Female entrepreneurs and grit

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, female owned firms have increased by over 114%. Female entrepreneurs represent one of the fastest growing segments of the United States economy, there are approximately 13 million female owned businesses in the United States and it is estimated that $1.9 trillion in revenue is produced by female owned firms. While the statistics demonstrate the growth and impact of female entrepreneurs there are still many disparities and a variety factors which stand in the way for female entrepreneurs to succeed within their professional endeavors. This narrative study explored the ways in which female entrepreneurs describe their journey towards entrepreneurship and the factors which they deem to be of importance towards their entrepreneurial success, as well as the significance of grit regarding their entrepreneurial achievements. Using purposeful and maximum variation sampling, this study was conducted with nine female entrepreneurs from a variety of organizations and different life stages located in the United States via sixty-minute one-on-one in depth semi-structured interviews. The theoretical framework of self-efficacy by Bandura was used to guide and inform the study. Six overarching themes emerged with ten sub-themes through the data collection. The findings suggest that (1) initiation of entrepreneurship is fueled by crisis and challenges, as well as necessity and the need for greater independence; (2) the participants are lifelong learners who are curious to advance within their professional undertakings; (3) the participants had the support of their immediate family and their external environment which encouraged them to pursue their path towards entrepreneurship; (4) participants had an innate desire to create products and/or services with the needs of women in mind; (5) authenticity is at the core of who these women are and their organization and lastly (6) grit is one of the key mechanisms which these women demonstrated and exhibited which brought success and tremendous experience and achievements. The study concludes with implications for theory and research, as well as practice.--Author's abstract