Do Women Entrepreneurs Prefer Not to Make Money?
September 29th, 2008 by Liz Fuller
In a recent post about the Nouveau Riche, I wrote about the opportunity inherent in earning more money as an entrepreneur. I encouraged women to set their goals for financial independence high, and to remember all of the people, including themselves and their family, as well as the world, that WE can help if WE have financial freedom.
A reader wrote a compelling comment that I thought was worth highlighting here:
I think one reason women don’t quantify their monetary earnings goals is that women (especially work-at-home women) tend to not view compensation solely in terms of money. For example, one of the things I value most about my business is that I can do it while giving my kids first priority. While it would be nice to be rich or have a million dollars to contribute to charity (and believe me, I’ve got plenty of ideas of what I could do with that kind of money), I think it’s much more valuable to society for me to contribute time and effort to my family. And working at home, while it doesn’t bring in large amounts of cash, reduces the opportunity cost in family time and effort that I’d have to pay to work at a more lucrative job.
So when you ask whether a woman wants to be part of the “Nouveau Riche,” I would argue that women like me already are part of the “Nouveau Riche de Maison”– the new home-life rich.
First - I love that phrase - “nouveau riche de maison” - home-life rich. Isn’t that something we all aspire to??
Second - my question is for you, my readers - are Women Entrepreneurs really choosing between making more money and making a better life for our families? Or are we avoiding setting high monetary goals out of a fear of failure or a feeling that making a lot of money is distasteful or unseemly?
If it’s the first, and WE really are saying there are more important things than making money (even considering the monetary help we could contribute to the world) then I think that is a great statement that aligns to a strong life’s purpose.
But if WE are avoiding making more money out of lack of courage, lack of knowledge or lack of awareness - then I think that is something that needs to change.
Which is it for you - a conscious choice? Or a situation you’d like to change?
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This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 7:40 am and is filed under finances. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:20 am
You know, the only real problem I have with the notion that women don’t prioritize making money is that other things are more important (and I agree that they are) is that I don’t think those two are mutually exclusive.
You can “be there” for your family and make money. Maybe you don’t want to be a millionaire but generating that six-figure income is quite possible, even while you’re doing the “create a lovely home for the family” thing.
All of which suggests to me that this serves as something of an excuse.
I think we (especially women) are socialized to believe that pursing money is evil. We’re supposed to “just want to help”; we’re taught that it’s tacky, uncharitable, unattractive and unfeminine to have that “show me the money” attitude.
I really think that’s what’s at work here.
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Hi Dawn
I tend to agree that women have been socialized to believe that being helpful is more acceptable than making money. That’s why I was trying to correlate the two - making money & the ability to provide help to family and community.
I am not sure how else to help women get over this hurdle. I also wonder whether it is a generational issue and that perhaps younger women don’t have as much of a reticence in this area.
Any thoughts?
Liz
p.s. Good to see you here!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:04 am
I’ve a feeling it has more to do with the fact that women are more capable at multi-tasking, which makes them more suited to dealing with complex management issues. Whereas men generally have more precise spatial awareness that sharpens their keeness when hunting…. so, perhaps it’s more to do with genetics, rather than any social attitudes
November 6th, 2008 at 7:54 am
There are many examples of successful business women who are also successful mothers so the two can go together
November 14th, 2008 at 9:38 am
I am not sure how else to help women get over this hurdle. I also wonder whether it is a generational issue and that perhaps younger women don’t have as much of a reticence in this area.
I think perhaps the best way to help women get over this hurdle is to show them that making more money won’t necessarily take more time - time away from their families.
For many microbusiness owners, increased earnings has less to do with devoting more time to the business (although it does help to work a 35 hour week instead of a 20 hour week) than it has to do with what you do with the hours you work.
Concepts like setting six-figure revenue goals and then working through the exercise of figuring out the concrete, actionable steps to get you there, focusing on your high-payoff activities, etc., can help you increase your income without necessarily having to increase the amount of time you spend on the business.
And, of course, work-at-home moms are not necessarily confined to the standard 9-5 office hours. They can take breaks in the middle of the day to do their ‘mom’ stuff and return to work those last couple of hours after evening family time.
Once you get to all of that and you find yourself still listening to excuses, then it’s time to call them on it. Of course, some people really don’t want to make that much money, some are only involved in income-patching, some might even be concerned about the tax consequences of making “too much money.”
But it’s important for women entrepreneurs to be honest with themselves about their goals - not only what they are but why they are what they are.
(Sorry it took me so long to get back to this one!)
November 28th, 2008 at 7:44 am
I’m a female entrepreneur and I would be lying if money wasn’t one of the main reasons I work - but mostly because money enables me to do the things I would like to do - such as provide for my children, take them travelling etc…
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:24 pm
For me personally, and I hope for all mothers, the motherhood is the most important thing in my life. Work and money come second.
I do like to work for my personal development and for bringing in my own bit into our finances. But most of all, the work gives me a better perspective of being a mum. If I fail in work, I can live with that. But I do not want to fail as a mother.
So, I think that working a little bit will eventually make me a better mother. It has nothing to do with money. (Nonetheless, I would not mind making a million dollars with doing only the amount of work that I do now.)