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I am not personally an entrepreneur but I’ve been lucky enough to be friends with several incredible female entrepreneurs and hearing about their experiences has been inspiring but also rather frustrating. I hate to admit that I even have my own biases. I don’t want them to be there, but when I know that a woman is an entrepreneur, I do begin to wonder, “Is that hard for her? Do men in her industry take her seriously?” I am already imagining all of the particular obstacles female entrepreneurs face, just because of their gender. When you work for a corporation, you have systems in place that protect you (or at least should). There is employee training on sexual harassment. There is a human resources department. But when you’re an entrepreneur, you are the human resources department. You are the payroll department. It’s all you. Here are particular struggles female entrepreneurs face.
Networking is mistaken for flirting
Handing out a card to a potential business contact or asking a male contact for business drinks is misinterpreted as flirting a lot of the time. At the very least, there is the question in the air—he is wondering if there is anything more to this interaction. And the woman has to choose her words and actions based on that unspoken question.
