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Entrepreneurship has been a gender-defined phenomenon for several decades. It has been presented as a typically male domain which for its demanding performance requires typical male characteristics. In this paper, we follow the suggestions of researchers of female entrepreneurs and focus on the research of three groups of female entrepreneurs. We propose that female entrepreneurs in different life stages have distinguished forms of human and social capital, and we apply the factors of those capitals to be measured. We observe the influence of parents, maternity as a metaphor for family involvement and family responsibilities, friends, and the broader environment on social capital. We discussed female entrepreneurship using two functions - as emotional support and incentives and as an instrumental social capital that provides access to information, resources and business partners. We added previous entrepreneurial experience, the level of education attained, business knowledge acquired at school and specific training, industry experience, previous managerial experience to the human capital function. With our model, we introduced the theory of life expectancy of women into entrepreneurship theory, which brings us closer to understanding the external influences on entrepreneurial aspirations and motivations of women of different ages. Keywords: female entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurs, social capital, life spans, career development phases, 1. INTRODUCTION When choosing the topic of female entrepreneurship as a field of research, there is some doubt present about the rationale of doing so, since entrepreneurship is a concept [...]

Byline: Jaka Vadnjal, Marina Letonja Slovenia, as one of the most successful transition economies in Europe, has become attractive for immigration. As the most developed republic of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia has traditionally been a destination for economic immigration coming from areas with lower economic standards. Albanians seems to play the most significant socioeconomic role among all minorities evidenced. Their ethnic minority has rather closed and parallel cultural and economic systems. This may be partly a consequence of the linguistic difference. They are seldom publicly recognised in ethnic associations and rarely included into ordinary business chains. Eleven Albanian businesses, ten of which are regarded as family businesses, from four different cities were examined in this paper. This was a case study qualitative research approach. The data collection was based on interviews with the family bosses and some family members. The knowledge of Albanian businesses in Slovenia has been limited to mere anecdotic observations and interpretations. The findings will improve understanding of the specific life and business models of this ethnic minority. The study is the first contribution to better understanding the ethnically based entrepreneurship in Slovenia and probably one of the first pieces of research of its kind in European transition economies.