Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Women in Business -- Research and Information

I found that the Center for Women's Business Research has many interesting statistics about women owned businesses.

  • Between 1997 and 2006, the percent growth in the number of 51% or more women-owned firms was nearly twice that of all U.S. firms (42.3% vs. 23.3%).
  • In Ohio, 38% of privately held businesses are owned by a woman, either as a majority owner or equally owned.
  • According to the Center’s research, four in 10 women entrepreneurs want their businesses to become as large as possible and 83 percent want to increase their firm’s profitability. However, only three percent of all privately-held women-owned businesses generate $1 million or more in annual revenues. This is compared to six percent for men-owned businesses.

What is the difference in the businesses? Here are some of the things the Center discovered about the women with a business that generate over a million dollars in revenue:

  • Plans for growth
  • Sets goals
  • Sells to other businesses (I'm not sure if that means they sell their busines or they supply Products and services to other businesses as opposed to consumers. Probably the latter.)
  • Constantly upgrading their skills
  • Bring in business partners