Last March 8, On the occasion of Women's Day, Bpifrance and the State have signed a framework agreement in favor of women’s entrepreneurship. The opportunity for Alexandra da Costa, associate chartered accountant Absoluce, to encourage women to realize their business creation project.
If companies are still mainly run by men, the trend is favorable to a rebalancing. The share of women in the entrepreneurship landscape is increasing, the gap is narrowing between the number of employees employed by companies run by women and the number of those employed by companies run by men, etc. Women have all the assets to undertake, they still need to be convinced of it themselves !
Tip #1 : dare !
If you have a project that you think may be viable, and you have the skills to lead it, Go for it ! Get started ! Business creation is made for you. The first condition for success : be convinced yourself, and have enough charisma to convince your partners, firstly the bankers.
Tip #2 : don't make a mountain of it
Desecrate business creation. It is nothing more and nothing less than selling goods or services, at the right price, knowing how to find customers, while being a rigorous and well-organized manager. Others have done it before you, you will get there too. And your ambition is not necessarily to be part of the CAC 40 in 10 years either.…
Tip #3 : be aware of your strengths
Did you know that businesses managed by women generate 8% profitability?, against 5,7% for those managed by men ? That there are fewer bankruptcies of VSEs managed by women than among those managed by men ? Women are known to be cautious, good managers, and to have your feet on the ground : they do not create a business to be a “boss recognized and praised by her social environment”, but because they believe in their project and that it will allow them to flourish while earning a living, not to impress…
Tip #4 : relax about diplomas
In entrepreneurship, the diploma is far from being a guarantee of success. The qualities of a good leader are above all competence in her sector of activity, good management, and, in general, common sense !
Tip #5 : use all support and help available
The framework agreement cited above aims to develop an adapted support offer with the development of a new generation of regional action plans for women's entrepreneurship. (PAREF) in partnership with the regions, increasing funding granted to women business creators and buyers and the mobilization of all stakeholders. Numerous associations and numerous aids also exist, either to finance support, either to grant honorary loans, subsidies, etc. Find out more and don’t hesitate to ask for them.
Tip #6 : be super well organized
One of the obstacles to getting started is the fear of not being able to manage your family life and your professional life at the same time.. For married women with children, this is a legitimate question. The secret lies in two points. The first : be particularly well organized. Know that for any individual, effective time management can increase productivity by 20 to 30%, so train yourself in time management ! The second : be supported and helped by your partner and family.
Tip #7 : get accompanied
The most operational professionals to help you create your business are most often accountants. For Alexandra da Costa : “When we support women who want to create their own business, we are generally always favorably impressed among other things ! by their pragmatism. But like all business creators, it’s a new world that opens up to them, and we are here to advise them, to challenge them, to find alternative solutions if necessary, to guarantee the feasibility of their project and above all, to support and encourage them ! »
