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Women-Owned Businesses
Grow Despite Obstacles
The ranks of
women-owned businesses continue to expand, even
in the face of long-standing obstacles. Lack of
access to venture capital still plagues
women-owned businesses, and women-owned
businesses still don't garner a large share of
corporate purchasing dollars.
Two recent studies have pointed out the good and
the bad news for women business owners. Here are
some of the findings:
A report from the Center for Women’s Business
Research showed that one in 18 U.S. women is a
business owner. Between 1997 and 2002, the
Center estimates that the number of
majority-owned, privately-held women-owned firms
grew by 14 percent and stands at 6.2 million.
Sales generated by women-owned firms increased
by 40 percent nationwide during the period,
nearing $1.15 trillion.
But beneath those strong numbers lurks the bad
news. The Center also reports that 51 percent of
American corporations still spend less than 3
percent of their purchasing dollars with
women-owned businesses.
A separate report called The Diana Project
(Women Business Owners and Equity Capital: The
Myths Dispelled), found that women-owned
businesses secure less than 5 percent of all
venture capital (VC) funds invested in new
businesses. The study showed that 4,000 to 5,000
business plans of women-led firms are circulated
to VC firms annually. Yet between 1953 and 1998,
only 395 women-owned businesses received venture
capital. The Diana Project was sponsored by the
Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership,
the U.S. Small Business Administration and the
National Women’s Business Council.
What You Can Do
To help knock down the
obstacles blocking the growth of women-owned
businesses, take these steps:
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Join organizations that
promote women-owned businesses. For starters,
check out Business and Professional Women,
www.bpwusa.org. The Women Presidents’
Organization,
www.womenpresidentsorg.com, is a national
organization for entrepreneurial women whose
businesses gross more than $2 million
annually, or $1 million for service-based
companies.
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Get certified as a Women’s
Business Enterprise through the Women’s
Business Enterprise National Council. Go to
www.wbenc.org and click on “Certification”
in the left column.
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Take action with your
business checkbook. Buy from women business
owners.
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Visit the SBA Online
Women’s Business Center at
www.onlinewbc.gov. You’ll find resources
for networking as well as information about
business basics such as financing and
marketing.
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Stay up-to-date on the
status of women-owed businesses. Visit Web
sites like those listed above. Attend trade
shows, conferences and workshops. Read books,
such as Aliza Sherman’s
PowerTools for Women in Business: 10 Ways to
Succeed in Life and Work (Entrepreneur
Media, 2001).
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