Small Business Roundtable Discussion

Challenges abound for women entrepreneurs: women entrepreneurs' competency and market knowledge is routinely disregarded; women entrepreneurs often experience limited, gender-based, access to established social and business networks; and women entrepreneurs face barriers to start-up and growth capital. Therefore, it is no surprise that the number of startups by women nationwide still lags that of men. The aim of this month's Roundtable is to identify actionable strategies women entrepreneurs can use to turn the challenges they face into opportunities to grow their businesses. Our discussion will offer recommendations to help support women entrepreneurs by (1) addressing stereotypes about who entrepreneurs are and what entrepreneurship is, (2) learning from each other about the best ways to build successful businesses and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems, and finally (3) changing the dialogue about entrepreneurship to match reality.