Via Bizwomen (March 15, 2021) - Recovering from the pandemic’s setbacks is taking women-owned businesses three times longer, on average, than businesses owned by men, according to a recent study by Freshbooks.
The study is yet another that sheds light on how women business owners have struggled to regain their footing following the immediate shock of pandemic lockdowns, with many also managing care for family members, their children’s remote learning and household tasks.
Via CBS News (February 23, 2021) — As the coronavirus continues to batter U.S. small businesses, new data from tax-prep service H&R Block suggests Black-owned firms are taking the biggest hit.
H&R Block's survey is the latest in a catalog of research detailing how Black-owned businesses have struggled in the past year.
A Main Street Alliance/Color of Change poll released in October found that only 40% of Black business owners expected to remain open over the ensuing six months, compared with 46% of Asian respondents, 48% of Latinx owners and 55% of Whites.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that small business ownership in the U.S. dropped 22% between February 2020 and April 2020, but Black ownership dropped 41% — the greatest decline among all racial groups during the depths of the pandemic.
Thousands of Black businesses have already closed for good. Part of the struggle for Black businesses stems from their difficulty securing bank loans during the first wave of the pandemic, while many report being left out of the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal lending initiative geared to smaller employers.
Via CNBC (February 18, 2021) — When the pandemic first slammed the country last March, Iya Karade was one of countless small-business owners who had to shut their doors.
Her Orange, New Jersey-based gymnastics studio, Athletic Arts Academy, didn’t reopen until July — and then, it was only at 25% capacity.
“The word pivot became synonymous with survival,” said Karade, 54, who started her business in 2014 in the hopes of bringing gymnastics to kids in her urban area.
That meant conducting virtual classes and, once she did reopen, adding skateboarding and roller skating to her offerings.
She is still at 25% capacity since many families are staying home, may be afraid to come or live in multi-generational households — which means they have to be careful of putting older relatives in harm’s way.
Whether she can survive another year under these conditions depends on many variables, such as the flexibility of her landlord.
“It depends on me getting more funding,” Karade said.
Almost a year into the pandemic, many businesses, especially Black-owned ones, are trying to stay afloat.
About one-third, or 37%, of Black small-business owners said they can survive more than a year under current conditions, versus 59% of White small-business owners and 55% of Hispanic small-business owners, according to the latest quarterly CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey.
Additionally, 15% said their business has been temporarily shuttered due to the pandemic and has not reopened yet. In comparison, 8% of White small-business owners reported the same. The survey was conducted Jan. 25-31 using the SurveyMonkey platform and included responses from just over 2,100 small-business owners across the country.
NEW YORK, NY (October 5, 2017) excerpt from SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS - Getting funding for your small business is essential but not always as straightforward as you might think. Here are 7 things about funding sources you might not know about but should.
You need to keep a positive ending balance. Hanna Kassis works for Segway Financial. He says a small business should not only have money in a bank account before they apply for a loan, but a specific amount at month’s end.
“Lenders want to see that you’ve got a positive ending balance,” he says. “Say you’re anticipating needing a merchant cash advance at the end of the month, go put $500 dollars in your bank account.”
Your personal credit score affects your business financing. Many small businesses like sole proprietors don’t know this when they try to get financing. However, if you’ve been through a personal event like a divorce that has dented your personal credit, your ability to get a loan can be affected.
Having a good business plan will help tip things in your favor.
BABSON PARK, MA (October 3, 2017) excerpt from CISION - Over the past year, 163 million women were starting businesses across 74 economies worldwide—this according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2016/17 Women's Report released today.
"This not only shows the magnitude of impact women entrepreneurs have across the globe, but highlights the contribution they make toward the growth and well-being of their societies," said Babson College Professor and report co-author Donna Kelley. "Women entrepreneurs provide incomes for their families, employment for those in their communities, and products and services that bring new value to the world around them."
Among the 63 economies surveyed in both this and the last report, GEM found that Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) among women increased by 10 percent, and the gender gap (ratio of women to men participating in entrepreneurship) narrowed by 5 percent.
These same economies show an 8 percent increase in women's ownership of established businesses, and a near 10 percent increase in women's opportunity perceptions across Europe, North America, and Asia.
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