72% of women who run their own business say they're in their dream job

Research reveals self-employment is worth it for most people who make the leap to being their own boss, with some noteworthy numbers on how women feel about running their business.

The Recruit Venture Group carried out the research. They’re a firm that offers support and financial backing to recruiters who start their own businesses.

To get a balanced picture of how people feel about what they do for a living, the firm surveyed 1,500 men and women, made up of 500 business owners, 500 side-business owners, and 500 employees.

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With International Women’s Day on the horizon, we’ve decided to focus on the interesting statistics about women in business.

How women feel about their work

Only a quarter of working women who are employed are happy in their work, while nearly three quarters who are self-employed say they’re in their dream job. Adding to that, 60 per cent reported feeling happier now they have their own business.

Key highlights from the research

• 72 per cent of women who have their own business are in their dream job
• 75 per cent of female employees don’t enjoy their job but stay in them for location, financial, and family reasons
• 60 per cent of women are now much happier for having their own business

That’s compared to only nine per cent of female employees who have found their dream job working for someone else, and 24 per cent of female full-time employees who dream of leaving the 9 to 5 behind to start their own business.

The best things about running your own business

The women surveyed said the best thing about being your own boss is the freedom it brings, followed by not reporting into anyone else. This is the list of the top-five plus points:

• freedom (61 per cent)
• not reporting into anyone (42 per cent)
• making the rules (24 per cent)
• doing something you enjoy (23 per cent)
• making more money (21 per cent)

What’s stopping some women from making the leap?

According to the research, there are a few things holding some women back from realising their self-employment dreams. These are:

• no start-up capital (62 per cent)
• fear of the lack of income (45 per cent)
• fear of failure (42 per cent)

But many are still brave enough to rise to the challenge.

What are the challenges once you make the leap?

The female survey participants who run their own business highlighted a few obstacles to overcome when getting things off the ground. These include:

• raising capital (34 per cent)
• deciding which product or service to offer (29 per cent)
• lack of personal income (29 per cent)
• finding customers (28 per cent)
• long hours (20 per cent)

Female side-business owners

The survey didn’t just focus on those running full-time self-employed businesses. The results revealed that 28 per cent of women with businesses on the side think that’s their dream job.

So what’s stopping them from making it a full-time thing?

The top reasons were linked to money, family arrangements, and lack of skills – similar to the above reasons why women don’t follow up on their dreams and start a business full-time.

The age factor

The results also show that 40 per cent of the women surveyed started their own business when they were aged between 25 and 34, with those over 45 fearing it’s too late to start your own business by that point in life.

Whether you’ve started your own business or you’re thinking about taking the leap, let us know how it’s going in the comments below.