Lack of support for women business leaders is costing the economy billions

The UK Small Business Commissioner Liz Barclay says that a failure to encourage, finance and support female entrepreneurs is costing the economy billions.

Three years and seven months into her role as UK Small Business Commissioner, Liz Barclay’s key advice for female business leaders is to ‘join a story-telling workshop’. She stresses that strong confidence and communication are key to overcoming cash issues and accessing vital support mechanisms.  

The UK Small Business Commissioner is a government-funded independent public body that helps small businesses tackle late payments and unfair payment practices. Through this role, Liz has gained incredible insight into SME challenges and opportunities. She is adamant that self-belief, access to finance, and a strong support network are key to women starting businesses at the same rate as men. Telling a compelling story is instrumental to this. ‘You need to be able to tell people what you do’ stresses Liz, ‘the language you use in how you communicate the impact of your product/service, gives you the confidence to move forward with determination and resilience.’ 

Confidence 

Coming from an entrepreneurial household, Liz credits her family as her earliest role models. But while her parents told her she could do anything, there were many outside of the home that said the opposite. Liz says that confidence plays a major role in the success of an entrepreneur and because of this, she has become hyper aware of the language used around women in business.

‘I think part of the confidence of women in business comes from the way we talk about them. We talk about women having soft skills, as if they are not as valuable. But these are not soft skills, they are core skills’ 

Liz Barclay
UK Small Business Commissioner

A fifth of registered companies in the UK are led by women with an additional 1.6 million female freelancers, many of whom choose to be self-employed because they are deemed unemployable by the the wider workforce. Liz says that bringing up children, taking care of elderly parents, and other responsibilities that fall onto female business leaders ‘do not make women unemployable, they make them work differently’. And while care giving responsibilities do challenge typical working patterns (that many say are now outdated), they also give care givers a set of core skills that can be invaluable in the work place. A failure to support care givers is a big contributor to the reason that there is currently ‘£250 billion missing from the UK economy’(Alison Rose Review, 2023).

Funding 

In the UK, 20% of SME’s are ran by women, but only around 8% of investment goes to female-led businesses. ‘You can build capability as long as you’ve got the financial backing and the confidence to go for it’ affirms Liz. She believes that there are not enough women on investor panels. This leads to a lack of understanding of female business owners, and gender-based biased investment decisions.  

Although it is natural for investors to be risk-averse, Liz stresses that we must support female business leaders to ‘put forward a compelling enough argument that makes the investor see it as an opportunity rather than a risk’ (see our article on this here). Women can do this by building a strong business story and communicating it confidently to investors.

1. Lead with the market opportunity

Start strong by highlighting the size, growth, and momentum of the market you’re entering. Investors need to see the upside early. Show them there’s a real, scalable demand, not just a great idea. Quantify it with credible data, trends, and forecasts.

‘This is a £500 million market growing 12% annually, and we’re perfectly positioned to capture it.‘

2. De-risk the narrative with evidence

If investors are likely to focus on what could go wrong, beat them to it. Proactively outline potential risks but follow up immediately with how you’ve mitigated them through traction, partnerships, or expertise.

‘Yes, customer acquisition costs are a challenge, but we’ve already brought them down 40% via strategic partnerships.‘

3. Focus on vision and execution

A common bias is assuming women are more ‘risk-averse’ or less growth-focused. Counter this by confidently articulating your long-term vision and how you’re making it happen. Show you can dream big and deliver.

‘Our five-year goal is market leadership and here’s our phased roadmap to get there.‘

4. Leverage your lived experience

If your business solves a problem you’ve personally encountered, use that as a superpower. Investors may perceive this as niche or emotional, but reframing it as insider insight into an untapped market can flip the narrative.

‘We understand our customer better than anyone because we are our customer. That gives us a competitive edge.‘

5. Close with confidence — ask for what you want

Don’t downplay your ask or hedge your bets to sound ‘reasonable.’ Investors respect founders who know what they need and why. Clearly state your funding requirements, what it unlocks, and the ROI they can expect.

‘We’re raising £500,000 to scale our operations, triple our customer base, and hit £1.5 million in revenue next year.‘

A large proportion of female-run businesses are on the smaller end and in turn face the highest barriers in accessing funding. Due to their size and ‘asking for too little’, they are seen as a high risk. Liz is adamant that we must change the language around investment to ensure that it focuses on ‘growth and opportunity’ rather than just ‘high potential’ to tackle this. In addition to funding, women must have access to peer mentors to turn to for guidance, of which there are few.   

Support 

When preparing to sit in front of the right investors, at the right time, and confidently answer their questions, female business leaders immensely benefit from good mentors. Liz says that often the business does not even need funding, and what it really needs is an advisory board or mentor to flag that cash is not always the answer. Women seek to network with other women too and therefore have a smaller pool of support to dip into for advice and information. 

Liz notes that different mentors will be relevant at different stages of the business journey, and it is important to have this access and variety. Support and mentorship played a monumental role in Liz accepting the Small Business Commissioner role, as she had a wide network of people encouraging her that she is the perfect fit.  

Bringing it home  

Once women have the self-belief, the right information to pitch for investment, and a strong support network, ‘we need to be persuasive and compelling in our pitching’. Liz brings it all back to confident storytelling and communicating impact. Clearly outlining your mission and value in ways that appeal to your employees, clients, and potential investors can make or break your business.  

Liz stresses that clear and confident communication is especially important in payment culture. The smaller the business, the less likely it is to push and say ‘you haven’t paid me on time’ to big clients. Many smaller businesses are run by women, people with disabilities, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds. For myriad reasons they are uniquely impacted by a lack of confidence and often do not have the confidence to say ‘no’ to larger clients, even when they offer unfavourable payment terms. It is important as a small business leader to communicate the detrimental impact of late payment to big clients. Without the confidence of knowing when the money is going to hit their accounts, SMEs are unable to invest into growth, upskilling, product development, and retention. This ultimately has a negative impact on the big businesses, due to disruptions to their supply chain.  

Final thoughts 

To grow in confidence, score funding, and surround themselves with the right support, Liz urges businesswomen to: 

• confidently develop and communicate their story.

• ask questions.

• look for business-related information and support on gov.uk.

• ask people they are inspired by to mentor them. 

• seek out and join strong networks. 

• be clear about where they are going but don’t let that stop them from accepting emerging opportunities.

• always learn from their mistakes. 

And ‘if you’ve got a payment problem, do not take legal action before you’ve talked to us!’.

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