by Tania Reid
The world has been caught up with a new challenge in the form of COVID-19, which has brought about a disruption in the way we do things. The old way of doing things has changed forever, and new things like social distancing, self-isolation, business unusual, church unusual, ‘everything’ unusual, have become the norm. The old saying, ‘The only constant is change’ has become so relevant in these ever-changing, uncertain times, and we have all realized that there is no room for anything as usual anymore.
Which got me thinking as to why I have been more excited than fearful of what is to come, and the realization hit me, women have been operating in ‘Business Unusual’ mode since we started out. Many of us started our businesses despite a lack of financial assistance and in some instances, no support from the very people we hold dear. So for me, when you have faced as much adversity as what we have had to, not to be flippant or disrespectful of the lives lost in any way, but from a purely business perspective, WE GOT THIS!
During my research for the blog, I found a 2018 SME SA article, whose findings were that women entrepreneurs have limited access to finance in comparison with their male counterparts, the unmet yearly financial needs for women-owned businesses worldwide is estimated between $260bn and $320bn. Furthermore, the challenges that we faced trying to access funding was; belittling remarks, debilitating information requests, credibility scrutiny, questions about balance between home and work, track record proof even when we are startups. I remember being part of a match-making session and after pitching my business to a room full of corporates, the feedback I received from one guy was; ‘you really should smile more, you look so serious.” I was so dumbfounded by the idiotic feedback, I had to ask him to repeat himself.
I then as I was researching even more, I found another article by the COO of Raizcorp, Linda McClure, which said the following. ‘The problem is that female entrepreneurs continue to face challenges not shared by their male counterparts. They typically have fewer assets. They have access to less capital, fewer business-oriented networks and a lower status in our often patriarchal society. The lion’s share of opportunities available in the market today are still reserved largely for male and youth-owned businesses.’
What dawned on me was the fact that women have always had the odds stacked against us, and despite this, many of us are on our way or have built empires.
So whether we have to pivot our businesses to remain relevant or collaborate with much bigger competitors, reach out to women in our networks, negotiate better credit terms, or get extensions on loans, we have to do whatever it takes because this is who we inherently are as women in business. All I know is that during these tumultuous times, I will not operate from a place of fear. As a nation we have faced far worse atrocities and have always come out triumphant, this too shall pass and I will be victorious!
Tania Reid is the founder and chief experience officer of ithemba office solutions based in South Africa, and has over 17 years of sales experience in office automation, stationery and consumables. She is known for her honesty, excellent customer care skills and that she runs her life and business with integrity. Tania is a big believer in “When you are Blessed, you Bless others”. She won the opportunity to go to Australia to represent the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship by joining serial entrepreneur, Creel Price on the Ultimate Growth Adventure Bootcamp and pitched her business to James Caan of Dragons Den fame. So every second month, she facilitates “Knowing Your Worth” classes with young girls between the ages of 14-18 at the Khaya Centre Mount Olive, Lehae south of Johannesburg, where the unemployment rate is 80%; and also contributes monthly to events held for the aged at the Kensington Old Age Home, Cape Town which is also her hometown. Read Tania's startup story here.
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