Small businesses owned by women are on the rise. As a woman running a small business, and in honor of National Women’s Small Business month (October), I wanted to take some time to celebrate just how far women have come in our modern business world.
National Women’s Small Business Month was created by the U.S. Small Business Administration. According to its statistics, women business owners in the U.S. account for 30 percent of all businesses, and of those, 90 percent are small businesses.
Here’s some more good news:
American Express has estimated that the 8.6 million woman-owned businesses are generating more than $1.3 trillion in revenue.
An article in Forbes chimes in with the fact that these women-owned businesses are currently employing close to eight million people.
The Forbes article adds, “The only bright spot in recent years with respect to privately held company job growth has been among women-owned firms. They have added an estimated 175,000 jobs to the U.S. economy since 2007.”
BRODY is certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by two different organizations, WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council) and WBDC (Women’s Business Development Center). If you are not familiar with either of them, I’d like to tell you the benefits of each of these terrific organizations.
WBENC was founded in 1997, is currently the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled, and operated by women in the United States. WBENC certification allows certified female small business owners to bid on lucrative government contracts. Many major corporations are looking to do business with women-owned businesses, so it also provides a way to reach those companies. More information about WBENC certification can be found here.
Take a look at this WBENC video for more information.
WBDC helps women business owners successfully achieve economic independence through entrepreneurship. They offer business coaching/mentoring, financial and procurement assistance, and programs to support your business growth at every stage of business development. They recommend that women-owned businesses get the WBE certification, which can be a powerful marketing tool for expanding a company’s visibility with corporate and government procurement decision-makers. Their website offers a list of government contracts that are available for women business owners to bid on.
I highly recommend any women business owners to check out these organizations. The certifications are well worth the investment. Both sites are filled with a wealth of information for growing, financing, and succeeding with your business.