We at FATIMA want to develop a long-term approach that sets out to create a secure environment where women can develop and flourish with their businesses and have access to the support and information that they need.  In line with national government objectives we want to increase the amount of women starting their own businesses, especially women from diverse backgrounds.  This we believe will be beneficial not only to the individual women but to society as a whole as it will energise and regenerate once deprived areas of the local community.

Women face many obstacles when attempting to set-up their own business and through the many stages of growth, these can range from issues such as childcare, time, access to funds, lack of information and personal support development.  This is where FATIMA would step in and offer a secure environment where women would get all the support that they needed and ensure that they are not alone in this ling and arduous process.  We believe that we are best placed to offer this support as FATIMA is focused entirely on supporting women set-up, develop and grow their enterprise and in so doing benefit society as a whole.

Today in the United Kingdom there is rapid expansion and change, we now have a fantastic opportunity to break the cycle of low pay and unskilled jobs by utilising national government policy and adapting them to suit our needs.  This will then stop the cycle of deprivation that traps many individuals especially women who are from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.

The research by Barclays found that 12,000 women in the East Midlands had started their own business.  Nationally, the number of females that start up is at an all time high, it reached 150,000 in 2003, which was a 28% increase from 2000.  In Leicestershire and Rutland women are responsible for more than a quarter of  people starting up new businesses.

"If women started businesses at the same rate as men we would have 100,000 new businesses each year"
Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Minister for Women and Equality

On the following pages you will find information about what is involved in starting your own business, where to go for business support and advice, and how to get on the road to a successful new career:

• Facts & Stats
• Business Start Up
• Social Enterprise
• Success Stories
• Links

Did you know...?

• Women constitute around 27% of self-employed people in the UK, yet women own only 12-14% of businesses. ³
   
• Wanting to be independent and to be there own boss was the main reason for 29% of new businesses (less than 4 years old) setting up.¹
  
• Over 70% of women business owners have never run a business before.³
   
• Around 50% of women owned businesses were established in the last five years.³
  
• Just over 50% of female entrepreneurs run their business from home.3
  
• It is estimated that just over two-thirds (67.3%) of businesses described themselves as being family owned.1
  
• Three quarters of businesses owned by women stated that the main factor for success was their own business capabilities.³
  
• Owners of new businesses come predominantly from full-time employment (62.3%), with 25% coming from self-employment and only 6.8% coming from unemployment.¹
   
• Men are twice as likely to be involved in entrepreneurial activity as women.2 
   
• Almost a quarter (24%) of people aged 18 - 60 are either involved in entrepreneurial activity or considering it and can be broken down as: 2 Thinkers 11%, Doers 13%, Avoiders 76%.
  
• The main reasons holding people back from starting their own business is finance (35%) and fear of debt (25%).²
  
• People from minority ethnic groups backgrounds made up the majority of directors among less than one in ten businesses (8.9%). 1

Sources

1. Annual small business survey 2003, DTI Small Business Service
2. Household survey of Entrepreneurship 2003, DTI Small Business Service
3. NOP Research 2003, Women Owned Businesses In Profile: Prowess, October 2002, Ernst & Young British Entrepreneurs Report, Summer 2002

More and more women are setting up their own businesses, favouring being their own boss and taking advanatage of the flexibility of independent business.

With current technology an office can begin with a mobile phone and an internet connection making independent business a more viable option to women with other domestic or family responisbilities.

Undoubtebly setting up your own business does require drive, committment and determination but there are many organisations and support services out there to advise and encourage business start ups and a growing number that offer specialist advise for female starting up new businesses.

There are a number of key areas that you will need to research as you plan your business venture:

• Finance
  Every new business needs money to kick start it. Capital may come from savings, loans, investment or you may be able to apply for funding through grants. Drawing up a financial forecast will help you anticipate expenditure and income as your company starts up.
  
• Legal Structure
  It is important to establish which legal structure your new business will take as this will form the backbone of your company.
  
