Eddie Van Halen, was quite tumultuous with drugs, alcohol and all the trappings of a rock star lifestyle.  Both of them were equally into addiction and infidelity and it's unbelievable that they stayed married for over 25 years!