First Published in 1998. This book explores the preparation for entrepreneurship, issues of family and work, and satisfaction levels of a sample of women business owners in Dallas County, Texas. Is gender inequality in access to managerial jobs and associated rewards what compels women to start their own businesses? This study asks and answers this question for a diverse sample of women entrepreneurs. This book directs our attention to this high growth employment area for women and enhances our understanding of the experiences of women entrepreneurs.

Today, there are over 200,000,000 women business owners around the world. Many of these entrepreneurs are not doing business as usual, nor are they simply leaning in. Rather, they are tapping into feminine capital—the unique skills and sensibilities that they have cultivated as women—to create enviable successes. Drawing on four decades of award-winning research, Feminine Capital reveals how women are harnessing different approaches to doing business. Barbara Orser and Catherine Elliott detail the pillars of feminine capital and offer new insight into the ways that gender can influence entrepreneurial decision-making. They find that leveraging feminine capital can help women to create distinctive brands, build new markets, and drive profits—all while leveling the playing field in business. In doing so, women are changing our social and economic landscape, one venture at a time. Dispelling myths and misperceptions that can undermine women-owned ventures, this book takes a fresh look at how female entrepreneurs can leverage their skills, knowledge, and values. Case studies of women entrepreneurs bring key concepts and lessons to life, while learning aids, diagnostic tools, and checklists help readers to construct innovative business models, refine start-up plans, and hone growth strategies.

This book documents the changes in women-owned businesses over time, explores disparities in the characteristics of businesses owned by women as compared to those owned by men, and discusses potential reasons for these disparities and the different outcomes that are associated with them. The focus is on proprietorships, partnerships, or any type of privately-held corporation with one or more owners. The growth of women-owned businesses, and their performance as job creators at a time when other privately-held businesses were losing jobs, testifies to the importance of women-owned businesses to the economy.