Women continue to start businesses at twice the rate of men because they know what it means to give birth. Whether or not a woman has given birth to a child, she inheritantly understands the basics of what is required:

(1) Unconditional love

A woman entrepreneur believes in her business with every ounce she possesses because she knows that if she doesn't no one else will. In the startup phase, she must nurture the business every day on the inside and the outside....telling herself and others that what she has given birth to will not only grow strong, but succeed in the long term and be worth every penny she and others have invested in it.

(2) Growing Pains

A woman entrepreneur understands that giving birth is painful at the beginning and throughout the growth phase. She expects the pain of learning what works and what doesn't and knows that with time the pain will lesson as the business becomes less dependent on her 24/7 attention.

(3) Expect Set Backs

A woman entrepeneur is prepared to have set backs as her life experience and history reminds her that everything she has ever worked for comes in small doses ... one step forward and one step backward...but with determination she will prevail.

(4) Expense

A woman entrepreneur knows how expensive it is to grow something from nothing. Seeds require nourishment to mature beneficially and the process needs an investment of time and money.

(5) Eventual Separation

And the savvy woman entrepreneur understands that there comes a time when the business is ready to go out on its own so that it can thrive independently. She prepares an exit strategy or separation that benefits the business as it grows from an idea into a thriving company.

Women entrepreneurs giving birth to business is more than an analogy...it is a plan that works for all entrepreneurs. It really has much to do with why women are such successful small business owners.