• Market Research
  It is crucial that you take time to research the area that you will be servicing, potential customer base, local competition and the local infrastructure. Do you know who you are selling to, how you will contact them or deliver the service to them, whether the region needs this service or product.
  
• Resources
  You must look at the resources that your company will need to run initially and when the business begins to grow. You will need to consider premises, staff and office equipment.
  
• Marketing and Promotion
  When you business is ready to start trading it is advisable that you have a marketing strategy that will give your business the best start. Make sure that potential customers and clients know that you are open for business and what you have to offer.

What is social enterprise? sponsored by Leicester CAN (Community Action Network)

A broad definition of social enterprise is a business with a positive community impact; an organisation with primarily social objectives where surplus profits are used to further the social goals.

The ability of a social enterprise to generate an income while providing community benefits has been seen as crucial to the growth of the voluntary and community sector to counter dependency on funding.

Successful social enterprises operate in all parts of the economy tackling environmental issues, regeneration, encouraging social cohesion and managing community projects.

"Social Enterprises are competitive businesses, owned and trading for a social purpose. They seek to trade as businesses by establishing a market share and making a profit. Social Enterprises combine the need to be successful businesses with social aims. They emphasise the long-term benefits for employees, consumers and the community" Social Enterprise London (SEL).

What is a social entrepreneur?
Social entrepreneurs are dynamic individuals who apply themselves to solving social problems through innovative and progressive ideas. They are business minded people who identify a gap in provision, reach out to excluded communities, seek to integrate minorities, regenerate neighbourhoods through enterprise. Social entrepreneurs are project champions.

"Social Entreprenuers are the equivelent of true business entreprenuers but they operate in the social, not-for-profit sector building 'something from nothing' and seeking innovative solutions to social problems". Community Action Network (CAN)

Community Action Network provide business start up advice for social entreprenuers and support and encourage social enterprise. For more information about the services available at Leicester CAN click here.

FATIMA Women's Network
FATIMA is a regional women's network for ALL women but with a particular brief to support women from BME and disadvantaged communities to encourage their integration into mainstream society, employment and self-employment.

Leicester CAN have worked with Parvin Ali, founder of FATIMA Women's Network, in a number of areas such as prospective social enterprises to benefit some of the FATIMA members, on going development of the on-line networks and facilities as well as acquiring funding for future training initiatives.

Parvin is a great example of a private sector entrepreneur bringing her skills into the social sector.

Phoenix Yard
Just four years ago the Phoenix Yard was nothing but a group of derelict buildings in Leicester City centre. The three Victorian mill buildings had a considerable future life but left unused and in disrepair were otherwise likely to be demolished.

An initiate led by Leicester Social Economy Consortium transformed the buildings into workable office and retail space. The refurbished buildings still retain their classic Victorian character while offering a modern, well-equipped and attractive office environment in an sought after city location.

The transformation of Phoenix Yard has created an asset worth £1.75 million with a turnover of around £180K.

Aq0on Educational Services
Aq0on Education Services (AES) was set up by a group of Somali professionals looking to support the education and integration of newly arrived people to Leicester.

They developed plans for after school and supplementary classes, homework clubs and family learning programmes to improve literacy and numeracy as well as translation and interpretation services. AES is in the process of negotiating a service level agreement with the City Council to provide these services.

Muslim Khatri Association
This modest community centre has been transformed into a major venue, providing a comprehensive range of facilities for local people including ICT facilities, activity rooms, events hall, office space for rent, cardio vascular suite as well as offering faith facilities. Development has included the installation of solar panels, providing clean and self-sustainable energy.

The MKA Centre activities have not gone unnoticed
- in 2003 they were awarded the Queens Golden Jubilee Award for outstanding contribution to the community.

The MKA Centre is currently generating around 30K a year through room hire and incubation units compared to 3K just three years ago. They are now looking to acquire a 1-acre site to develop into more incubation units, conference facilities and accommodation for the elderly.

In a recent report, The Industrial Society exposes the largely hidden experiences of Britain's entrepreneurial women and argues that economic discrimination means that too many women are exchanging low pay in employment for low profits in self-employment.

