Please clarify and I am going to tick some people off with this

[The Infotainer]

OK I have been reading a bit- I am a guy

There seems to be so much set up to help women in small business, not alot for men

is it so much harder being female than male (I guess no one can trully answer that particular question) where are the associations set up to help men in small business (specifically men- not generalised)

[JohnSheppard]

Where a market exists, someone tends to fill it.

I haven't researched it, but I think it says more about men not wanting help than anything. Nothing to do with capabilities, etc...

[Couple It]

Good point David !!

Maybe it's because women seem to have embraced online business as a way of running a business while still being a stay-at-home mum? There was probably a huge increase in women seeking advice about starting a business, so the resources evolved from that.

I really don't know though...

Wendy

[KarenC]

Actually, I would have said the opposite a few years ago, but now it's more even.

When I began in business in 1987 there was no support of women at all in business. It was very much a 'men's club' no matter where I went. There was no child minding either. And I am not in a city area. That lasted for years.

I learned most things from my (late) dad who was a Chartered Accountant.

Then, over the years, some networking groups began in Sydney, and then years later in local areas.

And of course, until the internet, there was very little other types of contact.

There are so many business sites now with information, let alone Flying Solo, that it's wonderful there is so much help and information.

Where there is a lacking support, in my opinion, is for those of us who are older - over 50 - who are currently having to constantly adapt to all the changes and learn things that didn't exist till recently.

Overall though, I'd much rather have 'now' than back in the earlier days of my business.

Cheers.

.

[AgentMail]

Hi Welzman,

I think it is a valid observation, the difficulty is image. If a group were created, say called 'Men In Business' the wider audience would automatically tag it as another egotistical gentlemans (not that type) club, built to deliberately exclude women from getting ahead.

I believe the past descrepencies in equal opportunities is what has caused womens groups to gain popularity, and try to balance this back out again. In my opinion, I do find them a little segregational, but for those that look to support and improve work at home mums etc. I think that is a great idea, but could still be broadened to work at home parents

It is a very opinion based question, and I think everyone will have a slightly different view. In saying that, if a 'Men In Business' group were to exist, I'd be very unlikely to join it because of the impression it may give off

[JacquiPryor]

Interesting question... I think a lot of it is simply that women generally tend to band together and support one another (in most aspects of life), so it makes sense that busines support would follow in the same way for women. This is not necessarily how guys do things so perhaps simply there wasn't a great need for specific services/networks etc for men in business. There would definitely have been a 'need' for these sorts of networks and groups with a lot more women entering the workforce than perhaps used to be - more work at home mums, more single mums (and yes, I realise there are single dads too) so the audience is much wider now than it ever used to be. Like any other 'business' these groups and services have a target audience and for these sorts of businesses the audience now is so much larger than it ever was there's room for more to operate.

I think there's still a lot of help out there for men in business too - but perhaps just not marketed specifically as such, so it sometimes seems that there's more for women.

Just my 2c... will be interesting to see where this thread goes...

[Khalid Adam]

I've been considering starting a men's business mastermind group and networking events but at the end of the day, the women in their lives play a major role around details and execution.

So it's easy to talk strategy with men but we tend to suck at tactics (implementation). I know i do which is why i do better at improving existing activities than rolling out brand new ones.

Of course i am generalising here and it's only based on my experience in dealing with approx 1000 business since 1998.

I suppose a men's business group can be started and geared towards men and women would be allowed to attend although i dont' see the point unless they are the spouse or partner.

I wish FS had a poll function like linkedin. I created a poll on LinkedIn. I would be interesting to see which way the votes go:

http://linkd.in/y93RPd

[The Copy Chick]

I don't think there's any less assistance for men than women. There are loads of networking clubs and business coaches available for anyone in business.

That said, I think women have made the move to establish "women only" groups to help deal with things like working around a family and some of the challenges they face with having kids that many men don't (yes - I'm generalising!)

As a woman in my 40s without kids, I don't really feel part of that crowd, so I've not really involved myself with "women only" groups or programs. Instead I've become involved with networking groups made up of men and women, and used the resources freely available to all - like having a free ATO tax consultation at my home office, and connecting with local business support groups.

I also really enjoy the different ways men and women think, so I'd be reluctant to only deal with other women in business. Personally, I don't really see much appeal to gender-specific groups, but again, it may be because I don't have kids.

And if you can't find what you're after, then maybe set up a group of your own


Disclaimer: I am actually speaking at a women's networking group on the 21st of Feb. They've asked us to host "The Shift" event for them, which we ran in October to help anyone in business learn to utilise their online space. I hope to meet some great new contacts, as I would at any networking event.

[The Infotainer]

Originally Posted by The Copy Chick

Disclaimer: I am actually speaking at a women's networking group on the 21st of Feb. They've asked us to host "The Shift" event for them, which we ran in October to help anyone in business learn to utilise their online space. I hope to meet some great new contacts, as I would at any networking event.

you should join this agency
http://voxylady.com.au/

I know the boss, very nice lady. (debbie carr)

Disclaimer: (My thoughts on the above link) but at the same time Its like hiring a gender over the person most qualified to speak about something. the most qualified person may be a girl, but it might not be, but for a conference to say it must be a girl then I think this is pretty small minded.

[NathanB]

It is classic example of affirmative action.

I don't really agree or disagree with affirmative action at the principle level but with that in mind, I have never really seen an affirmative action program I would fully support.