Survey reveals how female small business owners measure success from new women on a bed strip Watch Video

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✓ Published: 13-May-2024

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One in four female small business owners has taken a pay cut in the past year, according to new research.<br/><br/>The survey of 1,000 female small business owners examined how their experience has shifted in the past year and found that the down economy has forced a quarter of these business owners to cut their own pay to keep their businesses afloat.<br/><br/>For those small businesses that have been open for at least a year, many have also raised the price of their product or service (37%), and more than a quarter are actively seeking less expensive resources (27%).<br/><br/>Conducted by Talker Research for Office Depot, the survey found that 53% of female business owners said the past year has been the hardest for their business.<br/><br/>In 2023, respondents expressed challenges with funding (42%) and growing their business (30%), which continue to be the top struggles this year (39% and 30% respectively).<br/><br/>Experiencing fatigue was more of a pain point last year (23%), while marketing is proving to be a greater challenge this year (25%).<br/><br/>However, hard work has paid off for many female small business owners this year, allowing them to reach their 2023 goals: growing profit (goal of 59%, achieved by 26%), gaining more customers (goal of 53%, achieved by 41%) and expanding their business (goal of 28%, achieved by 12%).<br/><br/>And to keep the momentum going, respondents predict they’ll continue to uplevel and succeed through continued revenue growth (63%), gaining more customers (54%) and business expansion (27%). <br/><br/>But success is also about a lot more than dollars and cents. Twenty-one percent of respondents said success is all about making a positive impact in their community and a fifth (21%) included innovation as a success marker.<br/><br/>And while the next year looks to be more positive for female small business owners, there will still be challenges to overcome, with inflation (39%) and funding (25%) serving as the top concerns.<br/><br/>To overcome these challenges, female SBOs are throwing themselves into their work more often — but how much is too much?<br/><br/>Work-life balance improvements have slowed by 15% since last year, as only this year, 58% said their work-life balance has improved since becoming a business owner, compared to 73% who said the same last year.<br/><br/>Women surveyed feel they need to choose between their family and their profession multiple times every month, while one in eight feel this way every week.<br/><br/>And overall, 42% said being a business owner has made it more difficult to balance their outside work responsibilities.<br/><br/>To better balance their work and family life, those surveyed are committed to “cutting back on working hours,” “taking time for quiet reflection” and “being willing to take a day off as necessary.”<br/><br/>For respondents who set up their business in the last year, top reasons include wanting to be one’s own boss (59%), deciding to pursue a passion or hobby (46%) and drive to put an idea into action (41%).