Demographic Profile of the Participants

Among the women interviewed 6 of them were Iranian, 6 were Turkish and 7 of them were German women entrepreneurs and detail of their demographic information can be reached in Table 1. (See Table 1) The average age of Turkish interviewees was 33.3 with the youngest being 24 and the oldest 52. Among 6 Turkish entrepreneurs 4 of them were married, however only 2 had children and 2 of them were single. One of the single interviewees was also living with her partner.

Average age of Iranian participants was 50.3, which was much higher than Turkish participants and among them only one had no children. 4 of them had 2 children and one had 5 children. All of the participants were married except one who got a divorce. The average age of the participants considered, Germany with 37.5 stands between Iranian and Turkish participants. Among 7 interviewees 3 of them were married and one was living her partner and the rest were single. All 3 married women had children.

Job experience of Turkish participants varies from 4 up to 18 years with the average of 10.6 years which is also related to their relatively younger age; however the majority of them have started working in their early 20s. The youngest one to start working entered the business life since she was 17 years old and the oldest to enter business life was 34 years old. 5 out of 6 of the interviewees were graduated from university and one was still studying at the university at the time of the interview.

German women participants averagely had 13.7 years of experience. The lowest experience was 3 years and the highest was 27 years in Germany. Their education level also varies but all of them had higher education. 3 of them had bachelor’s degree, 3 had Master’s degree and one had a PhD. German participants seem to have

started entering the business world after their university education mostly in their mid-twenties.

Job experience of Iranian participants was much more than their counterparts in Turkey and Germany, which also can be due to their age which was more than the other participants. Their job experience also varies from 7 years till up to 38 years with the average of 25.5 years. Iranian women also had different educational backgrounds. The lowest education level belonged to IR5 who was just graduated from primary school and the highest level belonged to one with a PhD in dentistry.

However another participant was also studying for PhD at the time of the interview.

4.9.1.1. Business profile of Turkish Participants

Turkish Participants were active in different sectors. Taking a look at the sectors they were active in, it was inferred that service sector was the most common among other with 3 of the participants being active in service sector. The youngest business was active for 6 months at the time of the interview and the oldest one has been active for 18 years. All businesses were small scale businesses with a couple of employees (from 1 to 15).

Looking at their previous job experiences it was seen that none of the Turkish entrepreneurs have had any job experience related to their business prior to their entrepreneurial experience and only half of them have had some sort of managerial experience also 2 of the entrepreneurs haven’t had any job experience before establishing their own business

4.9.1.2. Business profile of German Participants

Among 7 German women interviewed, 5 of them were active as consultants and all of them asserted that they didn’t have any permanent employees in their businesses and when needed just used the help of some freelancers. German participants’

businesses were also small in scale. Previous job experience considered, it can be seen that 2 of the interviewees have had some prior experience regarding their current business before establishing their venture. The youngest business has been active for a year and the oldest one was active for 20 years. All participants have had some prior job experience and the majority of them have had some experiences in management before launching their own business.

48 Table 1: Demographic Background of the Participants

participants Age Marital Status Children Eduacation Job experience Employees Nature of Business Business active years Prior Job experience Management Experience

TR1 31 Married 0 Bachelor's degree 14 10 Restaurant 3.5 services Yes

TR2 25 Single 0 Bachelor's degree 4 15 Nutrition 4 interior designer Yes

TR3 52 Married 2 Bachelor's degree 18 5 Pastry shop 18 - No

TR4 27 Married 0 Bachelor's degree 7 2 Women Jewelry 6 Personal Assistant No

TR5 41 Married 2 Bachelor's degree 15 1 Dry Cleaner 0.5 Real Estate Yes

TR6 24 Single 0 High school degree/ student 6 8 Beauty Salon 6 - No

GR1 27 Single 0 Master's degree 3 0 Yoga Retreat 1 Yoga Instructur/ psychologist Yes

GR2 32 Married 0 PhD 7 5 Consulting Comapany 2 Researcher/lecturer No

GR3 46 Married 2 Master's degree 20 0 Consulting/Trainer 7 Project manager Yes

GR4 45 Living with a Partner 3 Bachelor's degree/ state exam 21 7 Pharmacy 20 pharmacy employee No

GR5 47 Married 2 (step-children) Bachelor's degree 27 0 Consulting 15 HR/Sales Yes

GR6 31 Single 0 Master's degree 6.5 0 Consulting 2.5 HR Yes

GR7 35 Single 0 Bachelor's degree 12 0 consulting 6 Telecommunication employee Yes

IR1 49 Married 2 High School Graduate 27 3 Beauty Salon 17 Hairdresser No

IR2 50 Married 2 Bachelor's degree 23 12 Import/Export 15 Coaching/Manager Yes

IR3 51 Married 2 PhD (in Dentistry) 22 8 Dental Clinic 4 Dentist No

IR4 29 Married 0 Bachelor's degree 7 2 Clothing design 7 Graphic designer No

IR5 66 Divorced 5 Primary school Graduate 38 200 Restaurant Chain 38 - No

IR6 60 Married 2 Master's degree /PhD student 36 60 Shipping Company 36 Employee/ Translator No

4.9.1.3. Business Profile of Iranian Participants

Iranian Participants were active in different sectors and their businesses have been active from 4 years up to 38 years. Number of the employees also varies and one business with 200 and another with 60 employers had the most employees in total among the participants; however these businesses were also the oldest among the sample. Looking at the Iranian participants’ prior job experience it can be inferred that 4 of them have had some experience related to their current business before starting their own business. However one has never had any experience before establishing her own restaurant chain. Finally among Iranian participants only one had some managerial experience and the rest have never had any experience prior to their business venture.