WHERE ARE ALL THE FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS?
Posted by James Tuckerman, Publisher, Founder & Editor-In-Chief
Thirty must be a magic number. Within 30 minutes of launching our 30under30 awards program last Wednesday, we’d received over 30 nominations.
They came from every State and Territory. They represented a good cross-section of our award categories. But there was one notable, unnerving discrepancy with the data. Where were the women?
We can only assume that Ms Rhoade of Diva Promotions must be pretty special. Not simply because she is under 30 and runs a marketing company for women in business. But because she was the one and only female Australian entrepreneur to be nominated among this initial group of 30.
This, of course, baffled me. I’m still baffled.
Surely female entrepreneurs represent more than 3% of the entrepreneur mix!
So, I did my research.
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), an annual report that monitors entrepreneurial activity across nations, women make up about half the Australian labour force “who are actively involved in starting a new business or who own/manage a business less than 42 months old.”
This has remained consistent over the past 10 years.
So, if women are responsible for approximately half of all entrepreneurial activity taking place in Australia, why the lacklustre response to our awards program from the ‘fairer sex’?
I suspect that there lies a clue in this dated and, let’s face it, deliberately provocative expression. You might want to slap me down for using it (there’s a place for comments below) but I invite you to first hear me out.
From our side of the editorial desk, Paul Ryan (who’s probably not thrilled about his involuntary inclusion in this hoary debate) and I have observed the disparity between the gender of incoming callers for a long time.
A day will not pass without a big, blokey egoist barking his credentials for a feature story down the phone. “Write about me! My business is unique!” (And we all know the disproportionate nature of barks to bites.)
But we rarely, if ever, receive even the most courteous enquiry about the potential possibility of placing a female entrepreneur in our pages. Even a delicately phrased suggestion is a rare thing from where we sit.
So here’s my unscientific conclusion.
Female entrepreneurs simply seem less inclined to self-promote. And I suspect that the only reason why Anthill Magazine’s male to female ratio is as high as it is (said with the caveat that we know we could improve) is because we make a concerted effort to chase opinions and stories beyond the obvious members of the Australian bizerati, which has nothing to do with gender at all.
So, why is it that Australian women are so under-represented in the Australian business media?
Am I onto something or are my opinions simply another part of the problem?
February 26th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Hi James,
I disagree. Women are just as likely to self promote. I think it’s probably because women tend to start businesses later in life than men do. Getting expreience in a job, taking time out to have a family (or as most of us do, have a family and continue working), slows the proces down. By the time we are able to bring our wealth of experience to entrepreneurship we are generally 30+, eliminating us for the 30 under 30.
You just have a much smaller pool to draw from.
Carmelina Pascoe
My Coffee Shop
February 26th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Hi there,
I just wanted to agree wholeheartedly with Carmelina. I know a number of female entrepreneurs, myself included who wanted to be in the 30 under 30, but found we were just too old for your criteria!
I didn’t take time out to have a family, but am 33 and run a successful business. However, balancing the business with a home life (I’m told there is a difference!) including a partner and 16 assorted animals is challenging to say the least.
One aspect that should be thought about is that in some areas of business (not all) being female and under 30 often leads to potential clients assuming you can’t possibly have the experience they are looking for. I battled hard with this, despite global experience, in my late twenties and still do to some extent now.
Fay Weston
Talk Biotech
February 26th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Being the above mentioned female entrepreneur, I agree with both Carmelina and James. Working with women of all ages, I find that many of my clients are reluctant to self promote. This can be for a variety of reasons, and being in the advertising and promotions game, it’s quite hard to get them to self promote!
Saying that, replying to Carmelina, some of my clients are also over 30. But yes, a majority of them are also under 30. They are the ‘Mums in Business’. The ones who are currently pushing the business start up rate higher and higher.
However James, I have found that Anthill magazine and both website, do not generally cater that well for Women in Business. Your approach is sometimes ‘blokey egoist ‘ as you put it!
So you have any female contributers?
February 26th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
That last line was meant to be
“Do you have any female contributers?”
(can write, but can’t edit!!)