The report - Unequal entrepreneurs: why female enterprise is an uphill business - says that the government has failed to act on the clear economic need to increase the number of women-owned businesses. It recommends increased government support for UK businesswomen such as a national centre for women's enterprise, an Office for Women's Business Ownership in the DTI, and a women's business charter which would encourage better treatment for women from law firms, banks and financial advisors.

The report reveals that women business-owners tend to be younger than male entrepreneurs - 43% are under 44 compared to 30% of men. They also have less access to start-up capital, less management experience and are less welcome in the informal business networks that often provide vital support to small firms. These gender differences curb the start-up and growth of women-owned businesses.Despite this, small business support agencies and women entrepreneurs often shy away from initiatives to promote women in business.

Greater numbers of working women, the increase in 'feminised' markets and the expansion in the service sectors, have failed to generate the expected growth in women-owned businesses. Current figures indicate that women make up only 26% of the UK's self-employed - a figure which has remained relatively constant since 1990. The report's authors attribute this, in part, to the inferior position of women in the labour market.

Dr Eleanor Shaw of Strathclyde University says: "Most women hold low-paid, unskilled or semi-skilled positions, women earn on average 72% of male earnings and only 10% of the UK's 200 largest companies have female board members. Women's experiences of the labour market are a major constraint on their ability to set up their own businesses".

Once in business, women can expect to find it harder to finance their companies. For many, the guarantees required for external financing are often beyond the scope of their personal assets and credit track record. They face sexual stereotyping from banks. They can't penetrate informal financial networks, which limits their access to on-going finance. They tend to rely more on their personal savings - women's personal savings constitute between 80-99% of initial capitalisation while the figure for men is 30-59%. The negative impact on the performance of women's businesses is considerable.

Dr Eleanor Shaw says: "The economic argument that self-employed people create jobs and wealth is well-documented. Women constitute an overwhelmingly untapped pool of entrepreneurial talent, and if we can encourage more women to start their own businesses we can add to our economic prosperity".

American women have also broken into non-traditional sectors such as construction, wholesaling and transportation. Between 1987 and 1992, the number of women-owned businesses operating in these sectors in the USA grew by 94%, 87% and 77% respectively.

Policy support for women's enterprise has been shown to be successful and The Industrial Society urges the government to offer help to women's businesses in the UK. Its recommendations include:

National Centre for Women's Enterprise: The centre would take the lead in advocacy, research and development, networking and dissemination of best practice and awareness raising. Its key role would be to ensure there is a cohesive and strategic approach to women's enterprise development in the UK.

National Policy on Women's Enterprise: This should recognise the needs of women as a diverse group and would need high level government support to overcome the piecemeal approach to support for women's enterprise.

Business support: Projects to improve women's experiences of small businesses need to become a political priority, centrally and locally. To achieve this, female economic development professionals must be paid well and rewarded well - providing an important signal.

Women's Business Charter - championed by the Small Business Service and, in Scotland, the Scottish Executive. The Charter would encompass the complete range of professional services supporting business people - including banks, accountants, lawyers and careers advisers - encouraging best practice for supporting women's enterprise. It would also require its signatories to monitor progress and outcomes with respect to their female clients.

Office for Women's Business Ownership: A similar body to the Office for Women's Business Ownership in the USA (established in 1979) should be established under the auspices of the DTI. The mission statement of the USA Office is equally relevant to the UK: "to advocate for women-owned business, one of the fastest-growing segments of the nation's economy" and "to create programmes and policies that help women entrepreneurs become full partners in the national and global economies". Acting as a policy development unit, in conjunction with the National Centre, the Office would have overall responsibility for ensuring the delivery of a cohesive approach to women's enterprise development in the UK.

Access to finance: Traditional credit scoring mechanisms discriminate against women because they tend to have a less detailed and more fragmented financial track record. The report also recommends specific initiatives to improve women's access to finance.

