Already women-owned businesses contribute between £50billion and £70 billion a year to the economy in the UK. More than 950,000 women are now self-employed, with 130,000 taking the plunge in the last year. However, Yorkshire accounts for only 7% of all women starting up new businesses, compared to 28% in the South East and 18% in the Midlands.

Self-employment offers many benefits to women including:
Flexibility to manage your own working hours
Create your own company culture
Independence
The kinds of self-fulfilment not often found in paid employment
Working at times and locations that suit you to fit in with family responsibilities

Self-confidence and perseverance are crucial on the journey to becoming self-employed.

The South Yorkshire Female Entrepreneurs Network (SYFEN) and Making a Difference can help with setting up your business in South Yorkshire.

The SYFEN Mentoring and Networking activity can help you realise your dream of becoming self-employed by providing support and contacts through one to one mentoring and networking events.

The Making a Difference programme involves a mixture of classroom based start-up courses accompanied by one-to-one support and coaching which explore enterprise at its most fundamental level.