Unlike men, women are more cautious in business. Sometimes they lack determination and swiftness. What women are engaged in business in Belarus and what they are facing – the director of the directorate of the business incubator “MAP ZAO” Marina Naidovich told.
– Do you manage the company with your husband, how difficult is it?
– Despite the fact that my husband and I work in the same company, we have different responsibilities. He is engaged in business development, construction, and my task is to attract investors, manage finances and work with clients. It is worth noting that not every husband or wife can work together, since almost round-the-clock communication with each other can not have a better impact on their relationship. But there are also positive aspects: there are more topics for conversation, the couple learns to compromise, respect each other – thanks to this, the family and business become stronger. The main thing is not to transfer mutual claims and problems from the office home, but from home to office.
– Is it difficult to start a women’s business in our country?
– As such, “women’s business” we do not exist, for it there are no specific conditions. In our incubator there are women entrepreneurs who have been doing business for a long time and quite successfully. Any businessman faces difficulties when starting a business and it does not matter whether it’s a woman or a man. Naturally, men are more determined, it is easier for them to “dive” into this unpredictable field of activity, a woman needs a push that will help to take the first step.
– What is the difference between running a male and female business?
– Men are much bolder, they are not afraid to take risks – and this helps to expand business, strengthen it in the markets. Women act much more cautiously, before taking a risky step, they will check it a thousand times, weigh the pros and cons, study all the opportunities and risks, and only then proceed to action. In some cases this is good, but the business loves determined and purposeful, sometimes from a quick, every minute decision depends on the preservation of capital and jobs in the enterprise.
– Are there any benefits, advantages for women-businessmen?
– In legal terms, no! And you do not need this. Benefits relax a person, he ceases to rely on himself, constantly waiting for help from outside – and this leads to regression of business. We can not train entrepreneurs to pay taxes if they always wait for some benefits. When opening a business, the state allocates a gratuitous subsidy for business development in the employment fund – sometimes this is enough to start building and developing its business.
– How do women show themselves in leadership positions?
– A woman in a managerial position is no longer a know-how, but quite a familiar phenomenon. In Belarus, only about 10% of leadership positions are held by women. But these data did not take into account the positions of financial directors, chief accountants, which are traditionally held by women. In private business, almost every third woman heads a company or becomes an individual entrepreneur. In my opinion, these figures are not bad, but here you need to make an amendment, the majority of women entrepreneurs are concentrated in the capital, in regional cities and regional centers they are much smaller – about 9%. Women who are in leadership positions have their advantages over men: they are able to manage finances well, they are sufficiently restrained, despite emotionality, more practical.
– How does the mentality of society affect Belarusian women?
– We still have the opinion that the woman’s place is in the kitchen near the stove, and the man’s duty is to earn and feed the family. But despite this, in our society there are no prohibitions, convictions, if a woman is engaged in her own business. At the initial stage, a woman needs more support from friends, relatives and family. She still has the duties of a mistress, her mother. She needs to learn how to combine business and family, find the opportunity to delegate some of the household duties to her spouse, to attract relatives, helpers, especially if the family has small children.