These include a microcredit programme, improved information on and access to informal investment, as well as an on-line business credit union which would attract savings and funds from existing businesswomen and provide financial and networking support. The report further suggests that there is a need for more female 'angels' for funding the creation and growth of women-owned ventures. It says that 'business angels' are an important source of capital, but only a small proportion of these are female.

Will Hutton, chief executive of The Industrial Society says: "In the British labour market, women are still second class citizens. They lag behind men in terms of pay, promotion, benefits and more. They are drastically under-represented in management, and routinely invisible in the average boardroom. Less well-documented is the discrimination women entrepreneurs encounter when it comes to establishing themselves in business. For an economy whose lifeblood is new enterprise, and particularly diverse enterprise, this situation is intolerable".

www.prowess.org.uk
UK wide membership organisation and campaigning body, working towards equal numbers of women and men starting and growing businesses, developing the business support sector and influencing the political environment.

www.bawe-uk.org
The British Association of Women Entrepreneurs is a non-profit professional organisation for UK women business owners. BAWE, founded in 1954, encourages the personal development of member entrepreneurs and provides opportunities for them to expand their business.

www.bpwuk.org.uk
Business and professional women (UK) Ltd is an organisation that enables business and professional women to reach their full potential, to ensure that there are equal opportunities in education, training and employment and to encourage women to take part in public decision making at all levels.

www.busygirl.co.uk
Aurora network (formerly the busygirl network) is Europe's fastest growing network for the economic advancement of corporate and entrepreneurial women. Aurora provides a number of streamlined services for business and corporate women.

www.everywomen.co.uk
An online network and resource provider for women in business.

www.networkingwomen.co.uk
Women Into the Network is an initiative which assists the integration of women entrepreneurs, both aspiring and practising, into existing business networks. Open to men and women, this project supports the creation and management of effective businesses by women, through addressing the difficulties of integration in the regions (North East) mainstream business networks.

www.awe-uk.org
The accelerating women's enterprise development partnership brings together a number of leading agencies operating at the cutting edge of women's enterprise development. They are particularly focussed on providing support to excluded groups of women, for example, ethnic minority, lone parents, women returners, unemployed and low income women, disabled women, young and third age women and women from deprived rural and urban areas.

www.mydawn.co.uk
DAWN is the hub for the new generation of entrepreneurial and professional Asian women achievers who want to realise their potential and transform their futures. DAWN is the 1st network for Asian women in the UK, which has a holistic approach to addressing professional, entrepreneurial & self-developmental needs.

www.amazon-initiatives.org.uk
An enterprise support organisation for entrepreneurial women with a mission to encourage and support women into enterprise and particularly community and social enterprise.

www.startups.co.uk
Covers every conceivable topic for starting up a business from finance, tax, communications, marketing, premises as well with tailored sections for women entreprenuers and businesswomen.

www.wwim.co.uk
With Women in Mind is a networking group for professional and entrepreneurial women offering a unique opportunity to tap into legal and non-legal groups including those specialising in IT, new media, accountancy and other aspects of business.

www.the-bag-lady.co.uk
The Bag Lady is a leading online directory and international trading portal for women in business offering a unique global buy-sell-barter system through its website.

www.thewomenscompany.co.uk
The Women's Company provides opportunities to UK business women to meet, network and develop business skills with other business women in the UK through local groups. This is achieved by providing quality lunches and events, workshops and seminars.

www.fmwf.com
The Financial Mail Women's Forum is committed to helping as many women as possible reach the very highest ranks in British business and to support them once they get there with the most relevant news and features coverage. The forum is intended to provide interesting and useful opportunities for women at the very top of their respective professions to make new contacts, exchange ideas and forge business alliances.

www.women-returners.co.uk
The Women's Returner Network is a research and lobbying organisation dedicated to helping women returners achieve their aspirations. Works in partnership across the UK and internationally to improve opportunities for women returners.

www.female-futures.co.uk
Offers career coaching and training for women to help them realise their full potential in the workplace or to return to meaningful work after a career break.