February 26th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I am a woman under 30 who runs a business.
And I not only wanted to nominate myself - but a bunch of other people!
But none of us fit into your categories ….
I run a business services company. Most of the other people I wanted to nominate run retail businesses.
Hmmm … interesting … and now I see you’ve opened up NEW categories … would have been helpful if those had of been there in the first place. Because if someone hadn’t of sent me a link to this conversation, I would never have checked back to see the other categories …
You should probably issue a notice of that …
Leela
February 26th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
“However James, I have found that Anthill magazine and both website, do not generally cater that well for Women in Business. Your approach is sometimes ‘blokey egoist ‘ as you put it!”
I disagree with that COMPLETELY, Emma.
““Do you have any female contributers?” … Urrrr … you comment on the content of Anthill and then you ask if they have female contributers … which you would know that they DO, if you read it …
The content of Anthill is aimed at business people. I find it informative, interesting and useful. How can you say that information on innovation, marketing, HR etc are aimed at men???
February 26th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I never said that they are all aimed at men- you said that one. I said that there is generally not much aimed toward women. Above comments say that women have families and business, and they also bring more to the business community- in different ways.
Now, I don’t have a problem with the magazine and website being aimed at business people- and I don’t expect to read it and find things aimed at women only- James just asked where all the women are?
So, here we are James!!!
February 26th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I nominated someone who is Mid 30’s.
Maybe you should change it to “30 up to 30’s”
Don’t be so Ageist
February 26th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
*Warning this contains questionable humor*
Look deeper ladies, the question you should have been asking is; “isn’t James a bachelor?”
Hmmm, lets see, he’s under thirty, and a successful entrepreneur, no ring on the finger yet?
Put those together and you know why it’s under thirty hes looking for…
Like is attracted to like after all…
I think James just wants to meet other like minded people, like RSVP for entreprenuers, I can see it now, the business bachelor!
“if you are handed an award you can stay for the next episode, and we can get to know each other better…’
Bow wow chicka chicka bow wow…
PS maybe after hes seen what the under thirties bracket has to offer he will open up the “over thirty with a coffee shop and kids” bracket, for those “yummy mummy entrepreneurs”
Ooooh I like it, the “yummy mummy awards”
James?
Over to you.
February 26th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
So my take is that the main problem is that there ARE woman entrepreneurs but they tend to stick to the safe female areas of fashion and beauty, and more traditional ‘womanly’ areas. Those of us running pure technology businesses are rarer.
Why? Well yes, the hours are brutal in high growth tech companies. But more important is how hard it is to deal with role incongruence. You need aggression and drive to succeeed in technology, and then you need to be able to switch that off to feel like a ‘normal’ woman and not intimidate others. We don’t have a problem with it, but it is hard to fit in and have normal relationships with friends and lovers if you are extremely atypical. A female nags, a male is persistant. A male is strong, a female is a b*# breaker. A male is a stud, a girl is a tart. Our language does not even allow the same characteristic (positive in a male) to be presented in a positive way for females.
And don’t get me started on the cost of childcare for anyone with a vaguely good income, and how if I ask my secretary to fetch kids from school because I have a meeting running late, its technically fraud; but if that same secretary goes to fetch drycleaning or pay golf membership for a bloke its fine.
I also agree with the women above about the under 30 thing. I WAS an entrepreneur with a large business before 30, but it was in education not technology, because I had small kids and had to work with them around me all the time. I also didn’t allow myself to believe I was a significant player until mid thrities, which was self-imposed.
OK so here’s another a last reason why we are not visible. Its not just about self promotion, it’s logistics. An example: On Sunday evening, I retrieved a message from my PR person saying a journalist wanted to talk to me on Saturday about why there are not more female entrepreneurs. The deadline was soon, said the message, so I had to talk to the journo on saturday. It might have even been for this article, not sure, have been to busy to listen to the message again.
