Our start up cook ethos is the product of an all women trio. Our mission is to break down barriers and bring people together in communities through the language of food. We provide unique food and drink experiences; in hosts homes and pop up supper clubs and cooking lessons.
Throughout our start up experience, we have had the opportunity to meet many male and female entrepreneurs. Writing this blog post has made us really think about why there is such a big difference between the number of men and women starting their own business as well as the potential differences in vision and even the approach to starting a business.
Even if entrepreneurship rates vary from country to country, anywhere in the world there are significantly more male entrepreneurs, that’s a fact. However, why this is, is complex.
Are men more likely than women to want to set up their own business? Unlikely
The chances of success for startups is lower than 10%, so it’s important to have a big appetite for risk to launch a new business. It is said that women are financially more risk-averse according to sources such as Harvard Business Journal. . We want to say don’t let articles like this stop you!
Finally, statistics show more often men raise more capital than women during investment. However, do these statistics only show this because there are fewer women in the first place?
The real point is that none of this really matters. We don’t want any woman to get hung up on these reports, statistics and the answers to these questions.
A variety of key characteristics are essential for successful entrepreneurship. For instance, risk aversion protects entrepreneurs from failure by anticipating problems. Also, being more patient is beneficial not only when you work for others, but also when you are running your own business.
So how can we encourage more women to start a business and not be deterred by what the stats say and what the media reports?
Essentially, we can change our vision regarding the myth of entrepreneurship as masculine. Psychological research has shown that even when we know stereotypes are inaccurate, they affect our decisions. Dissolving the stereotype that men are naturally better at starting a business would encourage competent women with a passion and voice, to use it.
To conclude, forget about gender, believe in your competence and dare to take the leap to start a business!
Anyone out there thinking about starting their own business, we would love you to reach out and join our cook ethos community. Whether you have an idea or have absolutely no clue where to start, we can provide some simple guidance. You can even come along and meet us at our upcoming pop up in Kings Cross (www.cookethos.com/popup/ ) or to one of our meetups where we will give you a run down of what we have learnt, how we started and how to plan for your new business.
Charlie, Lea & Sinead