Bright Future Ahead for UK Female Micro-Business Owners in

Editorial & Advertiser disclosure

Global Banking & Finance Review® is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Majority (54%) of UK women micro-business owners (MBO’s) expect their businesses to do better financially in 2016
49% of UK female MBO’s look to similar MBO’s for inspiration over globally famous business leaders
Over two thirds of female entrepreneurs say they need additional support

The future is bright for female micro-business owners in the UK. Over six in ten expect their business to do better financially in 2016 according to Vistaprint’s Women-owned Micro Businesses Trend Report* released today, which studied female entrepreneurs in both the UK and US. And despite the many challenges and long working hours, 83% of UK female MBO’s would recommend starting their own business to other women, whilst 59% believe they now have the same or even more opportunities than men to run a successful company.

On both sides of the Atlantic women micro-business owners have a rosy outlook with 77% of Millennials expecting growth, as compared to 67% of Gen Xers and 52% of Baby Boomers. The lower expectations for Baby Boomers is driven by their business strategy of maintaining their business at its current size over the next five years (32%). 11% indicated that they are preparing to sell the business or close it down, compared to 0% of Millennials and 3% of Gen Xers.

The report also highlights the importance of community and peer to peer support. In order to reach their desired level of success, 49% of UK female MBO’s prefer to look to business owners like themselves for advice and inspiration, rather than well-known, high flying business people. Whilst over half do admire globally known business leaders including JK Rowling (38%), Richard Branson (30%) and Jamie Oliver (21%), four in ten agreed that they don’t aspire to achieve their amount of business success. In fact, only a third of female MBOs stated that they started their business to make money, citing following their passion (43%) and taking control of their lives (48%) forming the top two reasons.

59% of UK women MBO’s believe that women currently have the same or more opportunities as men to be successful at running a micro business. Nevertheless, even in this environment, 35% of female MBO’s say they have encountered some level of gender discrimination and stereotyping in business.

However, the financial difficulties that women face when opening a small or micro-business is still one of the biggest challenges they have to deal with. 50% listed limited access to funding as the top issue they face. Around two thirds (67%) of women MBO’s indicated that they need additional support to tackle issues as a business owner including tax incentives or credit (33%), advice from other micro business owners (33%) and more networking or mentoring opportunities (34%)

One in five respondents claim their entire household income stems from their micro-business, proving how important the sustained success of their venture is to their overall livelihood. 70% of UK female entrepreneurs made less than £35,000 revenue in 2015 and 11% did not generate any income from their small businesses. This resulted in 51% of UK respondents claiming to not earn enough through their business to support themselves.

Majority (54%) of UK women micro-business owners (MBO’s) expect their businesses to do better financially in 2016
49% of UK female MBO’s look to similar MBO’s for inspiration over globally famous business leaders
Over two thirds of female entrepreneurs say they need additional support

The future is bright for female micro-business owners in the UK. Over six in ten expect their business to do better financially in 2016 according to Vistaprint’s Women-owned Micro Businesses Trend Report* released today, which studied female entrepreneurs in both the UK and US. And despite the many challenges and long working hours, 83% of UK female MBO’s would recommend starting their own business to other women, whilst 59% believe they now have the same or even more opportunities than men to run a successful company.

On both sides of the Atlantic women micro-business owners have a rosy outlook with 77% of Millennials expecting growth, as compared to 67% of Gen Xers and 52% of Baby Boomers. The lower expectations for Baby Boomers is driven by their business strategy of maintaining their business at its current size over the next five years (32%). 11% indicated that they are preparing to sell the business or close it down, compared to 0% of Millennials and 3% of Gen Xers.

The report also highlights the importance of community and peer to peer support. In order to reach their desired level of success, 49% of UK female MBO’s prefer to look to business owners like themselves for advice and inspiration, rather than well-known, high flying business people. Whilst over half do admire globally known business leaders including JK Rowling (38%), Richard Branson (30%) and Jamie Oliver (21%), four in ten agreed that they don’t aspire to achieve their amount of business success. In fact, only a third of female MBOs stated that they started their business to make money, citing following their passion (43%) and taking control of their lives (48%) forming the top two reasons.

59% of UK women MBO’s believe that women currently have the same or more opportunities as men to be successful at running a micro business. Nevertheless, even in this environment, 35% of female MBO’s say they have encountered some level of gender discrimination and stereotyping in business.

However, the financial difficulties that women face when opening a small or micro-business is still one of the biggest challenges they have to deal with. 50% listed limited access to funding as the top issue they face. Around two thirds (67%) of women MBO’s indicated that they need additional support to tackle issues as a business owner including tax incentives or credit (33%), advice from other micro business owners (33%) and more networking or mentoring opportunities (34%)

One in five respondents claim their entire household income stems from their micro-business, proving how important the sustained success of their venture is to their overall livelihood. 70% of UK female entrepreneurs made less than £35,000 revenue in 2015 and 11% did not generate any income from their small businesses. This resulted in 51% of UK respondents claiming to not earn enough through their business to support themselves.