I had spent the previous 48 hours of the weekend catching up on ‘woman stuff’ - ferrying kids, cleaning house, buying presents for birthday parties, catching up on reports for investors, generating numbers for clients, making stuff for a school function, supervising homework etc. In short, to cope with the extraordinary performance demands of having two jobs (entrepreneur plus partner/wife) we have to ignore the extraneous, and do the vital stuff to get ahead and cope with the extra demands. And self promotion may be seen as extraneous. You try get yourself to a breakfast networking event, or an after-work cocktail party, fetch kids on strict childcare time deadline, make food for everyone, and still run a business.
So usually we default to “do what has to be done” rather than “talk about what we want to do”, because we have no time for the latter.
February 26th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
But having said all of that, i LOVE being a woman, and i LOVE being a technology entrepreneur, I wouldnt have it any other way
February 26th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I also disagree with changing it to Entrepreneurs over 30 … because you guys have plenty of competitions! Telstra business awards … Telstra business woman awards … and how is a girl who has only been in business for a few years supposed to compete with women who have had the opporutnity to be in business, sometimes, for decades?
I think it’s great that there is actually a competition that recognises those of us under the age of 30 who are building empires … because apart maybe from the BRW Young Rich List (which it takes somewhere in the realm of $260 Million to get nominated) - there’s not much out there that we realistically have much hope of winning.
I really think you may get a different response now that you’ve opened up the categories … a lot of the women I know are in retail / communcations …
Of course … I have to say - while there are lots of women entrepreneurs, I’m not sure how many are under 30. Most of my friends seem hell bent on staying in their jobs and getting maternity leave. And then, quite frankly, the mumpreneurs I know are not really interested in winning competitions - they build a business for themselves which is a job so that they can work at home with the kids. Most of them wouldn’t enter a comp like this - because they believe they wouldn’t win.
And they are probably right.
Alright, that’s enough commenting from me. I should go back to actually RUNNING my business, instead of discussing it! This just happens to be a favourite topic of mine … the intersection of feminism and business … and when you mix in the ‘youth’ element, you’re talking about my life!
I get a tad on the passionate side ….
February 26th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I’ve started two small businesses and would consider myself ‘entrepreneurial’ however I now shy away from the usual promotion places for ‘entrepreneurs’ as they’re generally seem only interested in the ‘new, large and sexy’ things which publishing wasn’t considered then and now I’m running an online business selling downloadable sewing patterns it’s deemed a little too small to be of interest to the business press.
The business/entreprenuers press seem to want to focus on how you are going to obtain funding from venture capitalists, expansion plans and IPOs whereas my plans involve working towards supporting my family whilst being around to look after them. That being said I’m enjoying plenty of attention from the technology/web press so I’m not that worried profile-wise.
What does concern me, is that the same attitude seems prevalent in the government support areas and business networks and I have pretty much dropped out of those thanks to that.
February 26th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
There are some under 30 female tech entreprenuers on the recent IT’S Million $ babes award - www.itmillion.com -
They do exist, but tend to be head down multi juggling as per Liesl Cappers comment - or as per other comments in a category not included in the Anthill awards!
To beat the invisibility issue (as would be great to raise the awareness that female entprenuers do exist!) - consideration may need to be given to the age issue - it’s a fact female lives take different age pathways to men - generically a mans career rises at an early age - females generically have a broken pathway ‘to the perceived top’ - or in areas not considered ’successful’.
Bet Liesl or another great female tech entreprenuer could develop an algorithm that could look at the career path of females and recalculate the age of female nominees - thus growing the pool of likely candidates in a way that recognised their ‘career/life choice/breaks”!
mmmm…resetting a females age….there’s an idea….
February 26th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
So James, can I call to courteously enquiry? Im one female entrepreneur under 30 who has no issues with self-promoting. I just didnt a phone call was all that there was to it
I’ll work on my elevator pitch
But i’ve also nominated myself for the 30 under 30. Any chance you’ll give us females a fairer go if we are seriously out-numbered by the men?
February 26th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
So i could ramble off at least 10 amazing women who inspire me in business but the problem is I’m not sure they’re under 30! We don’t discuss ages!
Being the grand old age of 23 I don’t count myself worthy or a nomination but I’ll nominate the others in case!
