164 CLEARING THE HURDLES: WOMEN BUILDING HIGH-GROWTH BUSINESSES
Summary
We explored strategies and growth orientation of women-owned busi-
nesses in this chapter. Existing perceptions suggest that women prefer to
run small, hobby-type service ventures that don’t grow. In the past, most
women-led ventures fit this description, but today women start and grow
ventures in all industry sectors and there is a significant population who
wish to grow their businesses. Yet, there is some truth to these percep-
tions because on average, the majority of women-led ventures are
smaller in revenues and employees. However, believing that all women
run small, slow-growth service ventures is overgeneralizing across a
diverse and very large population of entrepreneurs. ...