The UK may be the start-up capital of Europe but many talented young businesswomen aren’t making it to the top. Have the Cashflow They Need to Grow Their Business.
But a new report from Bibby Financial Services finds that four in ten female business leaders don’t have the cashflow they need to grow.
1. Lack of confidence
Many women have the ambition to start their own company but lack confidence or are not sure how to go about it.
New research from Bibby Financial Services (BFS) shows that women-led SME businesses are more likely to face cashflow challenges than men. This is worrying, particularly with interest rates having risen and impacting profit margins.
Despite the challenges, female entrepreneurs remain resilient and determined. Poppy Gustafsson, CEO of the cyber security firm Darktrace, founded her business at just 30 and became the youngest woman on a FTSE 350 board in 2016. Now she is the co-founder of the agency Rise at Seven and has an enviable client list including PrettyLittleThing, Matalan, Game, uSwitch and Halfords. Clearly, women can and do create successful businesses.
2. Uncertainty about the future
When you’re an entrepreneur, uncertainty is almost a given, writes Evelyn Heffernan.
BFS research found that UK female SME owners are more likely to suffer cashflow challenges, which can undermine their growth ambitions. Only half of women respondents reported that their cashflow is stable and meets their needs, compared to 29% of their male peers – a gap of 14%. That is an unacceptable and unnecessary barrier to growth for both businesses and the economy.
3. Financial pressures
In response, the bank is launching an ambitious new commitment to support 100,000 women start and grow their own business over the next three years.
Barclays’ investment will include a mentoring programme powered by Moving Ahead, which will see experienced female business leaders paired with carefully chosen mentors to help them tackle the key challenges they face. The commitment also includes funding coding schools and bootcamps to encourage more women to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and maths, which will help to close the gender gap in the tech sector.
Despite the 2023 Alison Rose Review setting FTSE 350 companies a 40% target for women on boards and in leadership positions, only half of female business owners report that their company?s cashflow is stable and meets their needs – compared to two thirds of male respondents. This could be because it remains harder for women to access funding than their male counterparts.
4. Lack of time
Despite more women now running businesses than ever before, the disproportionate number who are not making it big is alarming. Women-led businesses tend to be smaller, with fewer staff and lower turnovers than those run by men. This makes them less likely to survive an economic downturn.
Those that do survive can often find themselves working flat-out to keep their business on track. However, this can have a negative impact on family life and other aspects of wellbeing, as well as leaving them with little time to focus on growing their business.
New research from Bibby Financial Services reveals that a quarter of female business owners say they don?t have the cashflow they need to grow. The good news is, it can be easy to overcome these challenges – and help more UK businesses to flourish. By joining a community like AllBright, for example, you can get advice from women who are already successful in their own fields needs read more hear.
