Middle Aged Men in Grey Suits - Part II

Just had to share this one. No gold stars for spotting the irony though.

Back to the old breakfast network where I had the opportunity to present 10 minutes (otherwise known as about three and a half!) on the project that I'm working on to help women set up in business by providing support from people who will take them seriously as women in business. Women, you know, otherwise known as wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces, colleagues, friends, and associates. People you might want to help my pointing them in my direction thus helping me at the same time and enjoying a win-win-win (that being the point of these groups, I thought). Unless, of course, talking to your grey-suited neighbour and wondering when breakfast is going to be served is more interesting. In which case you simply don't pay the slightest bit of attention.

Thanks, chaps. I'll do the same for you some time.

On a happier note, I'm looking forward to seeing what the Women's Enterprise Task Force will be coming up with soon. It says it's going to be customer-driven and focused on outcomes. And I know that one of the Task Force members is aware of this blog - so why not use this as an informal forum for floating some outcomes that you'd like to see?

Spat! Update!

A cancelled meeting this morning left me with a bit of time to dig around about this spat. Originally reported in the Daily Telegraph, you can read more at www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/01/30/cbenter30.xml.

For more on the Women's Enterprise Task Force try www.womensenterprise.co.uk and for Louise Heasman's Athena Network, www.theathenanetwork.com.

Just how different are women's ways of doing business from those of men? Are the differences greater between the sexes? And is it OK to say that some women have different working styles than others?

Spat!

Working late in front of the telly on Wednesday night, I looked up to see Jeremy Paxman refereeing what the BBC website calls a "spat" between Glenda Stone (business woman and member of the Women's Enterprise Task Force) and a female networking entrepreneur whose name I didn't catch (and who the BBC doesn't see fit to name on their site and I haven't been able to trace it elsewhere). Lovely word, "spat"; it sounds so trivial; do men have them, I wonder, or is it just a girl's thing?

Anyway, gist of the interview was that the WETF is of the view that women should put profit before passion and the FNE views this as patronising.

I think the mistake was to use the word "passion" in the debate, which anyone knows is behind many successful and highly profitable businesses, a point no one really seemed to argue with. The issue really seems to be twofold:

Firstly, that the WETF has identified that there is a shortfall in the number of women setting up growth businesses, and therefore losing out on the opportunities taken by men being more bullish about business growth, and not contributing to the economy by developing the full potential of their businesses. There is need for debate as to why this is and what should be done to re-balance the case.

Secondly, that many women start up in business to "do something that they love" with no greater ambitions than to run a lifestyle business but neglect to develop a viable business plan with a decent pricing structure and therefore never really build a business out of what essentially remains a hobby. A lifestyle business is always a valid choice but it's a worry if women are failing to put a fair price on what they do and thus make a fair living out of it.

Does there really have to be a 'spat' over this? Growth businesses and lifestyle businesses are both viable options, for women and men. And the better run each is, the more likely that the person's ambitions will be achieved, whether that's to run the next Microsoft or to only work three days a week. Not a case of "either, or" but a case of being better at both?

Many thanks to everyone who's given me off-line feedback about the blog. It's sparked a couple of interesting conversations this last week. Feel free to comment on this point or contribute your own thoughts on Women's Enterprise.