Women entrepreneurs are the fastest-growing segment of business owners in the U.S. But, compared to male-owned businesses, women-owned businesses generallyfail at a higher rate, employ fewer people and generate less revenue.

The reasons for the disparity are complicated and varied: difficulty in accessing capital, entrenched social norms, and differences in the industries male- and female-owned businesses tend to cluster are a few of the reasons behind the imbalance.

But some factors may have more to do with women’s internal landscape than external conditions.

“I spend 90% of my time traveling around the world talking with women and women entrepreneurs and exploring the challenges to women starting, growing or scaling a business. What I’ve found is that the number one reason is the lack of confidence,” said Ingrid Vanderveldt, founder of Empowering a Billion Women by 2020 (EBW2020) and Dell’s former entrepreneur-in-residence.

But, she added, “the antidote to a lack of confidence is simply action. We take action when we have mentors. This is why EBW2020 made it our top priority to connect women to mentors through our free mentor matching program”

Historically, men have held the helm in the business world, providing visible examples of what it means to be a leader. But, Vanderveldt said, that means women often struggle to find other female role models who can share their career paths and experiences.

“That’s what’s keeping women from coming in even more and from elevating to the corner office,” she said. “We have a lack of role models but there certainly are amazing women out there creating amazing companies.”

In a thoughtful post on Re/code, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy echoed that sentiment, highlighting the dearth of examples of women entrepreneurs in recent press coverage. Her piece focused on the tech industry, but her arguments could be applied across the business world.

Women entrepreneurs may be harder to spot in the media but they’re making powerful strides in real life. Here, six of them offer up their tips for taking your business to the next level:

MICHELLE GARCIA, OWNER OF HEIRLOOM CATERING
DENVER, CO

There is no one who owns a company who knows all the answers or has all the skills. The best advice I could ever give anyone is to never be afraid to ask other people for their help or advice.

I have definitely not launched my business by myself. I’ve had a ton of support and a ton of great people who have supported me. You’re always going to find yourself at a roadblock, whether it’s learning about a sales tax, developing a new website, or creating a new marketing plan. Always just ask for help. It’s so simple and it sounds so trite but it’s true. People want to see a person be successful. The key to success is to help others succeed.

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