Part II
Growing the Business

Research indicates that businesses owned by women tend to grow less rapidly than those owned by men, especially in developing countries and emerging economies. The difference is due to the fact that women often run their businesses out of the household, have difficulties accessing finance during the early stages of growth, are limited in their networks of contacts, and face tougher tradeoffs when balancing family and work (see Chapter 23 for a summary of the research findings). In this section we will see how a South African airline businesswoman, a Brazilian restaurateur, an Argentine tour operator, a Mexican media personality turned entrepreneur, and a Chinese digital-media geek managed to overcome the various challenges confronting them as they strived to grow their businesses.