February 26th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Lots of good points here.
I should clarify that while JT was using the initial 30under30 stats as an example, the prevalence of male entrepreneurs in our orbit extends well beyond the realm of this competition.
30under30 is a great opportunity for us to focus on young Australian entrepreneurs who otherwise might not enjoy the day-to-day media spotlight. If the Cool Company Awards is anything to go by, 30under30 will throw up many young business owners who aren’t considered “celebrities” by the mainstream press. We pride ourselves on being able to see though the publicity machine to the real stories. So have a go. There’s nothing to lose and everything to gain.
For female entrepreneurs who are over 30, we heartily encourage you to enter the Cool Company Awards, which is open to all ages. And beyond that, we always want to hear your stories and read your editorial submissions with an eye to running them in Anthill. I believe that women are significantly under-represented in business media and we’re working actively to change this.
We know there are so many more of you out there than we hear about. Here’s your chance to clue us in. submissions [@] australiananthill.com
February 26th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Hi, I am female and I am an entreprenuer, I would have loved to have entered, however I am over 30. I’m 33 perhaps you should extend it to under 35.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Great conversation this one, thought I’d join in and throw the female cat amongst the male pigeons. I agree with the age comment. I set up my initial company ITmaniacs when I was 30 and 3 months pregnant, the hormones certainly played with my sanity. Specialising in IT recruitment to start with I found that I spent most of my time working out how “men” do business. So much so we even set up a fictitious male at HQ (like Charlie off of Charlies Angels) and for some strange reason people used to leave messages for him! Not so long back we attended a BIG player client meeting and they were shocked when a chick turned up and was the owner, they figured our marketing and pitch to the market must’ve been created by a male. Our years of studying the male ego had paid off!
Having set up my company in NZ. I have now spent the last year living in Australia and observing the OZ market and business with a view to bringing the Maniacs in here. Having been to many meetings and many many networking events here are my highly observant observations about Australian business, more to the point we now know how we are going to pitch in here.
1. In order to really succeed balls are a bonus
2. When entering a room it’s best done dressed in your footie team colours
3. All businessmen start the conversation with “what home town are you from”
4. This is followed by “what footie team do you support”
5. Then comes “I used to play footie”
6. “Oh really so did I”
7. “Who for?”
8. ” My god my team played against your team”
9. “So we did, my god I must’ve met you before!”
10. “So what is it you do now?”
11. ” Well I sell what you guys want”
12. ” Well you must be a good business to deal with because if you played footie then you are a team player and understand tactics and the bigger game plan in business.
13. “Married”
14. “Yes”
15. “what does your wife do”
16. “Teacher and looks after the kids”
17. “How many”
18. “3” and the eldest is a state champion
19. “Really? Mine too, eldest is surf life save – board in the under 11’s”
20. “Mines swim”
21. “My god you must’ve been at the carnival last Sunday”
22. “Can’t believe I didn’t spot you”
23. “Must do lunch and seal the deal”
24. “Great to catch up and talk business with you (Swap cards)
I have now worked out after having seen this happen so many times that in order to get your business up the ranks here you need to hire an ex footie player who may well have been a state high jumping champ at the age of 12 to pitch your business and get credibility, its all about playing the strategic sports game.
As for entering in to awards most of us women don’t need the trophy and recognition which our male counterparts appear to so desperately strive for with associated titles. If we have time between kids and work to sit and nominate ourselves we will, however being a state champion or semi pro footballer is not what we are in it for…..we are in for personal satisfaction and the ability to juggle school pick up, dinner and earning a few bob!
February 26th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
James, I think you’re onto something. Recently I’ve concluded that one of the primary differences between men and women at work (whether entrepreneurial or not), is;
For women, belief in ability actual ability.
So yes, women are less likely to self-promote.
However, I think there might be something in the age-bracket argument too. I’m an entrepreneur and would love to have entered except I’m 33 so didn’t qualify.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
40 under 40?
February 26th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Several responses have intrigued me.
Interestingly I think Leela hit the nail on the head however:-
“I should go back to actually RUNNING my business, instead of discussing it!”
