Ever increasing numbers of women in Nigeria have been choosing
small-business ownership in an apparent attempt to escape their well-documented
inequality in the labour market. With the just-released data from NBS, it was
estimated that the overall number of persons in labour force was 80 million out
of which males were 41.6 million while females were 38.6 million.
According to the statistics, it obviously shows that women are marginalized in the labour market. With the marginalization in labour market, some women decide to try other areas of expertise which is moving into small and medium enterprises. However, there are some challenges faced by women who want to venture into SMEs in Nigeria.
listed and detailed below are some of the constraints affecting women in small and medium enterprises.
Gender Inequality
For some women, what causes constraint for them when it comes to
creating their own business is the issue of patriarchy and gender inequality.
This ideology portrays men as dominant in the business world as women are meant
to take care of the home.
Furthermore, some men believe that once a woman becomes too successful,
she might become uncontrollable. This principle has kept some women at home as
they have had to depend on their spouse to provide virtually everything they
need. It is important for a woman venturing into a business to strategize how
to balance family & business so as to reduce the possibility of such issues
erupting.
Constrain due to Tradition
Traditional constrain is another barrier some women encounter when
starting a business. Some traditions believe a woman is meant to stay at home
and take care of the children & the household, such norm has left a lot of
women depressed and frustrated in their marriages. As a woman, if you are
facing such limitation, it is imperative you have a heart-to-heart conversation
with your spouse, convince him of the importance of you having your own means
of income and the financial ease it will have on him.
Lack of Skills
Lack of skills has been one of the challenges women face when starting a successful business. It has imbibed in them inferiority complex that they lack the capability to succeed. Nevertheless, such mindset must be altered as there is nothing unfeasible to accomplish in life, all it entails is a positive mindset and determination. Everybody must not be naturally skillful; there are proficiencies you need to learn on your own. You can pay to learn or enroll in free online courses to equip yourself.
Lack of knowledge
Before venturing into any business, it is important to have a good
knowledge of what you are going into which is the act of navigating. Thorough
investigation, navigation, and knowledge of a business you want to go into is
very vital, to prevent the issue of wasting your resources and time.
A lot of women make that mistake of not having a good knowledge of what
they are going into, such businesses usually go down the drain within 6 months
to one year. It is crucial to navigate and find out if the business is worth
venturing into. Ask yourself these salient questions; who has done it before?
what are they doing right? what are they doing wrong and what can you do
differently in order to excel once you start yours? If you are not able to
answer these questions you might end up making the same mistakes every other
person is making.
Negative Mindset
Another factor
that women need to look out for when starting a business is a negative mindset.
They feel the business they want to venture into is an extensive one. One key
thing to note is, there is no business without a competitor. Your focus
should be on how to revamp your business to stand out. For example, you are in
a community, you want to go into tailoring, and everybody is going into
tailoring around that locality, the question should be what will be my unique selling
point? Or you are in Lagos state where event planning is a
lucrative business, and everybody is going into it, the question should
be what
can I do differently to stand out? You will see some of the
people saying, if you are looking for an event planner, Event by Bisi is
top-notch.
Shying away from criticism
Business is not always rosy especially at inception, negative reviews
might come in from customers. Such reviews should not deject you rather it
should inspire you to re-strategize and reshape your business. Customer’s
review is important as their opinion matters for business owners. Once you
noticed that your customers are not patronizing you like before or you are
facing customer retention issues, the first thing to do is to find out what
their reasons are. And the best way to find out is through a review. We are in
a digital age and there are software and applications that enable you to
determine your customers’ behaviour. Aside from that, you can put a call
through or send messages across to your customers and potential customers to
find out ways to serve them better. Also, you can put a Q/A on your social
media business pages to get your customers’ feedback as it will help you to
revamp your business.
Lack of finance
Lack of finance has been a major issue hindering women from starting a
business. The good thing is that banks are offering loans to women going into
SMEs in Nigeria. Some of these banks have special loan packages with a very
low-interest rate. Their criteria are; Have a registered business, open a
business account, and run it for 6 to one year. That way you will be qualified
for a business loan.
Poor business structure
Poor business structure has led some women to close their businesses. It
is essential to have a business module and hire competent hands to help your
business to flourish and assist with the seamless running of your
business. An example is hiring a salesperson, logistic persons, an
accountant, social media specialist, among others.
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