Women entrepreneurs in SMEs - making it big!

By Namrata Kath Hazarika,

Are women entrepreneurs running the show? Today women entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) no longer stand behind in the industrial world dominated by the masculine sex.

Notwithstanding the fact that women entrepreneurs are usually criticised for being too cooperative and compassionate, today, many women are not only occupying the coveted slots in corporate hierarchies, but have also emerged successful in leading a business of her own.

"They have moved ahead by getting their priorities right. They are educated, talented, know how to balance their personal and professional lives at the same time," says Pria Warrick, Executive Director of Warrick Finishing School.

Women entrepreneurs can initiate, organize, plan and above all operate an individual venture solely. They are now seen as being more accomplished in negotiations than their masculine counterparts.

In fact, like every single male entrepreneur even the women entrepreneur have varied functions. Women entrepreneurs are ready to face extreme challenges and have overpowered men in many aspects of business. They are smart enough to overcome the hurdles and explore the prospects of new ventures, ever ready to take risks, introduce new ideas and implement them in a successful way and be an extreme fighter with a complete leadership.

"The days when women were suppressed within the four walls of their domestic chores are a passe now. With the changing times women are being given the respect they deserve in the business world. A case in point is the recent phenomenon of women in business," says Deepishika Shivhare, who owns an independent firm named Advent Infosoft Pvt Ltd.

Astoundingly, women are effectual enough to open a small business independently and work hard for the successful functioning of the business.

"Yes, today women are career-oriented and many have set their own business entities and by facing big challenges head on, have made huge profits in their businesses. But at the same time the greatest deterrent for women entrepreneurs is that they are from the fairer sex. In this male-dominated society most women are deprived of their business success. Often, during any business dealings the male generally plays big," says Pria.

"For instance, suppose I have to introduce my company to a prospective client who is incidentally a male member, he thinks that it is quite risky to do business with female counterparts. When we come across such kinds of circumstances it hampers the growth of our business in the long run," Shivhare says.

"I have started my business some years back. I was an one-woman army. But this one-woman army has turned into a small-medium business with the passing of time. Today I have at least 50 employees working with me. My motive is to reach to the far end customers and promote my services. I do not want to cater to small segment of business. The purpose for doing business is to earn profit," Shivhare says.

"Sometimes circumstances are major problems for women to build a small business. Yes, today women have an independent mindset to achieve goals on their own. But still major parts of India are deprived of the rights to be their own-selves. Even after tremendous hurdles from the society, women are climbing the ladder and achieving success," Pria explained to SME Times.

"It is true that there is always a male and female competition, but to the extreme level men do not know how to balance their lives as women are doing at present especially the working women.

A recent study too have found that women are more accomplished in negotiations than man.

The study found that women are more generous negotiators, better co-operators and are motivated to create win-win situations. The study noted that men have begun to follow feminine strategies during negotiations which require cooperation and competition.

Women have unique skills to offer. They are great listeners, they care about the concerns of the other side, and they're generally more interested in finding a win-win situation to the benefit of both parties than male negotiators. These are especially desirable traits in today's business world, which is calling for service improvements for customers and clients. Women today are earning more top positions because of this trend, the study noted.

Rita Kachru seconds the findings. When she started her garment export business from her apartment in Mumbai's Goregaon area, she called several prospective buyers for a home-cooked dinner.

"I cooked and all the importers, one from Australia, discussed business during the dinner. We developed a very informal and friendly relation. It has been two years now, they are not only doing business with me, we also exchange occasional gifts. In fact they have even introduced me to other buyers too. I have a pretty big clientele now...thanks to that dinner."

"Now a man can't do that. He will have to take them to a good hotel and the meeting will be formal and there are chances that the client may back out...waste of money and time. So that's the power of a women entrepreneur. We can give a human touch to business deals," she adds with a smile.