Month: February 2025

Why Women-Led Startups Outperform but Still Get Less Funding

Women entrepreneurs often face biased investor questioning, with men receiving promotion-oriented questions and women receiving prevention-oriented ones, contributing to female-led startups receiving only 2% of funding despite outperforming male-led counterparts.

Addressing this gap requires promoting women to decision-making roles in investment firms, raising awareness of unconscious biases, redefining success metrics, integrating women into existing networks, offering mentorship programs, and encouraging young women to pursue careers in investment to foster a more inclusive and balanced entrepreneurial ecosystem.

To read more on this topic, check out this article in Reuters entitled “Comment: Women entrepreneurs don’t need more confidence. They need more capital”

Breaking out of the Side Hustle Mindset

Many women start side hustles for flexibility and financial security, but staying in a side hustle mindset limits growth, income, and long-term success. To build real wealth, women must shift from seeing their businesses as extra income to treating them as scalable ventures by setting ambitious revenue goals, investing in marketing, and creating systems that allow for expansion.

To read more on this, see this article in Forbes entitled “Beyond The Side Hustle: Why You Must Think Bigger About Your Business” (note: Forbes has a paywall but you get 4 free articles if you don’t have a subscription)

How Small Business Is Using AI

Small businesses are increasingly adopting generative AI to improve efficiency, streamline operations, and enhance hiring, with about a third experimenting with it and a quarter already seeing benefits.

AI helps small businesses compete with larger corporations by automating tasks, improving communication, and freeing up time for strategic growth. Examples include using AI for grant writing, training videos, brand strategy, and contract management. While challenges like data security remain, business owners are carefully integrating AI to enhance productivity and workforce engagement. See this piece posted on CNBC for more details!

Things To Consider Before Diving Into The Restaurant Business

Investing in a restaurant requires careful planning and due diligence. Experts emphasize that restaurant investments take time to become profitable—typically at least two years—and should be viewed as part of a broader financial strategy, potentially involving property acquisition. Choosing the right investment structure, such as an LLC, can help manage tax implications and liability risks. Success in the industry depends heavily on the right team, as motivated staff contribute significantly to a restaurant’s stability. Investors should also consider the restaurant’s customer base and local market conditions, ensuring there is demand and differentiation from competitors. Reviewing financials is crucial—messy or unrealistic projections signal risk. Lastly, scalability matters, with the best opportunities often involving experienced operators who have already built a successful location and are looking to expand. To read more about this, see this article from US News and World Report entitled “6 Facts To Know Before Investing in a Restaurant”.