BEING naturally good at multi-tasking, it makes sense that women have the skills to run a successful business.

Yet they are massively under-represented in UK enterprise, according to Business Link.

To help redress the balance, the business information advice and support service invited women to follow their entrepreneurial dreams by attending a seminar called What's Stopping You? at the Apollo Hotel, in Basingstoke.

Deborah Wyatt, Business Link's director for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said that although women make up approximately 50 per cent of the working population, only a small minority are business owners.

The free event, aimed at women considering working for themselves, offered advice for those with little or no business experience, giving attendees a chance to find out what is involved and to meet others who have already set up on their own.

Four seminars were offered, covering the highs and lows of starting a business, getting enough money to start a business, creating the right image and how to use the internet to build an enterprise.

Mrs Wyatt said: "There is a vibrant business community here in Basingstoke, which has start-up rates for business women equivalent to the rest of the country.

"It's difficult for anybody to set up in business, but sometimes women face additional challenges - not least childcare responsibilities.

"Some may have been out of the workplace for several years, having had children, so they are not naturally transitioning from being at work to running their own business. They are actually transitioning from being at home to running their business, which can be a challenge.

"Sometimes they need additional support, such as information and communication technologies (ICT) and finance, and also confidence skills."

More than 80 women attended What's Stopping You?, including 21-year-old Grace Isoa, from Chineham, who is thinking of opening an Afro-Caribbean salon in Basingstoke with her mother.

Miss Isoa admitted she did not know much about Business Link prior to the event, but was keen to find out what support and opportunities are available to budding entrepreneurs such as herself.

Impressed with the event, she said: "It is fantastic, especially for women to put their small business ideas together.

"Not only are you sharing your business idea, but you are also networking and finding clients."