New research has revealed where in the country is best for women-led startups, exploring how prepared women entrepreneurs felt when starting their businesses, how supported they were, and if they knew where to turn to for help.

A survey from Sage of 500 small business leaders, found how those in the North East ranked the highest in several important factors, including how many female entrepreneurs felt supported when starting up (81%) and how well they were able to manage work life balance struggles (69%).

According to the data, women started their own business mostly for flexibility and work-life balance reasons (51%), compared to men whose top reason for starting up was for the financial opportunity (48%).

However, while the majority of business owners said they felt ready and prepared when they first launched their business in terms of the skills and knowledge they needed, 27% of women and 23% of men felt they were not completely ready, and 97% of all entrepreneurs said that they needed to develop or improve upon various skills to successfully run their business.

The results also showed how women were more confident in most areas than man when it came to achieving success within the next 12 months, with women more confident about:

  • Their business becoming more profitable

  • Growing brand awareness

  • Improving customer satisfaction

  • Improving work-life balance

  • Increasing sales

  • Becoming more environmentally sustainable

 

You can read more about the study from Sage here: https://www.sage.com/en-gb/blog/top-women-startups-locations/