Launching Entrepreneurial Advisory Panels, a program that works with the UW-Madison School of Business to help women entrepreneurs, has begun forming panels aimed at boosting Wisconsin women's chances at succeeding at their own businesses.
Marian Walluks, one of the founding LEAP coordinators, said women starting out in the business world may not already have the kind of contacts that men do.The goal of LEAP is to create panels of experts who work with businesses owned or co-owned by women to ensure women entrepreneurs are given the advice they need to succeed in the business world.
\The panels are made up of both men and women who may have various expertise that are needed by that particular business,"" she said.
This team then meets with the business owners every four to six weeks for one year to work through an agenda set by the business owner, to address the topics most important to that business's growth.
Today, this program may be more important than ever.Jon Udell, a business professor at UW-Madison, spoke of a ""huge"" rise in entrepreneurial activity in today's economy.
""Many people who have lost their jobs due to downsizing or movement to plants abroad have, instead of finding employment, gone into their own business,"" he said.
But entrepreneurs must deal with all aspects of owning a business, and they often face problems in areas like finance, accounting, government rules and regulations, and personal management, according to Udell.
Udell said in these cases, good advice is very beneficial.But he said he is not convinced that women face any more of these obstacles than men do.
""Men don't have any monopoly on entrepreneurial ventures,"" he said, adding that men and women face many of the same problems.
Orlanda Rivera, a UW-Madison MBA student and co-president of UW-Madison's Entrepreneurship Club, said entrepreneurs face three main obstacles:finding start-up money, figuring out management and human resources and keeping the business going.
However, he said that women and men often solve these problems differently.While women look for needed assistance, men might be more likely to try to solve the problems themselves, which takes more time.Since women are more efficient in this area, they might have the advantage in entrepreneurship, according to Rivera.
""[Women] have something that men lack. They feel 'If I don't know something I will look for help' and men feel 'If I don't know something I will learn about it and become stronger,' and that takes a while,"" Rivera said.
