Strategies and resilience of female entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia

¶ … Saudi women entrepreneurship

Saudi women of the 21st century have progressed in marked ways compared to women of a decade ago. Nonetheless, female entrepreneurs are saddled with quite a few difficulties that prevent them from progressing and impede their social and personal life as well as making their vocational progress extremely challenging. The research will investigate Saudi women entrepreneurs social role in developing Saudi economy and challenges facing them.

Women are faced with tremendous difficulties. Barriers include lack of market studies, lack of governmental support, lack of coordination among government departments, lack of support from the community, society restrictions and oligopolistic attitude of the investors (Asad Sadi, & Al-Ghazali, 2010). To overcome all of this and proceed with one's dreams, one must be remarkably stubborn and the women must be extremely resilient to overcome these difficulties. That they are motived by self-actualization is one matter. But entrepreneurs in this position need far more than self-actualization; they need perseverance, persistence, and a particular type of resilience and invulnerability to pain and suffering that few, in normal circumstances, possess. All entrepreneurs have to possess a special mindset in starting and maintaining their business, since all business involves stubbornness and a mindset of courage and resilience (McElwee & Al-Riyami, 2003; Starr & Yudkin, 1996). These women not only have the normal challenges of the regular entrepreneur but challenges far beyond that, where their very country, friends, family, and competitors all oppose them and often attempt to make them fail (Syed Zamberi, 2011).. The question of this study then is to inquire into what exactly makes them surmount these difficulties; how they surmount these difficulties; and kind of techniques that they use that enable them to do so.

Relevance of the study

I see contributions of this study as being multiple from applying to any entrepreneur in any regular circumstance who attempts to put together and maintain a business, to any and every woman who would like help in dealing with challenging situations. Chances of businesses succeeding are slim and females have even more hurdles than males in launching successful businesses. Much devolves on perseverance and on obtaining and maintaining a 'thick' skin (Cohoon, J. et al., 2010)). These female entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia who seem to be able to persevere despite their incorrigible difficulties present a sample of remarkable individuals who would be worthy of study. Investigating their strategies can help other women similarly deal with obstacles in their paths.

The research design

The study will include a survey and interviewing a certain number of Saudi women who have been running their own business for a minimum of 3 years. Interviews will be open-ended and will include assessment of the amount and quality of support these women receive and details of the problems that they face, and will focus on investigating strategies that the women use to overcome their difficulties and the mindset that they employ to do so. I would also investigate to which extent such techniques are external (e.g. help from family, friends, affluence or influence) and to which extent techniques are internal (e.g. from the individuals' own internal resources). I will then see whether any common themes can be drawn indicating instructive generalities. The study will include women from Riyadh from different socio-economic groups, as well as educational backgrounds in order to gain as confirmable and reliable conclusions as possible.

Time frame

The entire study would take place between 6 to 8 weeks.

Budget

I'm expecting a low cost financially. The challenge would be gathering such information in a short time.