VTMBH Article: Body
Now, as the whole world is caught up in the excitement of the World Cup, a Korean-American businesswoman in Los Angeles has planned a small celebration of her own: she has made World Cup t-shirts, which are now being distributed to her customers in attractive shopping bags.
The t-shirts have the flags of competing nations printed on them, as well as those of the other Latin American countries, who, although they did not make it to the World Cup, still share the love of soccer. These t-shirts are extremely popular among her Latino customers, who make up the majority of her clientele. She has brought the World Cup craze from Korea to L.A., creating an opportunity for a Korean-American president of a travel agency to form a close bond with her Latino customers.
When I said to her, What a great idea! Would you say that only a woman, with her unique sensitivity, could have come up with such an idea? the female president, who is in her 40s, merely responded, I always try to satisfy the needs of my customers. The most difficult part of business is marketing.
Many business experts say that the traditional roles of women as mother and wife, which involve taking care of the family, raising the children, and housekeeping, correspond to the elements necessary in business. The instinctive ability of women to know the wants and expectations of another person and to satisfy them, can be a crucial weapon in the business arena.
However, despite such advantages, business remains a field in which disparities between men and women are especially great. Although the number of businesswomen has rapidly increased in the 1990s, the size of female-owned businesses is still much smaller than that of male-owned businesses. In particular, most enterprises owned by first-generation Korean-American women have failed to grow beyond the level of a small-scale business.
According to a study published by the Community Development Technology Center last week, business ventures undertaken by Korean-American women are particularly small in size and have a lower potential for development than those undertaken by other minority women. According to the organizations analysis of African-American, Hispanic, Korean-American, Chinese-American, and Vietnamese-American female business owners in L.A. and Orange County, a typical Korean-American businesswoman is someone who is in her 50s and owns a small business with less than five employees, with the sole purpose of making a living.
I wanted to get out of a glass ceiling and develop my own business ideas, said an African-American woman.
Chinese-American and Vietnamese-American women tended to want to own their own businesses.
A Hispanic woman said, I wanted to escape a futureless, low-paying job and create a more prosperous life for myself.
Compared to these other minority women, the motivation of Korean-American women for starting a business is much too passive.
The research also shows that Korean-American women utilize the internet and other new technology less than other groups; they also rank low when it comes to business networking and attending workshops and conferences, which led to the studys conclusion that the present condition of businesses owned by Korean-American women will not improve in the near future. Why cant we be more active in our business ventures? I asked a few Korean-American businesswomen.
Its difficult for our generation. Theres a language barrier, and its hard at our age to learn computer skills and keep up with the newest technology. Its good enough for us to have earned living and raised our children, said a Korean-American woman.
In order to expand your business, you have to have the courage to take risks, but women arent good at that. We have to check everything twicewere Safety First. Our businesses may not grow big and successful, but we never go bankrupt.
They also pointed out children and housekeeping as additional obstacles, but I think the main problem lies in their low expectations as businesswomen. When men first start working, they envision themselves as a future CEO of their company, while women tend to set their standards according to the highest position occupied by another woman. The level of expectations that women have in their own businesses is no different.
According to a book called The Rules of Female Millionaires, the first step toward becoming a millionaire is challenging the limits set by the present conditions. These women say that when they overcame the limits, firmly planted the seeds of dreams and visions in the field of their minds, and fertilized the soil with patience, determination, and passion, they finally gained the fruit of success. It is now time for such tales to emerge from Korean-American women.
The t-shirts have the flags of competing nations printed on them, as well as those of the other Latin American countries, who, although they did not make it to the World Cup, still share the love of soccer. These t-shirts are extremely popular among her Latino customers, who make up the majority of her clientele. She has brought the World Cup craze from Korea to L.A., creating an opportunity for a Korean-American president of a travel agency to form a close bond with her Latino customers.
When I said to her, What a great idea! Would you say that only a woman, with her unique sensitivity, could have come up with such an idea? the female president, who is in her 40s, merely responded, I always try to satisfy the needs of my customers. The most difficult part of business is marketing.
Many business experts say that the traditional roles of women as mother and wife, which involve taking care of the family, raising the children, and housekeeping, correspond to the elements necessary in business. The instinctive ability of women to know the wants and expectations of another person and to satisfy them, can be a crucial weapon in the business arena.
However, despite such advantages, business remains a field in which disparities between men and women are especially great. Although the number of businesswomen has rapidly increased in the 1990s, the size of female-owned businesses is still much smaller than that of male-owned businesses. In particular, most enterprises owned by first-generation Korean-American women have failed to grow beyond the level of a small-scale business.
According to a study published by the Community Development Technology Center last week, business ventures undertaken by Korean-American women are particularly small in size and have a lower potential for development than those undertaken by other minority women. According to the organizations analysis of African-American, Hispanic, Korean-American, Chinese-American, and Vietnamese-American female business owners in L.A. and Orange County, a typical Korean-American businesswoman is someone who is in her 50s and owns a small business with less than five employees, with the sole purpose of making a living.
I wanted to get out of a glass ceiling and develop my own business ideas, said an African-American woman.
Chinese-American and Vietnamese-American women tended to want to own their own businesses.
A Hispanic woman said, I wanted to escape a futureless, low-paying job and create a more prosperous life for myself.
Compared to these other minority women, the motivation of Korean-American women for starting a business is much too passive.
The research also shows that Korean-American women utilize the internet and other new technology less than other groups; they also rank low when it comes to business networking and attending workshops and conferences, which led to the studys conclusion that the present condition of businesses owned by Korean-American women will not improve in the near future. Why cant we be more active in our business ventures? I asked a few Korean-American businesswomen.
Its difficult for our generation. Theres a language barrier, and its hard at our age to learn computer skills and keep up with the newest technology. Its good enough for us to have earned living and raised our children, said a Korean-American woman.
In order to expand your business, you have to have the courage to take risks, but women arent good at that. We have to check everything twicewere Safety First. Our businesses may not grow big and successful, but we never go bankrupt.
They also pointed out children and housekeeping as additional obstacles, but I think the main problem lies in their low expectations as businesswomen. When men first start working, they envision themselves as a future CEO of their company, while women tend to set their standards according to the highest position occupied by another woman. The level of expectations that women have in their own businesses is no different.
According to a book called The Rules of Female Millionaires, the first step toward becoming a millionaire is challenging the limits set by the present conditions. These women say that when they overcame the limits, firmly planted the seeds of dreams and visions in the field of their minds, and fertilized the soil with patience, determination, and passion, they finally gained the fruit of success. It is now time for such tales to emerge from Korean-American women.