Women ’ s Enterprise Centre
Another aspect of this mindset piece is , because we have this ability to make do with however much we have - women tend to under capitalize their businesses . So they ask for less than they really could use .
Whereas men will go to the next bank and ask again until they get what they want . They actually ask for more than they need and that gives more of that flexibility . It is called the discouraged borrower syndrome .
Women may be afraid of debt so they do not want to get too much
Then , they end up being cash strapped and cannot take advantage of growth opportunities when they come along because they haven ’ t given themselves a big enough cushion , or long enough runway in terms of financing capital . All these things are part of the mindset issue , and then there is the whole things that happen when you go to the bank and they say no .
Woman have more of a tendency to go home and stay home with their tails between their legs and not want to ever go to another bank and ask again .
Some women do not even go the bank to ask because they do not think they are going to get it so they just don ’ t bother , and that is another mindset thing .
The facts don ’ t bear them out . The fact is the approval rates for women are actually a tiny bit higher right now than the approval rates for loans for male businesses .
Interviewer : Do you see a change in the trends from WEC inception in 1995 to now for women in business and borrowing .?
LD : There has been huge changes in all sorts of trends . Banks :
• Like lending to small businesses now .
• Women entrepreneurs have a lot more recognition now .
• Many of the banks , such as BMO , RBC , BDB all have women ’ s initiatives .
• Women are being sought out as clients because it has been proven that women who own businesses have a better repayment record . They are actually a better bet ! The banks have figured that out and they have made all sorts of public statements as to how much they are going to lend to women .
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That is a trend that I could not have imagined when I started this role .