Survey reveals how female small business owners measure success
SWNS
2024-05-13
Views 1.6K
One in four female small business owners has taken a pay cut in the past year, according to new research.
The survey of 1,000 female small business owners examined how their experience has shifted in the past year and found that the down economy has forced a quarter of these business owners to cut their own pay to keep their businesses afloat.
For those small businesses that have been open for at least a year, many have also raised the price of their product or service (37%), and more than a quarter are actively seeking less expensive resources (27%).
Conducted by Talker Research for Office Depot, the survey found that 53% of female business owners said the past year has been the hardest for their business.
In 2023, respondents expressed challenges with funding (42%) and growing their business (30%), which continue to be the top struggles this year (39% and 30% respectively).
Experiencing fatigue was more of a pain point last year (23%), while marketing is proving to be a greater challenge this year (25%).
However, hard work has paid off for many female small business owners this year, allowing them to reach their 2023 goals: growing profit (goal of 59%, achieved by 26%), gaining more customers (goal of 53%, achieved by 41%) and expanding their business (goal of 28%, achieved by 12%).
And to keep the momentum going, respondents predict they’ll continue to uplevel and succeed through continued revenue growth (63%), gaining more customers (54%) and business expansion (27%).
But success is also about a lot more than dollars and cents. Twenty-one percent of respondents said success is all about making a positive impact in their community and a fifth (21%) included innovation as a success marker.
And while the next year looks to be more positive for female small business owners, there will still be challenges to overcome, with inflation (39%) and funding (25%) serving as the top concerns.
To overcome these challenges, female SBOs are throwing themselves into their work more often — but how much is too much?
Work-life balance improvements have slowed by 15% since last year, as only this year, 58% said their work-life balance has improved since becoming a business owner, compared to 73% who said the same last year.
Women surveyed feel they need to choose between their family and their profession multiple times every month, while one in eight feel this way every week.
And overall, 42% said being a business owner has made it more difficult to balance their outside work responsibilities.
To better balance their work and family life, those surveyed are committed to “cutting back on working hours,” “taking time for quiet reflection” and “being willing to take a day off as necessary.”
For respondents who set up their business in the last year, top reasons include wanting to be one’s own boss (59%), deciding to pursue a passion or hobby (46%) and drive to put an idea into action (41%).
The survey of 1,000 female small business owners examined how their experience has shifted in the past year and found that the down economy has forced a quarter of these business owners to cut their own pay to keep their businesses afloat.
For those small businesses that have been open for at least a year, many have also raised the price of their product or service (37%), and more than a quarter are actively seeking less expensive resources (27%).
Conducted by Talker Research for Office Depot, the survey found that 53% of female business owners said the past year has been the hardest for their business.
In 2023, respondents expressed challenges with funding (42%) and growing their business (30%), which continue to be the top struggles this year (39% and 30% respectively).
Experiencing fatigue was more of a pain point last year (23%), while marketing is proving to be a greater challenge this year (25%).
However, hard work has paid off for many female small business owners this year, allowing them to reach their 2023 goals: growing profit (goal of 59%, achieved by 26%), gaining more customers (goal of 53%, achieved by 41%) and expanding their business (goal of 28%, achieved by 12%).
And to keep the momentum going, respondents predict they’ll continue to uplevel and succeed through continued revenue growth (63%), gaining more customers (54%) and business expansion (27%).
But success is also about a lot more than dollars and cents. Twenty-one percent of respondents said success is all about making a positive impact in their community and a fifth (21%) included innovation as a success marker.
And while the next year looks to be more positive for female small business owners, there will still be challenges to overcome, with inflation (39%) and funding (25%) serving as the top concerns.
To overcome these challenges, female SBOs are throwing themselves into their work more often — but how much is too much?
Work-life balance improvements have slowed by 15% since last year, as only this year, 58% said their work-life balance has improved since becoming a business owner, compared to 73% who said the same last year.
Women surveyed feel they need to choose between their family and their profession multiple times every month, while one in eight feel this way every week.
And overall, 42% said being a business owner has made it more difficult to balance their outside work responsibilities.
To better balance their work and family life, those surveyed are committed to “cutting back on working hours,” “taking time for quiet reflection” and “being willing to take a day off as necessary.”
For respondents who set up their business in the last year, top reasons include wanting to be one’s own boss (59%), deciding to pursue a passion or hobby (46%) and drive to put an idea into action (41%).
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