Challenges Faced by Female Entrepreneurs, with Katie Keating

July 28, 2021

Episode 20:

Expert Katie Keating from Fancy LLC discusses financial challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and key money info women need to know. Hear insights about:

Katie explains founding Fancy LLC in 2011 during the “3% Movement” that was created because just 3% of creative directors at the time were women
How the fact that 80% of buying decisions are made by women illustrated a real opportunity for Katie and her co-founder to meet that challenge
How Katie and her co-founder were passionate about doing business right but struggled with the financial side because they had no training
What important, unique challenges faced by female entrepreneurs can be overcome with an increase in financial literacy and understanding the value of your work
How Fancy conducted a survey of women over 40 and gained extraordinary insights into this important demographic
Why women over 40, on the whole, are happy being the age they are, and why brands too often target women as if they wished they were younger
How women typically retire with 2/3 of the money that men retire with, even though they live on average 6-8 years longer than men
Why it is crucial for any business owner to begin thinking about their retirement future now
How Fancy LLC focuses on “taboo” products and services for women, and how this surprisingly includes financial issues

Challenges Faced by Female Entrepreneurs

We all know about challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and business leaders, such as the pay gap between what women are paid and what their male peers are paid for the same job. However, there are many other, less obvious disparities that women in business face. Too often, women business owners are left to “figure finances out” themselves. And it’s not just in business, either. For example, in the world of advertising, did you know that the vast majority of creative directors are male? This is surprising, especially considering that 80% of buying decisions are made by women.

Katie Keating has a deep understanding of these issues. As the co-founder of women-focused advertising agency Fancy LLC, Katie recognized that these disparities created a unique opportunity to position women-owned and operated Fancy within the industry.

In this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Katie shares some of the key facts and considerations women business owners, especially women over 40, need to be aware of. And she shares some of the important challenges and lessons she experienced in building and growing her own agency.

Understanding Women Over 40’s Unique Financial Concerns

Statistically speaking, women live an average of 6-8 years longer than men do. However, they typically retire with only ⅔ of the money men retire with. That’s precisely why Katie says it’s crucial for women to begin planning for their retirement with intentionality and clear goals in mind.

However, as Katie explained during the podcast episode, many women consider their finances to be extremely private information. In fact, Katie said that many women are more comfortable talking about their sexual health than their financial health. This stigma can be harmful, because “you don’t know what you don’t know”. You could be making serious financial mistakes without being aware of it. That’s why working with an experienced professional is so crucial.

Improving Your Financial Literacy

There are many different methods of improving your financial literacy to make more informed decisions about your long-term financial needs. Sitting down with a professional can be powerful, but you can also explore free and paid online training to shore up your knowledge. Katie and her co-founder felt like they were floundering and had to figure out the finances of running a business on their own, and this created a number of early headaches and struggles for their business. By taking the time to educate yourself on your finances and your options, you can avoid many of the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and business leaders.