Unfortunately, some women’s ability to execute the advice may be hampered by an underlying belief.

Many women and men are drawn to starting an enterprise because of the desire for independence and the opportunity to reach big goals. Drivers include entrepreneurial passion, personal reward, a wish to escape dissatisfaction in the workplace or simply to have flexibility and create a good work-life balance.

But does advice for men and women differ in any way?

Self-belief
Joan Raymond says in his article in Newsweek (23 January 2008): “Are men smarter than women? No. But they sure think they are. An analysis of some 30 studies by British researcher Adrian Furnham, a professor of psychology at University College London, shows that men and women are fairly equal overall in terms of IQ. But women, it seems, underestimate their own candlepower (and that of women in general), while men overestimate theirs.”

Who is smarter, women or men, isn’t the point. It’s about acknowledging and embracing the capabilities that each person actually possesses.

In the article Furnham reveals, “Men aren’t more clever or smarter. But since they think they are, they are more confident about their abilities. These self-beliefs, however, may be highly adaptive. Who gets a job? A bright woman who doesn’t think she’s smart, or a not-so-bright man who believes he’s capable of anything? Arrogance and hubris are not attractive qualities, but confident, self-belief may be. Certainly, underestimating abilities might hurt you. There’s a good quote from one of your countrymen, Henry Ford. He says: "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." And that is what is troublesome. Beliefs may be more important than actual ability in certain settings.”

Matching confidence with capability
In the quote above Furnham mentions ‘who gets the job’ but the same idea applies to who starts a successful business. As mentioned, the tips for women who want to start their own business are generally the same as for men. But keeping in mind that women tend to underestimate their brilliance, one difference would be that women need to make sure their confidence level matches their true capability. Confidence goes a long way to create credibility, something that every business owner must have.

If this generality doesn’t apply to you and you feel super confident, then there is nothing to stop you from moving forward and creating a successful business. And who knows, perhaps you can inspire other women who aren’t as confident to connect to their true value.

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