Articles

Starting your business / Parenthood As A Business School

A study by the Department of Statistics reveals that the participation rate of men in the work force is decreasing while women's participation rates in the work force are on the rise.

Social researchers claim that women are more adept at adjusting to a changing workplace that requires creative thinking, dealing with uncertainty, long and unpredictable work hours with an emphasis on high levels of service.

I believe that women are very suited to being self employed, especially in Israel, as parenthood is an excellent preparation for that. Mothers tend to be the dominant organizer in the Israeli home. The mother manages her time and time schedules for the rest of the family, is in charge of logistics, is the human resource center, juggles the budget, is the chief "Purchasing Manger",(90% of purchases are carried out by women). The mother in the family fulfills the most of the varied needs of others, all in the same breath and while thinking and standing on their feet.

As women carry out most of the buying of goods and services for the family they are more aware of customer service than men. Women are able to multi task far better than men. This surely comes from the necessity of dealing with infants and managing a household at the same time. It can be argued that household management is a great basis for talented women who aim to advance and build a business,for learning the skills so essential to running a business.

In today's complex and dynamic work environment with its emphasis on flexibility and speed, there is a clear advantage for small economic units. This is particularly true in today's climate of high unemployment of 10%. Most childcare centers are not capable of caring for children after 4pm. Within the current economic environment, new jobs on offer are mostly at the low end or minimum wage level or in the part-time sector. Home based businesses require creative thinking in regard to the integration of business demands and the home routine. Women who develop these abilities will discover how efficient they are in a business environment where creative thinking is a key to success.

Despite the clear advantage that women have in these areas, they will still have to specialize in a number of fields to be competitive in the market place. For example, not to specialize in the one field they have studied but to try and explore new fields and types of work even concurrently; not to take things personally but to draw conclusions for the future; to familiarize themselves with new technologies; to understand all aspects of their business particularly in the financial field and not rely on others to manage these aspects of the business instead of them; to be dedicated to the business and place it as a high priority as well a taking care of their health and undertaking physical exercise.

Despite these disadvantages, it appears that women are successfully creating and developing businesses in all sectors in Israel including women in minority groups that include Olot and single parent mothers. Further resources should be directed to women to assist and advance them in their efforts. It is very likely that they will be the employers of your children in the future.

The Author, Judy Fierstein, is CEO of Transitions and Resources Ltd Manages an english business womens network under the auspices of Mati Jerusalem, she also runs courses on how to set up and manage a business