LONDON, June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Female business owners are more likely to survive tough economic times than men thanks to their pragmatic and open approach to business, according to Business Link in London.

A vox pop of 300 businesswomen attending a Business Link in London event later today on dealing with economic downturn, reveals that women's slow and steady approach to business puts them in a strong position to be successful in a difficult economic climate.

Business Link in London, a business support organisation that helped over 28,000 female-owned businesses in the Capital last year, cites a number of reasons why women stand a better chance of riding the storm during tough economic times. A summary of the key strengths that give women the edge include:

- Looking ahead - Women are meticulous planners but are also good at improvising should their original plans need to change - Seeking support - Women are more likely to seek independent advice than men before disaster strikes - Speaking out - Women are typically better at communicating when the going gets tough and are happy to share their experiences, both good and bad, with their peers - Modest motivations - Women are often less driven by high monetary success and instead value camaraderie, positive relationships and the opportunity to teach and learn

Dr Abigael San, a psychologist specialising in gender studies comments:

"Women aren't afraid to hold up their hands and ask for help when needed. They are willing to share their knowledge and seek guidance to save them becoming overwhelmed by situations which could make them feel out of their depth. The provision and seeking of support promotes the building of trust-based relationships and fosters confidence - all of which are important during periods of economic difficulty."

Dr San's comments are echoed by some of the 300 delegates attending BLiL's 'We Mean Business' event later today. Comments included:

Jill Shepherd, Bamboo Learning: "Women are great at multi-tasking and are generally are very good at coping with stress. Women are also better at holding small teams together through tough times - as small businesses are often much like the family unit."

Bola Akinseye, Makeover Designs, "Women have good communication and listening skills and are naturally strong at nurturing and maintaining relationships. These are fundamental skills that women can use to their advantage when things get tough - particularly when dealing in customer service markets."

Gina Negus, Alternative Solutions: "Women usually have to plan forward to create a good work-life balance so this way of thinking often filters into their approach to business."

Katherine Leopold, owner of recruitment consultancy, PA London: "Women tend to grow their businesses organically rather than making testosterone-driven decisions on equity funding."

Lesley Lant, owner of marketing consultancy, Perennial Marketing: "There is less competitiveness amongst women and as such, we're more open to sharing best practice and support each other."

Fran Currie, head of the client service manager team, Business Link in London concludes:

"The women that we support on a daily basis continually prove themselves to be successful improvisers with huge amounts of intuition and self-determination; key ingredients for business success. However, as the credit crunch continues to bite, it's more important than ever that women seek independent advice to ensure that their businesses are 'crunch-proof'."

Notes to editors:

About the 'We mean business' event

Business Link in London is hosting the 'We mean business' event on Thursday, 12 June between 4pm and 9pm at the Guoman Tower Hotel, St Katherine's Way, London. The event is designed for established, female-owned businesses that want to develop a strategy to survive an economic downturn. The event is a celebration of what women are achieving, despite tough times in the economy. You can view more information at:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.l1=5000834999&topicI...

(Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove the space if one exists.)

Expert speakers will include: - Jennette Arnold, Chair of the London Assembly and Deputy Chair of the Business Management and Administration Committee. - Liz Jackson, Founder of Great Guns. Despite losing her sight at he age of 26, Liz went on to found her own marketing consultancy, which now employs over 130 people and has an annual turnover of over GBP2.5 million. - Penny Power, Founder of Ecademy. Penny founded specialist online network Ecademy in 1998, the site now has over one million world wide users and helps business people connect both online and through a series of networking events.

To arrange to speak to Business Link in London, Dr Abigael San or any of the female entrepreneurs mentioned in this press release or to attend the event, please contact Helen Ablett, Kellie Reed or Susanna Loughnane at Octopus Communications for Business Link in London on +44(0)845-37-00-655 or blil@octopuscomms.net