Supporting Female-Owned Small and Local Businesses

Hi guys. Welcome back and Happy International Women's Day🎉🎉!

Thanks for all the nice comments on the last post. I'm glad that we were able to start a conversation on businesses and today we get to continue that.

So just to catch up on last week, we talked about the structure of small and local businesses and some of the features that make them advantageous. We also touched a little bit on networking and how it can be a tool for empowering your business or expanding your income. I think that it's a good place to push off today.

images from nav.com and marketwatch

We all know that today is International Women's Day and that everyone on the face of the earth will be posting about how awesome women are and how we need to do better in supporting women but to be frank, we can do better. In fact, we should be doing better. Don't get me wrong, I love holidays that celebrate important people and issues in our society but sometimes we get so consumed in preparing for the holiday that we actually forget to incorporate its values into our everyday lives. And even though, this is easier said than done, I believe we need to highlight this "D-day" mentality because it can cover the fact that we are not doing enough.

For example, take the new year. Millions of people around the world sign up for new subscriptions or programs because of a particular resolution. Around a quarter-way into the year, we get tired and then we unsubscribe or stop putting as much effort into whatever it is we were trying to achieve. And then next year, the cycle continues. I think the same can be said for IWD activities and hype. On March 8 every year, social media gets flooded with organizations and governments talking about the much they appreciate women. Non-profits talk about supporting female-owned businesses and the general populace adds their own spice but by April 1, we forget all about the speeches and posts and we settle back into normal life. And in normal life, female-owned businesses struggle.

According to the World Bank, even though there are more women starting SLBs every year, only a handful are as successful as their male-owned counterparts. In the initial launch of the YouWin program in Nigeria, where thousands of applicants competed for funding for their business, only 18% of the winners were female. But during follow-up sessions, results showed that female winners had the same level of success as their male counterparts because they were able to overcome the normal hiccups that other women faced in the business industry. Unfortunately, events and fundraisers like this are often sponsored by big corporations or the government meaning that board members, budgets, and party regimes can change taking this funding along with them.

So what now?

As a society, we know the pressing problems that we face and I believe it is time we realized, especially in our country, that when it comes to issues such as this we cannot just leave things to politicians or big corporations.

Yes, once in a while you have the good ones who care about empowering women (and, of course, we need more of those but that is a story for another day) but what if they don't care or we can't find them? Do we want to relegate the fate of our sweat to the political fancies of party chairmen or the mercies of corporate social responsibility?

This is why today, I want to encourage us to focus on how we as a society can support things that we believe in. Areas where we want to see progress. Personally, I want each of us to think, how can you support a female-owned enterprise? Do you know a friend who has an SLB? Patronize them. Encourage them. Advertise on their behalf and not just today but every time you remember. Recommend them to friends and families. When you see opportunities that they might benefit from. Tell them. Don't be doing stingykoko. One thing my pastor talks about a lot is rivers and reservoirs. He always says God is not encouraged to bless people who are reservoirs because he knows that they won't pour into other people. Meanwhile, the river watered by God always flows because God continues to pour into them. As they pour out, he pours in. They become true and fresh living springs. So yeah, a little rant sermon but the point is "Be generous with information that will help others." And if you have an SLB, today is the day to slide into other female-owned SLBs and start talking about how you can partner with them, you might even benefit from the networking example in the previous post, who knows?

Today is going to be over but the support for women and their enterprises doesn't. Supporting isn't easy and sometimes it can be more expensive or inconvenient but you have to remember that no good thing comes easy. Just do what you can when you can. Be intentional! The good thing, however, is that being intentional doesn't just apply to small businesses or supporting women, it applies to every issue that we think is important enough. Whether it's becoming more sustainable or casting your vote, it takes planning and sacrifice. And it is a continuous process. You have to constantly choose to do whatever it is, whether it is supporting women or eating healthy.

One quote I saw on a friend's WhatsApp status said

"One burger doesn't make you fat."

And with respect to today's post, I would say,

"One salad doesn't make you healthy."

Whatever the goal is, if it is important enough to start, let it matter enough to finish.

Ok, guys, I'll leave us here today.

Thank you as always for taking the time to read and respond.

And if you liked this week's post, let me know in the comments and share this post on your social media platforms to support the blog.

There are still so many issues concerning SLBs that I would love to give my 2 cents on in future posts but I had to dedicate today to the female-entrepreneurs because they deserve that spotlight.

Happy International Women's Day!

Kamikun

✌🏽 & 💝