3. Findings

personality traits of successful entrepreneurs lies in the impact of non-psychological factors including demographics, training and experience, and this has been pointed out in the literature [20, 21]. Brandstätter's [22] study revealed that in order to become and continue as an entrepreneur, one needs to possess some distinctive character attributes such as self-motivation; a moderate risk propensity; an internal locus of control, as well as a personal talent for innovation,

In many of the women entrepreneurship literature, availability of financial resources and government support are indicated as important external environment factors limiting the success of women entrepreneurs ([7, 23, 24]). In a study dedicated to the challenges facing women entering entrepreneurship, Still [25] identified three different classes of barrier that also include availability of financial resources. The first class is composed of the motivational factors that push women to establish their own businesses, including creating the confidence necessary in starting a venture, finding proper sources of help and advice, financial resources, coping with risk and access to networks. The second class of barrier again includes motivational factors, but this time the pull factors include women's lack of access to finance, mentors, knowledge and information. The third barrier class refers to the youth of such entrepreneurs, which elicits discrimination on the basis of age by consumers, insufficient family and peer

In light of this literature review, the motives, personal characteristics and challenges facing

A phenomenological approach allows researchers to get close to participants, penetrate their realities and generate an understanding of the research in question (Bygrave, 1989) [26]. Within this paradigm, an in-depth interview was identified as the most appropriate method to the purpose of the study. The interview guide for the study was designed by a panel of experts, including two entrepreneurship and strategy professors, and one active female entrepreneur. Once piloted, the interviews were conducted face-to-face for a period of about an hour and all tape-recorded and transcribed. The purposive sampling technique was used for this study, since it is a non-random technique that does not need underlying theories or a set number of participants and it enables the researcher to select individuals and groups who are proficient and well-informed within a phenomenon of interest and are willing to assist with the relevant research [27]. As a result, 10 women entrepreneurs who are acknowledged successes and are

The interviews were semi-structured to enable women entrepreneurs talk about range of topics but also specific questions on three key issues of the study: (1) the motivational factors of the respondents to become entrepreneurs, (2) their personality traits and (3) challenges they

pro-activity, a high tolerance for stress and self-efficacy.

1.4. The challenges facing female entrepreneurs

144 Active Learning - Beyond the Future

support, and the lack of proper business advice.

2. Methodology

successful female entrepreneurs in North Cyprus are investigated.

active members of the Business Association in North Cyprus were selected.

#### 3.1. The demographic profile of the female entrepreneurs

The demographic characteristics of those interviewed are presented in Table 1. The mean age of the sample was 46.1, and 80% of the women had a university degree, while the remaining 20% had completed high school. The marital status of the respondents is broken down as 80% married, and 20% divorced. Half of the respondents were active in both the service and productive sectors, while 30% were active only in the service segment and 20% were involved in trading businesses.


Table 1. Demographic profile of respondents.

30% of the female entrepreneurs interviewed were in service businesses such as boutique hotels, car rentals and insurance. 20% were in trading businesses covering the importation of fruit and vegetables or textiles. The majority of this group had both production and service functions within their concerns. Some had had operations in both areas since opening their businesses as they were active both in the production and distribution of their goods. Many of them had added a function when expanding their businesses. 30% of the entrepreneurs had the minimum 5 employees necessary for inclusion in this study, and 2 entrepreneurs had staffs of 70 and 125, respectively, and both are involved in large-scale production and service businesses.
