LAS VEGAS, NV (October 5, 2018) - Nevada has seen the most growth of all states in women-owned businesses in the last ten years, alongside Las Vegas ranked eighth of all American cities, according to a new report by American Express.
“We have a diverse community that means different markets to cater to. Part of the reason why we have a lot of women entrepreneurs here is because they see a blend of necessity and opportunity,” said reporter Nina Porciuncula.
BOSTON, MA (October 1, 2018) - Fewer than 10% of venture capital-backed startups had a female co-founder, and fewer than 1% had an African-American female cofounder in 2017, according to a recent report by Pitchbook. The study also determined that 75% of all venture capital went to companies in California, Massachusetts and New York.
Increasing access to venture capital is imperative in 2018, to empower and maximize the potential and impact of entrepreneurs of all genders and races throughout the United States.
Despite the lack of venture capital funding, companies with a woman on the founding team outperformed all-male companies by 63% in a ten-year study by First Round Capital. Racially diverse companies outperformed industry norms by 35%, according to a McKinsey study.
LITTLE ROCK, AR (September 10, 2018) - Arkansas business owner Erin Hohnbaum launched an Instagram social movement to highlight the success of entrepreneurs.
“There are so many fascinating women doing really cool things and there needs to be a place where we can showcase that,” Hohnbaum said. “I feel like a lot of the women we look up to followed a similar path, but there are so many different paths out there for women nowadays.”
MADISON, WI (September 5, 2018) - The women-led Doyenne Group hosted the 5x5x5 pitch contest last week as part of the Forward Festival celebrating Wisconsin entrepreneurs.
“While I agree it’s been a banner year for women, in general and in Madison, female entrepreneurs still face steep challenges in the startup space, especially in tech,” said CEO Abigail Barnes, of Allergy Amulet.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (September 2, 2018) - A study of gender gaps throughout the United States determined that New Mexico has the second lowest entrepreneurship gap and third lowest executive positions gap.
TULSA, OK (August 9, 2018) - Black women-owned businesses in Oklahoma grew 160 percent from 2002-2012, a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City found.
The Kansas City Federal Reserve hosted an event for regional business owners to share their experiences and concerns. Chief among their concerns were challenges with credit, as well as lack of access to mentorships and business development information.
"You could see the palpable energy in that room when they talked about their experience as owners and what they had to go through to do what they needed to do,” said Dell Gines of the Kansas City Federal Reserve.
NEW YORK, NY (April 16, 2018) excerpt via FORBES - Female entrepreneurs face formidable challenges in starting a business and securing financing. Despite these extra hurdles, women-owned businesses are growing rapidly.
From 2002 to 2012, the number of women-owned businesses grew at 2.5 times the national average, and employment in women-owned businesses increased at 4.5 times the average rate, according to the US Census Bureau.
Forbes presents an interview Carla Harris, President of the National Women’s Business Council, offering advice and support to women business owners.
NEW YORK, NY (April 2, 2018) - The gender gap in business lending is growing, according to the State of Women-Owned Small Business Finance Study.
“Last year the average funded business loan for women-owned firms was $57,097, down from more than $99,000 in 2016,” CNBC reports. “In comparison, the average size of a business loan for male entrepreneurs was stable, at $103,604.”
This trend is worrisome for the growth of women-owned businesses, which have historically been underserved by lenders.
HOUSTON, TX (February 9, 2018) - Minority and women business owners are on the rise and inspiring new business initiatives in Houston.
Women-owned businesses in Houston grew 70.4% in the last ten years, boosting their employment by 34.5%, according to the American Express State of Women-Owned Businesses Report.
A 2016 US Census Bureau study found that 30.8% of businesses in the area are owned by minorities, ranking Houston in sixth place of all metropolitan areas in the United States.
Numerous community and business organizations are stepping up to support this surge of small businesses. The Houston Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance offers seminars and courses and fosters community among women entrepreneurs.
“We want the small-business community to know that you’re not out there alone,” WBEA President April Day says. “There are organizations here to support you, and there are small businesses that are going where you’re going and have been where you want to go.”
NEW YORK, NY (January 29, 2018) - Women-owned businesses are expanding rapidly in the United States. In 2017, 11.6 million women-owned businesses employed 9 million people and generated $1.7 trillion, according to the American Express State of Women-Owned Business Report. Revenue among women-owned companies has grown 104% in the past decade and generates more than $1 million each year.
The number of female entrepreneurs applying for loans rose to 29% in 2016, according to Rohit Arora at Forbes.
“Borrowers who previously refrained from borrowing money for expansion or capital improvements re-entered the credit markets. Because the economy has been relatively strong and because interest rates are still quite low, women entrepreneurs have shown a willingness to take on more risk by borrowing money to grow their businesses.”
Arora provides a detailed description of the most popular sources of business financing for women business owners in the US.
