smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

The success of women SME owners has inspired the current rise of female-led small business start-ups, according to a business association.

Women who have already started up their own businesses have pioneered female SME ownership and shown the way for others to follow in their wake, believes Tanya Hine, president of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs (BAWE).

And she claims that women SME owners are further motivated by the relatively low numbers of female directors at top companies, as well as wanting to follow their dream of starting a business.

Ms Hines says: 'I think there are now more women in business and therefore it has become easier for the others. The first wave are pioneers and the others follow on.'

Her comments come in the wake of statistics suggesting an increase in entrepreneurial spirit amongst women.

Figures recently published by enterprise body Prowess revealed that 32.6 per cent of UK women are attracted by the idea of self-employment, compared to 22.2 per cent in 1990.