Most business women are more concerned with the day to day running and expansion of their business than receiving dubious cudos in the form of ubiquitous awards.
Let’s face it, we all have had some experience with the award system - it’s not necessarily the ‘winners’ who receive them, it’s those who have in some way ‘earned’ their win.
As a publisher I’ve seen my competition regularly staging ‘Business Achiever Awards’, oddly enough it generates an enormous volume of advertising for them (how strange!) - prior to nominations closing in the hope they receive more nominations, after they’ve been nominated ‘thanking everyone for nominating them’, once the awards are announced ‘thanks for our win…we’re the best!’.
It’s all a marketing ploy. A very successful marketing ploy granted, but perhaps we women aren’t quite so gullible. We know the ‘winner/s’ will be those who’ve ploughed countless dollars into expensive advertising. Always is. Always will be. Nature of the beast. Synical? No. Just a realist.
It’s our clients opinions which count. If they are happy and continue doing business with you, you’re a winner. Simple as that.
Plaques, certificates and the like do not count for much if you’re too busy seeking glorification for being an entrepreneur/business person at the expense of your clients.
It’s my work which counts, and the pleasure I get from knowing my clients think highly of my efforts and my business - and the fact they’ve (on the whole) been my clients and encouraging my business for over 14 years.
As with most tasks in life, women simply get on with the job at hand and do it. Whatever it takes… be it a marriage, raising a family, juggling relationships, kids AND a career. We multi task.
I was 37 when I leapt into the unknown, not knowing whether I’d sink or swim, and here I am at 51 still going strong. Nothing unusual in that - there are a zillion of us out there quietly achieving, growing and nurturing our businesses AND our families.
Long may it continue to be the case.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Here here Phillippa I agree it is a marketing ploy! In 2005 we entered the Deloittes Fast 50 and came 2nd. We were marketed as the 2nd fastest growing company but we knew we were the 2nd fastest that entered (not in the whole country!). We did it purely to crack some of the big boys for accounts and they had all heard of Deloittes. Since then we have only entered the “Humour in Business Awards” not for any other reason than it makes us laugh and its a great night out for the gang. After our Deloittes win we decided as a company that we only enter awards where we will enjoy the process and who we get to hang out with on the journey. The medal is not what we are after….we know we are good
You can often spot the true entrepenuers as most of them don’t ever use that word when describing themselves. As a recruiter I always squeam when I have candidates describe themselves as having entrepreneurial skills on their CV. You’ve either got it or you aint…and if you aren’t living life on the edge you’re taking up too much room!
February 27th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I’m quite bewildered by how this discussion has become such of a debate. The answer to encouraging more women to come forward, self promote, and celebrate our success in business seems obvious to me…
How about creating a FEMALE ENTREPREUNUER UNDER 30 category? Or possibly as some of the ladies have mentioned above, it could be under 35.
It may be that women in the world of entrepenuers ARE a minority (although we are certainly out there doing our thing) and so if Anthill has identified that we need a bit of a kick up the bum to make ourselves known, then some kind of incentives would be fantastic. I know that I as a female business owner at 27, would be itching to read each Anthill edition and check the website regularly if I saw value in it that wasn’t streched by the male business population- which as much as I love them for their contribution, can be somewhat dominating.
Would love to hear other’s idea on this. Good luck to all you amazing women out there!!
Joanna Sherwell
www.untappedpotential.com.au
February 27th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Go Phillippa, couldn’t agree with you more. Many of those of us who could be ‘described’ as entrepreneurs have got our heads down and our little tushes in the air working on improving our business instead of grandstanding. Have seen too many awards claimed by businesses that may have a great pitch and can be fairly ‘creative’ with the spin they put on their performance, but dig a little deeper and you sometimes find quite a different story - which is why I prefer to spend my time working on improving my business, than accumulating kudos.
Also seems to me that this whole conversation is a big age-ist. What’s the big deal about 30? What about those of us who are 40+ and fabulous, who started our businesses when we were in our 20’s and 30’s and have grown them from strength to strength, creating, innovating and achieving some remarkable results - only we don’t stop to blow our trumpets to anyone who will listen, instead we forge ahead to work on the next challenge!