BABSON PARK, MA (January 22, 2018) - More than 25 million Americans are launching or operating new businesses in the past two years, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2016 United States Report by Babson College.
The influence of women in business is expanding, too - the rate of entrepreneurship among women has grown 1%, while holding steady for male entrepreneurs. Women are innovating more than ever, with 40% of female business owners introducing services or products that are new to consumers and not yet offered by competitors. Overall, Americans are developing new and groundbreaking products at the highest rate in 15 years.
NEW YORK, NY (January 16, 2018) - Women in business face unique challenges - and author Kerry Hannon at Forbes offers some valuable strategies to help small businesses thrive. Finding mentors, seeking financing, and staying curious are among her tips for developing habits for success.
Hannon’s article also emphasizes the unique strengths women may bring to work: “Many entrepreneurial successes depend on an exquisite form of human understanding and organizational leadership that women have the edge on,” author Michael W. Sonnenfeldt writes.
NEW YORK, NY (January 11, 2018) - Georgia, Florida, Maryland, California and Colorado are the top five states for women entrepreneurs, according to a study by business blog FitSmallBusiness based on statistics on women-owned businesses.
Female business owners are on the rise. “The U.S. is home to over 11.3 million female-owned businesses which employed around nine million people and generated over $1.9 trillion in 2016. Over the last nine years, the number of female-owned businesses has grown five times faster than the national average,” the article states.
FitSmallBusiness analyzed each state based on statistics including percentage of women-owned companies out of total businesses, percentage of business revenues from women-owned companies, and percentage of employees working in women-owned companies.
Read the entire article here.
WASHINGTON DC (November 10, 2017) Female business owners are on the rise, according to reports by the National Women's Business Council.
October was featured as Women's Small Business Month, marking the 29th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's signing of the Women's Business Ownership Act, creating the National Women's Business Council and ensuring that banks could no longer require women to have a male co-signer for business loans. Here's a look at some recent progress:
• From 2002 to 2012, women-owned businesses increased at a rate 2.5 times the national average: 52% vs. 20%. Employment in women-owned business grew at a rate 4.5 times the national average: 18% vs. 4%.
• In 2016 there were 11.3 million women-owned businesses in the US, with nearly 9 million employees generating more than $1.6 trillion in revenue.
The report concludes: “The growth of women business enterprises over the last ten years is unprecedented; yet, women still lag behind, in earnings and receipts, and in the amount of venture capital and other forms of equity investment that they receive. This is a unique time, in many ways a perfect storm, and it is imperative that we work harder and faster to unlock the tremendous potential of women business enterprises,” said Carla Harris, Chair, National Women’s Business Council.
NEW YORK, NY (October 10, 2016) excerpt via BUSINESS 2 COMMUNITY - Women business owners are on the rise across the United States, as entrepreneurship offers some uniquely attractive benefits.
"For one it allows them to bypass the 'glass ceiling'. The flexibility of being 'your own boss' is an environment which allows many women to thrive – you are in charge of your own career advancement!" the business blog Business 2 Community reports.
However, the blog continues: "Running a business as a woman also comes with a unique set of challenges- particularly financing. Not all women know about their resources and some don’t even bother apply for lines of credit, assuming they won’t get accepted. Instead, they rely on their own personal funding."
ROCHESTER, NY (October 6, 2017) excerpt from THE ROCHESTER BUSINESS JOURNAL - The Rochester region is open for business for women-owned enterprises, and several local female business leaders report that they have been able to find success for their companies no matter what type of industry they work in.
“The (Rochester business) climate is on fire for women,” says Lauren Dixon, chief executive officer of Victor-based ad agency Dixon Schwabl.
Dixon says that unlike some other communities, Rochester is “super-supportive of women and women-owned businesses. The mentoring and support that is going on in this community—in many other communities it is not going on to the extent that it is here.”
Christine “Chris” Whitman, the current chairman and CEO of Rochester-based package-fulfillment company Complemar, agrees.
“Rochester is very open,” she says. “There is a desire on the part of many companies to be able to find minority- and women-owned businesses to be able to provide services. I encourage both minorities and women to think about being entrepreneurs.”
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.
To read the entire article, click here.
WASHINGTON DC (September 28, 2017) excerpt from KQED NEWS - Banks could be forced to collect and report data on the small-business loans they approve and reject — including the ethnicity and gender of the business owners — under new rules being crafted by a federal consumer protection agency. Economists and regulators say the data could help identify whether lenders discriminate against minority- or women-owned businesses.
The new rules would aim to “facilitate enforcement of fair lending laws” as directed by Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Congress approved the major financial reform legislation in direct response to the last financial crisis.
Mortgage lenders already collect similar data, which help to “shed light on lending patterns that could be discriminatory,” according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency tasked with implementing the reporting changes on small-business lending.
To read the entire article, click here.
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