Factors Contributing to the Success of Rural Women’s Entrepreneurship in North of Iran

    The purpose of this study is to identify factors that contribute to the success of rural women’s entrepreneurship. The statistical population includes entrepreneur rural women in three provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan. The required data were collected by questionnaire. The research findings show the average age of women entrepreneurs is 38 and almost half of them were the first or second child of their family and their father’s main occupation was agriculture. The majority of women concentrated their activities on agriculture, livestock breeding, handicrafts, and services. Prioritizing those with most significant influence on the respondent’s success indicated that family was the most important one. The most important motive that induces the women to initiate an enterprise and to succeed was to improve living conditions and income of their family. From the respondent’s point of view the possibility is more available to estimate people’s need and demand for products and services in comparison to other factors. From the point of psychological characteristics, women entrepreneurs were generally visionary, self sufficient and progressive. More than half of the women entrepreneurs participated in entrepreneurship training workshops. From the viewpoint of participation in social activity, most of them were a member of cooperatives. The most frequently used channels of communication to acquire knowledge about their occupation were TV, visit each other enterprise, and participation in training and extension workshops. Rural women entrepreneurs level of success was more in Mazandarn than in the other two provinces. Women who emphasized emphatically their father’s influence on their success were on average succeeded more than those who perceived otherwise. There is a positive and significant relationship between the level of success of women entrepreneurs and motivations to generate income, contribute to the well-being of the family, and using internet, TV, and radio. There is a significant and negative relationship between women’s success and being an autonomist or profit seeking individual.    6