FEMALE entrepreneurs are taking a more positive approach to business than their male counterparts, with nearly 50 per cent confident about the future, compared to just 43 per cent of male business owners.
The latest quarterly research from accountancy specialists Tenon, carried out exclusively for Financial Mail, shows that fewer than 20 per cent of female business owners are pessimistic or lacking in confidence concerning the next three months for their firm, compared to more than a quarter of male entrepreneurs.
It also reveals that female business owners are less critical of Government support – or lack of support – for small firms, with 71 per cent of female entrepreneurs believing the Government does not do enough to help small firms, especially in the current economic climate, compared to four out of five male entrepreneurs who feel the Government does little or nothing to help.
Yet though women are more confident overall about the future for their business, in many cases they are likely to take a more prudent approach to spending. For example, just 12 per cent of female entrepreneurs plan to increase spending over the next three months, compared to 16 per cent of male bosses. Female entrepreneurs are most likely to increase spending levels on PR and marketing, while a third would be most likely to cut capital investment costs, such as new machinery. Nearly a quarter of male entrepreneurs plan to recruit full-time staff over the next three months, compared to just 16 per cent of female business owners.
Jan Ward, 52, is boss of Corrotherm International near Totten in Southampton, which she set up 18 years ago. The firm makes and distributes heat and corrosion resistant materials to oil and gas companies. It employs 30 people globally and has a turnover of £20 million a year.
While not dismissing the help available to smaller firms, Jan believes the quality of advice provided by Government bodies and services varies ‘significantly’, and she is angry at the long-term lack of support for the manufacturing industry.
‘For the past ten years Brown and Mandelson have said the UK is not about manufacturing but services, and as a result little has been done to help companies in this area. In fact there are many small companies that are among the best in the world in what they do, which are often in very niche, but very important, manufacturing markets.’
While agreeing that she takes a cautious approach when it comes to spending within the business – ‘we monitor what we spend and certainly would not overspend’ – Jan believes that female entrepreneurs are just as likely to take calculated risks as their male counterparts.
She says: ‘We are very thorough and calculated but we operate in some very risky markets, for example, in the Middle East and north and south Africa, where similar larger firms are not prepared to go. I certainly don’t think caution holds us back when it comes to operating as a successful business.’
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