Female entrepreneurs get help from someone who's been there

It's girl power with a business twist. Jane Out of the Box, launched last month by a Pasco County business owner, is all about female entrepreneurs.

By Christina Rexrode, Times Staff Writer
Published August 19, 2007

Hudson resident Michele DeKinder-Smith, 40, founded Jane Out of the Box, an online resource group for female entrepreneurs, in mid July.
	[David Degner | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT Michele DeKinder-Smith formed Linkage & Consulting in 1998 out of her home. Linkage now has its own offices and five staffers.

It's girl power with a business twist.

Jane Out of the Box, launched last month by a Pasco County business owner, is all about female entrepreneurs. It has two components: An online resource group to help female business owners succeed; and a research and consulting branch to encourage companies to partner with them.

Michele DeKinder-Smith, 40, lives in Hudson and is the group's founder. She talked to the St. Petersburg Times about Jane Out of the Box, and a study it just conducted with 400 female and 100 male business owners. Here are excerpts:

According to your study, 47 percent of female entrepreneurs said they started their own business because they wanted more flexibility with their time. So corporations aren't willing to offer these women flexible schedules?

When you think about how traditional business runs, it's about having systems in place and having schedules. There are some great corporations that allow for job sharing, allow for flex time, but I would say that the bulk of companies don't.

What are the other benefits of running your own business?

Most people who end up owning a business, they're not born entrepreneurs. For most of us, we have a unique set of skills, abilities and talents, and through our work we really want to express our skills, abilities and talents to the world. And I think business ownership gives us the chance to do that.

I think back to when I started my first business: I'm a researcher by trade; I love doing research and understanding problems and figuring them out. But in my corporate position I was leading a team, and I wasn't in it any more. I wasn't actually doing the work; I was managing the work.

One of the main purposes of Jane Out of the Box is to connect female entrepreneurs with mentors. Why are they important?

What happens is, you've got this great talent, and you start a business, and you don't necessarily know how to do all the other things associated with being a business owner. You may be a great systems expert, but you may not know how to create a marketing campaign, you may not know how to manage payroll.

You need to learn that stuff somewhere, and a lot of entrepreneurs learn it strictly by trial and error. But you get there faster if you're able to learn from other entrepreneurs, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time.

You say that female entrepreneurs are less likely than males to have mentors. Why is that?

Two primary reasons. One is that women are much more likely to be solo entrepreneurs. Forty-six percent of the women we interviewed were solo entrepreneurs - no employees, nobody working with them - vs. only a third of men. Imagine you're trying to run this business (alone). When do you have time to get out of the office to ask, 'How are you running your business? How are you dealing with marketing?'

I think the second reason is that women are more likely to work from home. About 71 percent of women run their business from home, vs. half of men. You're home, you're working alone - there can be this sense of isolation.

What's your purpose for Jane Out of the Box?

If someone started her business so that she can have time freedom to be with her children, then I want her to be there. If she's this woman who has a huge vision where she wants to serve twice as many customers as she's doing today, then I want her there.

What is Jane Out of the Box?

- It aims to be a resource group for female entrepreneurs, where they can get advice from experts and network on discussion boards. Cost to join is $9.95 per month.

- It is a consulting and research group for corporations looking to work with female entrepreneurs.

- Web site: www.janeoutofthebox.com

Why focus on businesswomen?

A study conducted by Jane Out of the Box interviewed 400 female and 100 male business owners. Among other results, the study found that female entrepreneurs:

- Are more likely to cite "wanting more time to spend with family" as a reason for starting their business.

- Are less likely to have other business owners to turn to for advice.

- Are more likely to run their business from home.

Who is the founder?

- Michele DeKinder-Smith founded Jane Out of the Box on July 4 this year.

- She formed Linkage Research & Consulting in 1998 out of her home. Linkage now has its own offices and five staffers.

- She lives with her husband and son, 16, in Hudson.

[Last modified August 17, 2007, 19:58:36]