Female entrepreneurship is for survival, says author

For 12 years at the head of Rede Mulher Empreendedora, a space that brings together more than 750,000 women, publicist Ana Fontes, 55, launches “Business: a Women’s Subject”, her first book.

The publication focuses on women who intend to undertake or are already taking their first steps in the market and has testimonies from businesswomen about the challenges of establishing their own business in Brazil.

Right away, Ana makes it clear that the profile of the entrepreneur is quite different from the entrepreneur. They, she says, have a good business idea and go for it. They are looking for survival.

“Those who come from the corporate world to the entrepreneurial environment, do not come willingly, they come because it is still, even in 2022, an extremely hostile environment for women,” she says.

How was the book “Business: A Women’s Issue” born? Everyone told me “you have so much knowledge, so much information, you needed to put this in so that more people could have access. And then the pandemic has nothing positive, but some things we ended up being able to do as a result of the pandemic, and I I decided to really pay attention to that and make this book.

In my idea, I wanted it to be a guide for women to understand, identify with and see exactly what the issues, challenges and cool things to do are. That it would also be useful for people who study feminist entrepreneurship and that it would be a book that represented women, because it is not about my story. The book is about the story of millions of women in Brazil who are undertaking and trying to make their business a successful and successful business.

I also wanted the organization of texts to be done by a woman and to have a representative woman, who was inspirational, which is Luiza [Trajano, presidente do conselho de administração do Magazine Luiza]. And the editor too. It was cool, because it’s all made by them.

Over the female entrepreneurship, is it always linked to maternal? Is it for the woman who “had to make do” to care for her child or a sick family member or is this an old view? The triggers for women to start a business are different from those for men. Normally, women undertake as a matter of survival and to remain professionally active. Those who come from the corporate world to the entrepreneurial environment do not come of their own accord, they come because the corporate world is still, even in 2022, an extremely hostile environment for women.

I say that they are pushed towards entrepreneurship precisely because they are not welcomed within the corporate environment, especially for those women who are mothers of small children. For most of them, motherhood is the main trigger. So much so that we play a lot on the Net: a child is born, at the same time a mother is born and, at the same time, an entrepreneur is born.

The largest share begins to undertake between 30 and 40 years. The moment when we think about having a child is exactly the moment when we think that the environment, especially the corporate environment, does not welcome us.

About 40% start a business because they support their family with the money that comes from the business. Another part is to supplement the income to put food inside the house.

Regardless of coming from the corporate or being in a vulnerable situation, entrepreneurship for women today is not a choice.

The vast majority do not come to undertake because they had a cool business idea and will test this idea to see if it works and will seek a business opportunity, which is the imagination of the world of entrepreneurs. It is obvious that the number of women in this condition has been growing a little more, but it is not the reality of most women.

And is this characteristic general or Brazilian? This is general. If you compare with countries with the same profile as Brazil, such as India and South Africa, the situation is similar.

When you go to countries that are more developed, that have more support programs among women, they have a better condition, they have public support policies, that’s the difference. It does not mean that the situation is 100% wonderful.

Here in Brazil we have very few, practically no public policies to help these women. Such as access to capital, financial resources, specific lines of credit. They do not exist within government public policies that encourage business or any innovation led by women.

What is the impact of the care economy on female entrepreneurship? Do you see this way of working as a problem? World studies show that 80% of the planet’s care economy is done by women. That is, taking care of children, home, partners, the elderly, the sick, issues related to care are still mostly done by women.

The problem with this care economy is not that it exists, it is done exclusively by women, that is, there is no division of tasks between men and women. It is her not being socially recognized, because people do not value this work. And the third issue is that it has no financial value.

See that in Argentina, last year, they created a law that, in retirement, they value the work of mothers. Taking care of children gives you a bonus in retirement.

AND How to undertake being a mother? A support network is essential, so it is important for women to be together, to be part of groups, to make connections between them.

Today, there is a network of businesses created by women to help women with family care.

Dedication to the business is different. Women spend two hours less in business. In addition to the question of survival, women seek flexibility. That little word for men doesn’t appear.

Women think about business much more related to the moment they are living in combined with their skills.

Men are much more looking for the opportunities they have and not necessarily related to what they like, what they know how to do.

In terms of social classes, there are many difference within female entrepreneurship? Not. Overall, almost 70% of women undertake what we call women’s comfort area: fashion, beauty, food outside the home, aesthetics, services. These are the territories where women usually dominate.

What is different for those who are in a better situation than those who are socially vulnerable is that they study the market a little, try to understand which path they can take, what type it can open up.

The one who is in social vulnerability will open with what she has in her hand. How different is her condition in society as a whole. The more social markers, the more difficult, the more challenging her situation is.

The book brings an entire chapter to the question of undertaking with the husband as a partner and how to balance this relationship. Which difficulties? The woman treats the business as if it were a child and even the business environment as a family.

Which is fine, as long as you are clear about when you need to let go, when you need to be insistent and not persistent.

We have a way of managing the business that is more collaborative, more human, and that is a good thing.

The joke I play with them is: don’t hire someone you’re afraid to fire. This is the point.

The business cannot be an extension of the family.

How to identify what will be the business differential? They usually arrive with a business idea, the important thing is for them to understand if there is someone to buy from.

Entrepreneurship is very lonely, for women it is even more lonely. Being together and identifying with other women is absolutely fundamental.

There is no specific territory to undertake. You don’t have to close yourself off in the territory of only things related to the female universe. We can indeed create solutions within any territory, as long as we have a good idea, that we do it even better and that we have customers to buy from.

Overall, for both women and men, three to five years is the average it takes for businesses to succeed.