Learning Objectives for Feminine Capital

Learning Objectives

This guide is intended to help you to focus on the key lessons in each chapter. We present the learning objectives to help assimilate theory and practice, create a vocabulary that defines your entrepreneurial leadership style, and to deepen your understanding about how gender influences the venture creation process.

Introduction

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Identify questions that confront business owners, policymakers and scholars about business ownership, entrepreneurship and venture creation.
• Identify different perspectives about how (and if) gender influences enterprise performance.
• Articulate your own views about how (and if) gender influences venture creation
• Understand the authors’ motivations for writing the book.

Reframing Entrepreneurship — Chapter 1

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Describe the evolution of thinking about entrepreneurship and how that has influenced current notions and expectations about women’s involvement in entrepreneurship
• Recognize traditional rationales advanced to explain the “underperformance” of female-owned firms.
• Understand how language, including classic feminine and masculine nomenclature, depicts entrepreneurs and influences our expectations.
• Describe feminist rationales, (liberal and social feminism), advanced to explain gender influences in enterprise performance.
• Explain the theoretical foundation of entrepreneurial feminism.
• Understand your own views about feminism and entrepreneurship.

Intention, Success, and Identity — Chapter 2

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Understand the structure of entrepreneurial identity and success, and how each can impact entrepreneurial decision-making.
• Recognize the transformational nature of business ownership.
• Describe the entrepreneurial identity gap
• Identify the entrepreneurial leadership styles of self-described feminist entrepreneurs.
• Articulate your own entrepreneurial identity
• Identify your own perceptions of entrepreneurial success
• Challenge the relevance of psychometrics used to determine entrepreneurial propensity and acumen.
• Describe your own views on enterprise growth (intention).

Getting to Go — Chapter 3

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Recognize how business owners are leveraging feminine capital through opportunity identification, start-up and enterprise growth.
• Identify activities and challenges that confront nascent and early stage entrepreneurs.
• Identify your own preferences in navigating the path to venture creation.
• Describe four theories that help to explain the evolution of an enterprise.
• Recognize gender influences in sector choice.
• Articulate your own perspective about how gender is enacted through business start-up.
• Apply lessons learned to evaluate the impact of gender in business owner actions and interactions, enterprise structures and entrepreneurial processes.

Enterprise Growth — Chapter 4

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Explain why some firms grow and others do not.
• Describe four alternative views on enterprise growth.
• Identify which explanation of enterprise growth best explains your own business.
• Identify the risks associated with managing a lifestyle or stagnant versus growing enterprise.
• Understand the importance of the business model and ownership structure in enterprise performance.
• Design a business model that meets your values and expectations.
• Identify your own entrepreneurial strengths.
• Identify challenges associated with exporting.

Social Capital — Chapter 5

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Describe the concept of social capital and its importance.
• Explain the framework, elements and spheres of social capital. Understand the role of trust in accruing and managing social capital.
• Identify strategies for building trust in relationships.
• Describe the prime sources and configuration of your own social capital.
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of family and friends, informal networks, mentors, advisors and associations as sources of social capital.
• Recognize potential gender influences in the way in which you approach and manage professional relationships.
• Develop strategies to build and manage social capital.

Money Matters — Chapter 6

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Understand the impact of financial literacy in entrepreneurial decisions.
• Recognize sources of capital available to aspiring entrepreneurs.
• Challenge myths about gender and entrepreneurial finance.
• Discuss gender influences in enterprise financing.
• Understand how type of financing impacts the ability of the business owner to attract investors.
• Assess your own entrepreneurial financial literacy.
• Apply the lessons learned to develop strategies to access capital.

Power in Policy — Chapter 7

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Understand the link between public policy, enterprise performance, and economic opportunities for women.
• Recognize global indices that monitor women’s economic, legal and social progress.
• Understand the rationale, strengths and weaknesses of mainstream and female-focused entrepreneurship/small business training programs.
• Recognize gender biases in entrepreneurship policy and programming.
• Identify common tactics to stifle advocacy and policy reform.
• Identify strategies to make policy change happen.

Never Underestimate the Underestimated Woman — Chapter 8

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Recognize schisms between theory and practice.
• Apply the lessons learned to develop strategies to support female entrepreneurs.