51% of Women On Their Own

Yesterday's New York Times front page article, "51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse" definitely got me thinking.  If it's really true that so many of us cannot depend on a second household income (and/or even like it that way), it's more important than ever for the entrepreneurs among us to develop the "Business Mind-Set" that I talk about in Chapter One of Smart Women and Small Business.  When I spoke recently at Babson's Center for Women's Leadership, I asked the audience (a group of about 80 business-minded women) whether they or their women friends in business had chosen a business primarily because it could generate a specific income.  One woman raised her hand to say that was precisely what her friend had done, but the rest of the audience attached a lot of importance to other criteria: pursuing our passions, interests, and the all-important control and flexibility.  My advice: don't sacrifice the one for the other, and keep searching until all criteria are met!  As Richard Parker, author of How to Buy a Good Business at a Great Price reminds us, don't just fall in love with the product; rather, you must fall in love with the profit and the lifestyle that a business can deliver to you. "If the business does not produce the income you need, or provide you with a satisfactory return on your investment, then rest assured, you will learn to detest the product quickly," writes Parker.  This kind of thinking may not be the inspirational female encouragement you're looking for, ladies, but if you're the sole breadwinner in your household, do yourself a favor and take it seriously.