February 27th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Hmmmm - there you go James. I think these women have unwittingly answered your question. Do you see the ANGER that comes out??? “Grandstadning”, “Ego”, … etc - My fellow women in business are practically ATTACKING anyone who has entered your competition … because there is this attitude among women that it’s wrong to bang our own drums (which dates back to the times of our grandmothers where we were expected to be meek and mild).
So, because I’ve entered your competition, I’m full of ego and should be focusing more on building my business than on entering … who would WANT to enter when surrounded by this kind of venom?
Unfortunately, this is an across-the-board issue with women. We are so busy defending our choices by ATTACKING other women that we forget to support one another.
Mothers versus Non-Mothers. Stay at home mothers versus working mothers. Employees versus Entrepreneurs.
Give us half a chance and we’ll rip each other to shreds.
It’s so SAD.
Which is probably why I surround myself mostly with men. I have a few women around me, but the majority of people who support me and mentor me are male. Don’t get me wrong - if a woman WANTED to mentor or help me, I’d be there … but look at the ANGER expressed above … I won’t surround myself with that. I won’t surround myself with women who tear other women down because they have the audacity to promote themselves / their businesses.
Or the audacity to be UNDER 30 and want to enter a competition!
Or the audacity to be an entrepreneur and not a mother!
I really hate this attitude of ‘expectations’ that we place on one another. Why can’t we just support one another as women … and particularly as women in business? Why can’t I have a group of strong, cool, female friends who ENCOURAGE me even if my choices don’t match their own?
Why can I ONLY get this kind of support from men?
It makes me VERY sad.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Hear Hear, Leela!
But the big thing we need to realise is that this could be a really big chance for ‘entrepreneurs’ getting coverage. Especially as they are under 30, it means most businesses would still be new, be starting out and maybe unknown.
If they make it on the pages of anthill it will only benefit them.
I’ll encourage you Leela
February 28th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Thank you Mel for helping restore my faith in the sisterhood!
February 28th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Hi James,
I think 30 under 30 is a fabulous idea. (Not 35, not 37, not 40) Leela made a fair few good points. Woman generally are terribly b!tchy to each other which is a great shame. There are plenty of us young (under 30) woman here in the wings with thoughts like this;
- Will we will really get noticed if we enter? Alot of us don’t fit into the category of ‘mother’ (so we’re really not in fashion like mumprenuers) and get made to feel that we obviously aren’t juggling the business AND kids too (tut tuts of pitty for me all round) This provides feelings of “We’re not worthy”
- We’re well past the ‘youth’ age of 23. Trust me, like some of the other ladies, I’ve wished they raised the entry age so I too could enter, but I’ve not gone to those lengths. Those comps are there for the real youth and even though I missed out by a year, I just accepted my fate that I couldn’t enter the ‘Big Break Comp’ and continued to build my business, as have many other under 30 year olds I know.
- As young women we are usually taught to think that meeting 8 of 10 critera to enter a competition probably isn’t enough, where in my personal expirience a guy would meet 4 of the 10 and would give it a shot anyway because - well, 4 is good enough! (and he can probably bluff his way through the rest too.)
Like Leela I do find it hard, but slowly I’m unearthing the big group of woman like myself who are running businesses, who are under 30 and still enjoy wearing skirts and heels (contrary to some beliefs I hear that we all like to wear sensible shoes) Of all of these women I have met, most actively self promote and are also just as likely to tell you to get nicked if you call them a ballbuster for doing so…….
February 29th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I’m currently seeking entrepreneurs under the age of 30 who would be interested in speaking at a youth entrepreneur event in Sydney during Youth week in April. The theme is focused around web based businesses so we’re calling on any young entrepreneurs who run this type of business. . and we’d love to have some female representation. If you’d like to be a part of this event, please leave some info ! Thank you.
