More and more women are opening their own businesses and heres why: study

Female small business owners feel more fulfilled than women who are working a 9-5 for someone else, new research suggests.That’s according to a survey of 500 female small business owners and 500 aspiring female entrepreneurs, which found that fulfillment isn’t just professional, it also spills into their personal lives. Results found that 91% of current owners feel fulfilled in their professional lives, compared to just 55% of those who haven’t made the leap to business ownership.Taking things a step further, while 78% of aspiring owners feel a sense of fulfillment in their personal lives, that number jumps to 87% for those who are already in operation.Over the next 10 years, 80% of all of those polled expect to see even more women at the helm of businesses.In fact, 58% of current business owners opened their doors within the past six years and 89% of aspiring business owners plan to do the same over the next five years.In those six years, current business owners found that they were happier (58%), more confident (54%) and more empowered (54%) than they ever were in their previous roles.Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Kiddie Academy, the survey sought to uncover the highs and lows through the eyes of current female business owners and future business pioneers.Almost all of those polled (90%) believe that it’s important the next generation of children see female business owners in their community.Nearly two-thirds (62%) became a business owner because they wanted more freedom in their lives, especially since 42% have a child under the age of 18 at home.Prior to becoming a small business owner, only 51% felt that they had freedom in their schedules to pursue passions or take time off from work.After getting their business off the ground, nearly all (93%) found the freedom they were looking for.Other leading reasons include wanting to create a better world for future generations (26%) or feeling stuck in other jobs (23%).These mirrored many of the ...