Taking the Leap – More from the Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship at Cornell

Becoming an Entrepreneur in Your 50s

This article featured in Smart Company highlights how entrepreneurship in your 50s can be a transformative and rewarding experience, particularly for women. The author highlights how shifting away from two decades of traditional corporate responsibilities allowed her to pursue meaningful work aligned with her values.

By becoming a startup leader in her late 50s, she leveraged her deep industry knowledge, professional networks, and confidence gained over time to successfully navigate challenges and inspire investor confidence. The piece encourages older women to embrace their unique strengths, tackle impostor syndrome, and lead fearlessly, reminding them that it’s never too late to step into their power.

Small Business Optimism Index Hits 11-Year Low

Small business confidence reached its lowest point in over 11 years this past March. According to a report from the National Federation of Independent Business, concerns about persistent inflation are weighing heavily on small business owners. Despite some indicators suggesting a decrease in inflation, rising costs, particularly in input and labor, remain a significant issue for small businesses, leading to widespread anticipation of further price hikes and increased compensation.

5 Things Business Owners Wish They Knew In the Beginning

New business owners often yearn for the wisdom gleaned from seasoned business owners to steer clear of potential pitfalls. This post from Motley Fool shares five important tips including: welcoming the skill of delegation, embracing adaptable processes, acknowledging the demanding time commitments, mastering cash flow management, and actively cultivating a loyal customer base. See the article to read more.

2023 Business Openings Set New All-Time High According to Yelp

In 2023, the U.S. economy surpassed expectations, avoiding a predicted recession, with a notable increase in new business openings. Yelp reported that diverse entrepreneurs, particularly women, LGBTQ-owned, Latinx-owned, and Black-owned businesses, played a significant role in this growth, with home services experiencing the highest increase, signaling a post-COVID era of recovery. To read more details, please see this report released by Yelp.

Women Are Biggest Contributors to Rise in New Businesses Between 2019 and 2023

The pandemic saw a remarkable increase in women-led entrepreneurship, with half of the new businesses formed during this time started by women, a substantial rise from 29% in 2019. Dissatisfaction with traditional workplaces and a desire for more flexibility led women to create small businesses and side hustles. Harvard Professor Claudia Goldin’s research suggests that women sought entrepreneurship due to the clash between demanding jobs and family responsibilities, pushing them to seek more control over their work-life balance. The upheaval caused by the pandemic accelerated this trend, prompting women, especially those handling more domestic duties, to explore entrepreneurship. To read more about this trend and its ripple effects, see this article from Technical.ly

Considerations When Turning Your Side Hustle Into a Full-Time Business

This blog post from SCORE (which stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives) highlights eight points to ponder when considering whether to turn your side hustle into a full time business. Specifically, the piece mentions the importance of considering what automation tools you will use to help you scale efficiently (for tasks like scheduling, accounting, inventory, etc) as well as considerations about your marketing plan and customer base. Check out the blog post for more tips!

Starting a Business With Little to No Capital

Owning your own business offers flexibility, creative freedom, and unlimited income potential. Lacking financial resources doesn’t mean you are out of luck! According to this article in Forbes, it is possible to still start a business with limited funds. no money. Some tips from the article include: keep your day job while working on your business during your free time, choose a business idea that doesn’t require upfront capital (such as freelance writing, virtual assisting, or social media management), scale up gradually, and utilize free resources and networking opportunities. Check out the link to the article to read more!

How Does Your Work Leave You Feeling At the End of The Day?

This October 2022 article from Fast Company explores the topic “How To Find A Job That Energizes You Rather Than Drains You”. The author shares that while many people are in situations where they may not have the luxury of being particular about what job they have, if you are fortunate enough to have flexibility in your career path, you should seek tasks in your job that fill you with energy. He goes on to state that finding that energy might not require a radical change, like quitting your job. Instead, it might simply involve a conversation with a manager about ways to change up tasks and projects – or you could look outside your full time job for an activity or side gig that excites you.

Turning a Personal Brand Into Side Hustle Income

Patrina Dixon, author of It’$ My Money and graduate of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Certificate program at Cornell was recently featured in this article in Business Insider.

In this piece, she shares her thoughts on how to generate side income. Specifically, she states the importance of determining your existing skills, experimenting with different opportunities for growth and outlining income streams that best work for you and your needs. Keep up the amazing work, Patrina!

Accelerating Your Success As A Female Founder

woman entrepreneur standing outside door holding "welcome - we are open" sign

This recent piece in Entrepreneur entitled “How to Accelerate Your Success as a Female Founder” shares that there are basically two steps to starting a business: doing something to get the ball rolling, and then saying, “I’m doing this.” The article states that many female entrepreneurs struggle with the second part and provides ideas on how to get unstuck and feel more comfortable with self promotion.