I just finished watching the extended video #LikeAGirl created by Always.com created for Super Bowl 2015. It’s inspirational and thought provoking. It elicited a reaction that I didn’t expect – as I choked back my tears. It stopped me dead in my tracks. When did the phrase “like a girl” come to mean something less than, weak, or less capable? And, how has that simple three-word phrase affected women in business around the world, including myself?
The State of Women-Owned Businesses
A recent report on the state of women-owned enterprises was quite revealing. Despite the growing evidence that women build great companies, the average revenue of women-owned companies lags behind by 27%. Is it because they run their small business #LikeAGirl?
Although my energy hides my true age, I’ve been around for some time. I’ve lived through <cough> decades, two centuries, Beatlemania, Woodstock, and the rise of the Internet. Oh, and I survived The Brady Bunch.
During that time, the number of organizations with a woman at the helm began to climb. Today, the rate of women-owned enterprises grows at one and a half times the national average, while men-owned businesses shrink. (Click to Tweet)
Nonetheless, while female entrepreneurs are making great strides, moments remain where it feels as though we’re patted on our little pink heads as if what we’re doing is “less than.”
Why? Because we’re not willing to run our business #likeaboy…
What it’s Like to Run A Business #LikeAGirl
There is mounting evidence that women business owners have an edge in running a successful business. Female entrepreneurs create more jobs, use 40% less capital, and are more likely to survive the start-up to established business transition. (Click to Tweet)
As female business-owners, we struggle balancing the demands of home, family, and work – and achieve in spite of it.
We withstand being scolded for our ambitions – and achieve in spite of it.
We put our family, and their countless activities, before our business activities – and achieve in spite of it.
Although our strategic planning, organizational, and management skills get stretched to their limits as we manage the multitude of daily tasks before us, we achieve in spite of it.
Frankly, I don’t want to run my business #likeaboy as if it’s the gold standard to attain. It doesn’t fit my DNA. It’s a mismatch with who I am.
I proudly and unapologetically run my small business #LikeAGirl…(Click to Tweet)
