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Female entrepreneurs
face the challenges
of owning and operating a
business in the 1990s.
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY GLENN TRIEST
fter years as an advertising
copy writer, Annabel Co-
hen discovered her niche.
But it wasn't in advertis-
ing and it wasn't in writ-
ing. It was in catering.
The Southfield-
based entrepreneur
found so much joy in
baking and making
food for the office
that co-workers
began to recog-
nize her talent.
'While most people brought in
donuts to the office, I brought in
white chocolate mousse with
raspberry sauce," she said,
adding that her co-workers en-
couraged her to go into business.
So she did. She quit her job to
immerse herself in the catering
business. After three months of
working with an upscale cater-
er, she went on her own, booking
parties and other events. She lat-
er took on a partner, Julie Aaron,
and expanded the business.
But everything was not as
smooth as the white chocolate
mousse. The partners experi-
enced things that nearly all en-
trepreneurs run into: long hours,
steep bills, demanding cus-
tomers, personal sacrifices. That
much they expected.
They also ran into hurdles that
female entrepreneurs specifical-
ly must face: child care demands,
condescending pats on the shoul-
der from some busi- Annabel Cohen ber of female business own-
nessmen, going from has succeeded ers, women are still facing ob-
as a female
being managed to
stacles that men may never
holding management entrepreneur.
experience.
positions, not being
Take, for example, house-
taken seriously as business own- work. Historically, women have
ers. They did not expect those been the keepers of the home
things.
fires while the men were the
"All it means is that we have hunters and gatherers. Even
to be that much tougher," Ms. Co- when society evolved and women
hen said.
began to leave the home en
They are not alone. With more masse for their own careers, the
women entering the ranks of majority were still expected to be
business owners each day, the the primary caregivers while re-
number of female entrepreneurs taining the brunt of the house-
is now the largest growing seg- hold tasks.
ment in that category nation-
According to Rebecca Maddox,
wide. In fact, three of every five that has not changed. As the au-
businesses started last year were thor of Inc. Your Dreams and
owned by women, said David president of a company that pro-
Brophy, director of the office for vides support services to female
the study of private equity fi- entrepreneurs, she has seen
nance at the University of Michi- many businesses start up suc-
gan's School of Business.
cessfully only to fall apart. She
The reasons for this growth recently told a crowd at the Bor-
have to do with the changes in so- ders bookstore in Farmington
ciety, he said. More families need Hills that one reason many of
second incomes, more single par- these businesses fail is because
ents need jobs with flexible hours,
the entrepreneurs do not think
more women frustrated with the of how the long hours and de-
"glass ceiling" are giving up the mands of owning a business will
corporate security to go it alone.
affect their personal lives.
"This sort of triad of reasons
"Reality sets in, for most of us,
causes women to leave the home not in the planning phase, but
to go to work or leave the corpo- when something we are used to
rations," he said. "First they having isn't there anymore," Ms.
become self-employed. As they Maddox said. "Being away from
get good at it, they form compa- home night after night, working
nies."
long hours, and doing it seven
But despite the growing num- days a week has a way of putting
your loved ones' level of support
to the test pretty quickly."
This is compounded by the fact
that many businesses start out
of the home. With household de-
mands in the workplace, it is
harder for women to focus on
their businesses. In addition, that
home office location is marginal-
ly tax deductible.
"It is a big advantage for a
woman if she can work from her
home. For that we should be en-
couraging the home-based office,"
Mr. Brophy. said. "We shouldn't
beat the hell out of you if you put
on your taxes that you have a
home office."
Child care also is not covered
by the tax laws. Because of this,
many women work during school
hours, unable to afford child care
after the school bell rings.
"Women have been asked to
play more and different roles in
their lives. They typically have
more balls in the air than men
do," said Jill Pollock, president of
the Greater Detroit Chapter of
the National Association of
Women Business Owners. "De- LO
pending on her circumstances, 0)
there may be less time for busi- a)
ness for a woman than men
would have."
Financially, women are pro-
tected by laws that prohibit dis-
crimination in lending. Being a D
female, just as being from a cer-
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