Ep. 217: Female Small Business Owners Embrace Equity on International Women’s Day

IMA is celebrating International Women's Day on March 8th to
commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic
achievements of women.  In this special Count Me In podcast
Yvonne Barber, CFO, HR Knowledge Source, discusses how the
pandemic affected female small business owners and how some used
management accounting strategies to help them become more 
resilient.


Connect with Yvonne:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonnebarber/


Episode Transcript:


Margaret:       Hello, and
welcome to Count Me In. I'm your host, Margaret Michaels. Every
March, IMA celebrates International Women's Day. A day
recognizing the unique contributions and accomplishments of
women. 


 


Embracing equity is the theme of this year's celebration.
Questions of equity are prevalent when speaking about women and
the workplace. Nowhere is equity defined as the promotion of
justice, impartiality, and fairness. Within the procedures,
processes, and distribution of resources, according to IMA's
Diversifying U.S. Accounting Talent Report.


 


More important than in the realm of small business. Where female,
small business owners account for 21.4% or 1.24 million of all
small businesses in the U.S., according to the Census
Bureau. 


 


Today, I am here with Yvonne Barber, CFO of HR Knowledge Source
and IMA's Small Business Committee Chair. To discuss how the
pandemic affected female small business owners. And how some used
management accounting strategies to help them become more
resilient. 


 


We will consider the challenges these owners face in a
competitive, post-pandemic business environment. And the ways
strong management accounting principles, can help them operate
their businesses more efficiently and profitably. Thank you for
being here today, Yvonne.


 


Yvonne:          Thank
you for having me.


 


Margaret:       So I guess
we'll start with looking back at the pandemic. Which really did
bring a lot of attention to small business owners and their
challenges. At the height of the pandemic, you worked for Blue
Abacus Solutions. An accounting services firm specializing in
small businesses. Small businesses took a huge hit during the
pandemic. With quarantines, social distancing rules, and employee
turnover affecting their ability to operate and stay
profitable. 


 


According to the World Economic Forum's Global Entrepreneurship
Monitor, female small business owners were hit harder than men.
With women 20% more likely than men to report business closures,
due to the pandemic. Can you offer some perspective on why
female-owned businesses were especially at risk?


 


Yvonne:          Sure,
in addition to the resource that you mentioned. I've researched
this topic to develop a better understanding of the challenges
faced by small businesses. So that the IMA's Small Business
Committee, where I serve, can offer the support needed to the
small business community. 


 


And I found that the biggest factor to be the lack of access to
funding and capital. A majority of female entrepreneurs self-fund
their business. And this can limit the ability to scale their
business or invest in the needed resources, to improve
operations. 


 


One of the things that small businesses, in general, struggle
with is looking forward at what's coming, as opposed to reacting
to what's currently on their plate. And I think that is where a
lot of small businesses found themselves. 


 


They just weren't in a position to handle what the pandemic
served out to them, and that is one of the biggest factors. But
among that, bias among customers was also listed as another
factor. 


 


Now, this may not be a great obstacle for some women. Especially,
here in the United States, I think we've made a lot of progress
in that area. But I found several studies, throughout the world,
that found customers are less likely to purchase goods or
services from women-owned businesses. 


 


So there's a variety of reasons that women were impacted as they
were. And I think it's difficult to offer a one-size-fits-all
approach to this. I think, instead, it's good to look at each
individual item. And address as it pertains to your business, as
a female-owned business or a small business owner in general.


 


Margaret:       Yes, those
are great points and I think the funding issue is very top of
mind. And that's really interesting, the bias, I never thought
about that. But women experience bias in a lot of realms. So it
shouldn't be surprising that it's also prevalent in small
business ownership and customer choices. Those are great points.


 


Yvonne:          Yes,
that surprised me as well. Just because my perspective here,
being in the United States, I think that we've learned to
navigate that a little better. But in that The Small Business
Committee, we serve a global membership. I am interested in what
the challenges are for our membership. All over the world, not
just here in the United States. So that was surprising to me. But
it was helpful to see the information, so that I'm in a better
position to offer what's needed for our members.


 


Margaret:       And the
IMA's Small Business Committee does a great job, with helping
members who are struggling with these issues. In fact, IMA's
Small Business Committee published two important reports, to help
guide small businesses through the COVID crisis, and to help them
stay resilient post pandemic. 


 


I wonder what differentiated the businesses, who managed through
the crisis versus the ones who failed? And from your perspective,
why is it difficult, when you are a small business owner, to
address both short-term crises and long-term strategy?


 


Yvonne:          I
think the businesses who survived focused on sustainability and
leveraged strong relationships, and a diverse network of sources
to meet their needs. Those who prioritized relationships were
just better positioned to survive the storm. The relationships
include the customers, suppliers, as well as employees. And it
can be tough to think about tomorrow when you're just trying to
survive another week. 


 


I know a lot of small business owners. I know they're just trying
to make payroll. But making short-term decisions that impact the
long-term sustainability of a company, they may seem to help the
short-term, but ultimately they do end up hurting the company.


 


Margaret:       I think
that's something that even mid and large-sized businesses grapple
with, is that balance between the short-term and the long-term.
And not having those short-term decisions affect your ability to
operate in the long-term. So that's absolutely on point. 


 


And now, as the immediate crisis of COVID passes, new risks are
also emerging for small businesses. These include worker
shortages, failure to embrace digitization, inflation, and supply
chain disruptions. And without the resources that larger size
companies enjoy. How can small businesses mitigate these risks?


 


Yvonne:    &...