4 Reasons Why Women Can Start a Business With Less Money Than Men

Recent research shows that women can start a business with about half the money that men would require. Even though men who start their own businesses far outnumber women-owned business startups, women who take the leap seem to be able to do it on far less money. Why?

4 reasons why women need less money to start their business

The research was done at Babson College and Baruch College and included 5,944 people in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 74. While 42.9 percent of female business owners reported needing less than $10,000 to start their businesses, compared to 38.4 percent of men, 12.1 percent of men vs 5.5 percent of women needed at least $50,000 to launch their companies. So, what makes women-owned businesses so efficient?

1. Women are twice as likely to depend on family to help fund their business.
2. Women are more likely to start consumer-oriented businesses, and these types of businesses require less money to launch.
3. Women start businesses later in life than men -- at age 35 and 44 compared to age 25 and 34 for men.
4. Women are more likely to launch at-home businesses than men, so costs are less.

Food for thought: Since women can launch a business with less money than men, why aren't more lenders gender-friendly when it comes to funding women-owned businesses?

Read more at www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-25/why-women-need-half-as-much-as-men-to-start-a-business