I was in a meeting this past week where the conversation turned to how women entrepreneurs are perceived to be much more risk averse than their male counterparts. It’s something I hear often, particularly when talking about scaling and taking on investors or growth capital. But one of the highly experienced women entrepreneurs taking part in the discussion made an interesting comment - she said, “It’s not that we are risk averse, we just want to make sure that any scaling or investment decision fits into a rational, well thought out plan for our business and its long-term future. It is not something to be rushed into without such a plan in place supported by the right data and insights.” This is an approach and an attitude towards growth and investment that I hear often amongst women entrepreneurs. Some may choose to call that being risk averse, but others will see it as a desire to have a well defined plan in place that has fully assessed and mitigated against inherent risk factors with any new venture or investment path. Is that what is meant by the saying ‘taking a calculated risk’?
Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! — Melanie