February 29th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
James here: Thanks so much for your thoughts (we’re doing some serious introspection at Anthill right now). I put together a response on Tuesday and I’m keen to hear what you guys and gals have to say about it. (Link here… http://editorsblog.anthillonline.com/wordpressmu/2008/02/27/awards-gender-and-other-things/). Also… Lys, can you please contact me (info[@]australiananthill.com) as I’d like to learn more about Youth Week and I might have some leads to help you out. All the best! Thanks everyone. James
March 1st, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Maybe the fact that the gender drop down box in the submission form is set to male as the default has something to do with it?
I hesitated entering because I am only 23 and most people give me attitude when they find out my age. We started when I was 19 and I made the mistake of telling someone my real age once. From 19 - 22, I was 23 if you met me lol.
My business partner is also under 30 (28) and we run a public relations company. We both agreed that because we do run a PR company, people expect us to always be self-promoting but we tend to talk more about our clients because that’s what excites us!
The other interesting thing is that we have developed an entire range of PR products and services for start ups and SME’s, but journalists have a natural adversity to writing about PR, so we assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that PR wouldn’t be considered as favourable in a competition such as this…
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Hey Lys,
While my business is not predominantly internet based, I may know a few people who could be IDEAL for your event. Please contact me on leela (@) leelacosgrove.com
March 7th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I am Michelle, I am an Industrial Designer, I am a Producer, I am an Entrepreneur. I am 24.
I run my own business (www.groundfloorcollaboration.com), and am more than happy to self-promote.
So… “Write about me! My business is unique!”
March 7th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Hi Lys,
I would love to contribute to your event in April. You can contact me at michelle@groundfloorcollaboration.com, check out www.groundfloorcollaboration.com.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Michelle
March 8th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Hi Everyone
I have to agree with your first two responses in that the age limit was a factor for me. I am 35 and have been running my own Advertising Agency for 3 years now. I think sometimes (and it probably varies with industry) it takes longer for a women to gain the necessary skills and experience and in some respects confidence to start her own business. I had to work hard in the Advertising industry to prove myself to my primarily male colleagues in management so it wasn’t until I was in my early 30’s that I believed I had the skill, reputation in the market and confidence to go out on my own. Congratulations to all of those women who are under 30 and running their own business you are an inspiration.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Hi everyone,
It is fantastic to get your perspectives. Great to see other women out their following their own vision.
Yes men and women do, do business differently.
I am 30 - run a communications agency UP&UP Creative since i was 23. Have build 2 side businesses also [ Sprinkler.CC and Eco Merchandise ] and last year started a Not-For-Profit [ The Gertrude Association ]
I am a sole director and i have great people around me. I can’t help it when i see a great business opportunity that will benefit me, my clients and progress society - so yes i am an entrepreneur.
Ever though age and gender have been interesting [ sometimes surprising ] factors to navigate in the business world,
i have had many men and women who have believed in our skills and their the ones that benefit. We now do local, National and International projects.
I believe the business landscape is changing with more women in management. They are great to work with, but equally business means business and women are as serious as men to do a great job.
Sorry James - just found out about your awards! [30 under 30 ]
Happy to promote. Love my Company, love the work we do for our clients - where do i sign up!
By May i will be too OLD to make the cut
cheers
Monique
March 15th, 2008 at 12:05 am
Wow I am excited to come across this magazine through a link from the sensis newsletter. I was even more excited to see all the great comps.
I don’t think I am afraid to self promote although my business is a little unique being that is totally dedicated to premature babies….. yes you heard right! After my experience of havign a baby girl born at 27 weeks almost 13weeks early weighing 861grams I set about starting my own baby business with a twist. When I first started telling people what I was doing I was upset by the some of the comments I recieved but now I just use them as an education tool which gives me more time to speak about my wonderful business. I think being a young working woman and for me a young working mother we are up against it but if we are true entrepreneur we will stick with it and find ourselves on the other side of 30 still running our business or possibly businesses.
Good Luck to all the 30 under 30 entrants as well as all the other cool entrants too.
And in the true entrepreneur way feel free to check out my website http://www.momentbymoment.com.au & http://www.cafeprem.com.au
Fiona