After International Women’s Day, it’s time to get greedy.
To mark International Women’s Day, The Conversation published a UK-based study about female business owners.
The author found that some women “publicly hailed as successful, contented female entrepreneurial role models” (the #IWD stories we love to celebrate!) actually took home little real income from their businesses.
Of 52 women surveyed, just 4 had matched or surpassed their former salary
More than half took home no income at all
Here in Canada, more female entrepreneurs pay themselves under $50,000 compared to their male counterparts (37% vs 31%), and fewer take more than $150,000 (11% vs 15%). [State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2024]
Any entrepreneur, of any gender, will tell you that the road to a successful business isn’t smooth or predictable. Building a profitable business takes far more time, energy, and money than most founders expect when they set out. That’s why most businesses fail – here in Canada, 20% close in the first year and 50% in the first 5 years.
We can account for some of the income disparity by looking more closely at the context. Women entrepreneurs are more likely to run businesses with a social or environmental mandate, which can have thinner margins. Plus, they’re often balancing their work with relatively more caretaking responsibilities for children and other family members. And that’s before factoring in systemic barriers to accessing capital, traditional business networks, and other business supports…. But that’s not the whole picture.
It’s Time to Get Greedy
In the UK study, the author found at least one factor contributing to lower female incomes was self-imposed. “Most women were adamant they must not appear ‘greedy’.”
This belief about money and greed is not unique to women, so however you identify, let’s be clear. Paying yourself more is not ‘greedy’. A generous income for the work that you do and the impact you’re having is not ‘greedy’. You are not free labour for your business!
And yes, you might have to raise your prices or stop some lower margin activities. It’s part of putting on your own oxygen mask first, instead of settling for the leftover profit scraps in a low-margin organization.
Drawing The Wrong Conclusions
The linked article from The Conversation wraps up with a whimper: “We should be honest and ask if encouraging women to open businesses is even the right thing to do.”
For anyone who actually clicked the link and read through, can we please agree that’s BS?
This Week’s Takeaway
What’s the real income you want your business to generate for you and your family, so you can live the life you’d love to have? (Some of you will need to double whatever number you have in mind…)
What would be necessary to build the business that can deliver you that?
Listen to Jaclyn and Joshua, co-owners of Knight School Inc and full-contact jousting professionals as they talk about persistence in self development, balancing your strengths and weaknesses, defining an industry, living your core values, and more!
March 21st: GrowthCLUB – Business Planning Workshop
Create a plan that achieves more in 90 days than most businesses do in a year!
Register here to save your seat!
It’s time to free yourself from the daily grind of working IN your business, and get back to working ON it. At GrowthCLUB, you’ll spend the day with a business coach and other business owners to create a powerful, feasible plan for your best quarter yet.
A 90-Day Action Plan keeps you on track to achieve your goals. You will identify your top priorities and create a focused, step-by-step plan to achieve them.
Building a StoryBrand: By Donald Miller
If you’re looking for a way to make your brand message clearer and connect better with customers, Building a StoryBrand is a really helpful read. It breaks down how to use storytelling to make your marketing more engaging and easy to understand. The book lays out simple, practical ways to refine your website, social media, and other materials so people quickly get what you do and why it matters to them.
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