Over the last decade, the number of female entrepreneurs has been steadily increasing. This is all thanks to different factors such as globalization, digitization, and the rise of entrepreneurial culture.
Gone are the days when technology was seen as a male-dominated field. Today, many women effectively harness technology to break down barriers. In this guide, we will explore how technology can help women entrepreneurs get the desired result and shape the future of business. Let's delve deeper.
Achieve Gender Equality
In the past, women didn't have access to relevant resources to start a business. Traditionally, women were expected to fulfill homemaking roles, while men were considered to be the ones capable of leveraging advanced technology to become successful entrepreneurs. However, advancements in technology and globalization have fostered greater equality.
Technology has become increasingly accessible to both women and men, bridging the gender gap in technology access. Today women utilize innovative tools to participate in mentorship programs, networking events, and find opportunities to kickstart their businesses.
As a result, today there are many game-changing apps created by women that are famous around the globe. That is to say, technology has significantly closed the gender gap, empowering women to share their knowledge and expertise.
Increase Productivity
With robust technology in place, women are empowered to create cutting-edge products. There are many tools that can assist in market reach, thus boosting operational efficiency and scalability of the business.
For example, if a woman wants to open a beauty salon, she can employ tools to access hair salon industry statistics. This will help her understand market strengths and weaknesses. Only after identifying the gaps entrepreneurs can fill them. Therefore, advanced statistics enable women to establish and grow their businesses with reduced overhead costs.
Moreover, advanced technologies can simplify the process of gaining insights and making business-driven decisions. For example, big data visualization not only makes it possible to reach valuable insights but also provides data in a simple and understandable manner. As a result, entrepreneurs may streamline large data sets into a straightforward setup.
Improve Digital Skills
As previously mentioned, new technologies empower women to drive their business success. However, to successfully utilize the necessary tools and technology, women should improve their digital literacy and technical skills.
Today, there are many apps and websites that offer various training programs and educational resources. Depending on their goals, women can purchase a relevant course or book one-on-one interactive lessons to expand their skill set in a short period of time.
Relevant training will assist women in selecting the appropriate tools tailored to their needs and utilizing them for various purposes. For instance, if an entrepreneur is planning to invest in a beauty salon, she can employ digital tools for tasks ranging from searching for beauty salon names to registering her business. Additionally, this training can provide a basic understanding of how to effectively market your business.
These types of courses can also serve as one of the most precious gifts for women in their 30s who have decided to become their own bosses. So, if you have a friend who has made the bold decision to pursue entrepreneurship, giving her a relevant training course will undoubtedly be a wise choice.
Have Networking Opportunities
Typically, when starting a business, we seek assistance from those who have already succeeded in the current industry. Hence, we need networking to learn from others and adopt best practices.
At its core, networking also can assist in finding team members and investors. Seminars and conferences can also help find answers to important questions such as how to obtain Women Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification, how to access required resources, how to become a role model, and so on.
Technology also provides an opportunity to become role models and inspire other women who are at the starting point of their entrepreneurial journey. Entrepreneurs who achieve notable results can utilize platforms like social media, websites, blogs, and the like to tell their stories and share their experiences, thus motivating others.
Achieve Better Life-Work Balance
Employing technologies also helps women achieve a better work-life balance. In the past, women may have felt overwhelmed, especially after giving birth to a child, as they couldn't take long maternity leave or work remotely with flexible hours. However, technology enables women to successfully manage their businesses and family responsibilities.
Moreover, in today's digital world, it is possible to outsource many services, thus saving time to focus on more important tasks. Let's consider that you have recently started a business with a small team or no team at all. After a successful launch, you realize that you need to enhance your business's online visibility, but you do not have enough staff to handle digital marketing.
Instead of hiring additional marketing staff, which can be quite costly, you start outsourcing your SEO. It will both free up your time and will help achieve better results.
Improve Team Management
Effective team management is a cornerstone of every business's success. Let's admit that establishing effective team management is not an easy task. However, technology can be beneficial in this endeavor too. There are a variety of tools and platforms designed to assist entrepreneurs in streamlining communication, collaboration, and productivity within a team.
One of the most powerful tools is FTE or full-time equivalent, which can assist in identifying the potential productivity of the business and measuring the effectiveness of staff.
It is also a wise choice to employ project management software such as Asana, Trello, or Jira to assign tasks, set deadlines and track the progress of the team in real-time.
Technology facilitates collaboration and project management, which can genuinely help prevent conflicts within a team. However, conflicts may still arise in some cases. Therefore, women entrepreneurs should be prepared for such situations. To handle stressful circumstances effectively, entrepreneurs can turn to coworker conflict resolution services that specialize in managing conflicts and establishing a healthy working atmosphere.
Final Thoughts
Despite the numerous challenges that women still face in entrepreneurship and business, technological advancements have made previously unimaginable advances possible.
Today, technology is reshaping the impact of women in business, empowering females to become more confident, strive for gender equality, enhance their skills, establish better work-life balance, and much more.
With the assistance of technology, women entrepreneurs have gained excellent opportunities for remarkable growth in innovation.
