Starting a business takes courage. Growing one takes something else that is often overlooked: time.
A woman may have a good business idea, loyal customers and the determination to succeed. But if most of her day is divided between running a business, caring for children, preparing meals, looking after relatives and managing the home, finding time to focus on growth can become difficult.
This is one of the less visible challenges facing women in business.
When Business and Family Compete for the Same Time
For many women, entrepreneurship does not happen separately from family life.
The same woman who opens her shop in the morning may also be the person responsible for getting the children ready, preparing food, caring for an elderly relative or dealing with unexpected household needs.
When something happens at home, the business may have to wait.
A customer can wait for a response.
A new business opportunity can be postponed.
A training programme can be missed.
A supplier meeting may have to be cancelled.
Over time, these small interruptions can affect business growth.
The challenge is not that women are unwilling to work. In many cases, they are working extremely hard. The challenge is that their time is divided across many responsibilities.
A Business Cannot Grow on Effort Alone
Hard work matters, but business growth also requires time for activities that are not immediately connected to making a sale.
A business owner needs time to:
- Learn new skills
- Understand her customers
- Plan for the future
- Keep proper records
- Find new markets
- Build relationships
- Attend useful training
- Look for partnerships
- Improve her products or services
When every available hour is spent serving customers or managing daily household responsibilities, there may be very little time left for these activities.
This can keep a business in survival mode for years.
The owner may be making sales, but she is not getting enough opportunity to step back, think and build something bigger.
The Problem Is Bigger Than One Woman
It is easy to tell women to “work harder” or “manage their time better.”
But sometimes the issue is not poor time management.
Sometimes there simply isn’t enough time.
When childcare, household work and family responsibilities are not shared fairly, women can carry a large amount of unpaid work alongside their businesses.
This can affect the type of business they choose, the hours they operate, the customers they can serve and even whether they can accept opportunities that require them to travel or work outside normal hours.
A woman may turn down a promising opportunity not because she lacks ambition, but because she has responsibilities that cannot simply be put aside.
What Can Help?
Creating better opportunities for women in business requires more than access to money.
Women also need an environment that allows them to use their time effectively.
Families can play a role by sharing household responsibilities. Communities can support women through practical networks and reliable childcare arrangements. Organisations can provide flexible training, mentorship and business support that takes women’s real lives into account.
Business programmes can also consider the realities of women who are building businesses while caring for families.
Sometimes, a small change can make a meaningful difference.
A training programme held at a convenient time.
A business meeting that offers flexibility.
A support network that helps a woman find practical solutions.
A market opportunity that does not require her to abandon her existing responsibilities.
These things may seem small, but they can create room for growth.
Women Need More Than Opportunity on Paper
An opportunity is only useful when someone can realistically take advantage of it.
A woman may have access to training but no time to attend it.
She may know about a market opportunity but be unable to travel.
She may have a business idea but lack the time and support needed to develop it.
This is why conversations about women’s entrepreneurship should look beyond money and business skills.
We also need to ask a simple question:
Does she have the time and support to make the opportunity work?
At WOMSAB, we believe that empowering women means looking at the real barriers that affect their ability to build sustainable enterprises. Access to capital, business support, enterprise development and community-based solutions can all play a role.
Because sometimes, giving a woman an opportunity is not enough.
We also need to create the conditions that allow her to use it.