Do Women Make Better Entrepreneurs?

Do women naturally make better entrepreneurs? When it comes to dealing with the stress of a startup they just might.

In starting a business we all face the same challenges, right?  From financing, to figuring out the most effective way to advertise and market, we are all in the same boat. There are numerous competing priorities, and this is no different for either male or female entrepreneurs.

Stress Less for Success

But, and this is where women get a leg up on their male counterparts, how women handle the stress of a new venture is decidedly different than men according to Karin Abarbanel (co-author of a new guide to starting a business called Birthing the Elephant: A Woman’s Go-for-it! Guide to Overcoming the Big Challenges of Launching a Business

When it comes to dealing with the emotional side of being an entrepreneur, women more often will recoginze the stresses and ask for help in dealing with them. 

There’s a difference in how women respond to and handle the emotional roller coaster of launching a business – Karin Abarbanel

Feelings such as fear and axeity, common among those starting a business, are better dealt with by women according to Ms. Abarbanel. Recognizing and dealing with the stress an emotions seems to be a key difference between women and men in this reagard.

More Data

In a 2001 study done by the University of Dusseldorf, it was found that stress affected memory and retention to a greater degree in men aged 20-30 than in women aged 20-30. It is also generally understood, but less evidence exists to support it, that men deal with acute stress (think house fire) better than women, but women deal with chronic stress (think long term financial trouble) better than men.

Final Thoughts

I don’ think that anyone would argue that launching  a new business is a stressful time. And how we deal with that stress will directly correlate to our success in the venture.  It’s certainly food for thought for us guys. The next time we think about throwing a chair across the room because our financing fell through, maybe we should pause and think about what Karin Abarbanel says about dealing with stress and seeking out help!

I’m interested in hearing what you think. Do you think the ability to deal with stress more effectively give women an advantage over men when starting a business?
 

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