Realizing dreams

Young female entrepreneurs in dialog with their elders

Margarete Kriz-Zwittkovits and the entrepreneurs Sissy Marczell and Susanne Jehl (from left to right).(Bild: WK Wien)

From the youngest to the oldest female entrepreneur in the district: where are the similarities, where are the differences? The Vienna Economic Chamber has already held generation talks in several districts, and the "Krone" was one of them in Währing.

Vienna recently broke the record for business start-ups. Encouragingly, the proportion of women is also increasing. Particularly noteworthy are the 4th and 12th districts, where the proportion of women exceeds the 50 percent mark, with a peak value of 54.1 percent in the 12th district and 52.3 percent in the 4th district.

Chamber of Commerce with generation talks 
In order to drive this trend forward, the Chamber of Commerce's "Women in Business" initiative has set itself the task of supporting female entrepreneurs. This also includes the Generation Talks, where a young female entrepreneur meets an experienced one.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stock Adobe)

In the 18th district, it was Hildegard Winkler (81), who runs the only insect store in Austria, and fitness trainer Timna Blaschek (22). Although she could have retired long ago, Winkler is still in her store every day.

Timna Blaschek (left) is a fitness trainer and nutrition coach.(Bild: WK Wien)

Timna Blaschek, who started her own business at the age of 21, also has a zest for action. "I've been going to the gym since I was 13, it's my passion and I want to pass it on," says the young woman. And how did those around her react to her early self-employment? "My parents were worried, but they still supported me. As a young woman, you're often not taken seriously," says the trainer.

Women support each other
Moving to the first district. Here, too, almost half of the entrepreneurs are women. One of them is 75-year-old Sissy Marczell, who left her long career as a surgeon behind to pursue a new passion. At the age of 50, she trained as a model and opened her own fashion boutique in the first district. Contrast this with 28-year-old Susanne Jehl, who founded her multimedia agency just last year. Susanne is particularly active on social media. All female entrepreneurs have one thing in common: they are bursting with drive and courage. 

Margarete Kriz-Zwittkovits, regional chairwoman of Frau in der Wirtschaft Wien (FiW), is a successful entrepreneur herself.(Bild: WK Wien)

Interview

„Frauen sind oft unsicher, Unternehmertum birgt Risiken“

"Krone": Ms. Kriz-Zwittkovits, you are an entrepreneur yourself, did you find it difficult to get started?
Kriz-Zwittkovits: I come from a family of entrepreneurs, my grandmother and mother were already self-employed. That was a clear advantage.

Is that a prerequisite for being a successful entrepreneur?
No, but it makes it easier because you have role models and that automatically gives you courage. Young women in particular are often insecure and entrepreneurship naturally also involves risks.

You have already held several intergenerational talks. What experiences have you had?
First of all, that there are no major differences between young and older female entrepreneurs. What has been noticed, however, is that the older women have mainly taken over a company or business for family reasons, out of obligation, so to speak. Whereas the young women are realizing their dreams. A lot has changed in this respect in recent years.

Was it more difficult for female entrepreneurs in the past?
I wouldn't say so, but financing is still a challenge. If you haven't inherited anything, it's difficult. But what applies to women then and now is that it takes courage and we want to support female entrepreneurs in this.