CDFA Spotlight: Women-Owned Business Assistance

Women-owned businesses are one of the leading areas of growth in local economies. Self-employed women are becoming a growing economic factor. America's 10.6 million women-owned businesses employ 19.1 million people and contribute $2.46 trillion to the economy. According to a new study from the Center for Women’s Business Research titled Women-Owned Firms Doing Business Without Employees: A Growing Economic Force (http://www.womenbiz.gov/) the number of women-owned firms jumped 18% between 1997 and 2004, twice the overall national growth rate of 9%. The study also shows that the fastest growth rates among women-owned enterprises comes in fields traditionally dominated by men such as agricultural services, construction, and transportation. And, these businesses have been showing major revenue growth. Between 1997 and 2004, their revenues grew by 66% - compared to 42% for all such activities.

A number of resources exist within both the private and public sector for assisting with women-owned business financing. As this economic demographic continues to grow, communities should begin to explore the available resources for assisting with this important expansion. Women-owned business may be the catalyst your community needs to encourage new development, business expansion and increased investment.

U.S Small Business Administration

The SBA remains the top federal agency providing assistance to women-owned businesses. SBA program target a wide range of clients including minority and women-owned businesses, entrepreneurs and small to mid-sized firms. When exploring SBA programs, be sure to review all of the available tools as they are generally designed to work under many different scenarios. For example, minority-owned business financing tools can also apply to women-owned businesses as these types of business many times fall within the minority classification. The following is a short rundown of SBA initiatives for assisting women-owned businesses.

Office of Women's Business Ownership & Online Women's Business Center - http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness, http://www.onlinewbc.gov
This is the main web portal provided by SBA with resources, financing tools and research for supporting women-owned enterprises

SBA Loan Programs - http://www.sba.gov/financing
A number of SBA programs directly target women and minority owned businesses. This page provides an overview of all of the lending programs available.

My BIZ for Women - http://www.sba.gov/women.
The US Small Business Administration is one of the leading support mechanisms for women-owned business financing. The SBA has recently unveiled a new website designed to support women entrepreneurs. My BIZ for Women includes a wide array of resources for women business owners, including listing of government programs, a calendar of events, and guest columns from fellow entrepreneurs. It also includes a new on-line newsletter, Women’s Perspective, which discusses issues of interest to women business owners.

Research - http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/women.html
The SBA provides a great deal of resources for women-owned business including research and information on the industry. This is the best starting point for collecting industry information.

Private Sector Efforts:

There is variety of private sector resources for assisting with women-owned business development. Some are very specific such as the “Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independent” program highlighted below while others address industry areas such as early stage, seed and venture capital. Women-owned businesses often fall within this classification as well and should be used as a viable financing method.

Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence - http://www.count-me-in.org
Count Me In champions the cause for women's economic independence by providing access to business loans, consultation and education. The first online microlender, Count Me In uses a unique women-friendly credit scoring system to make loans of $500 to $10,000 available to women across the country who need assistance with their first business loan.

Association of Women's Business Centers – http://www.awbc.biz
The Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC) is a national not for profit (501c3) organization representing women’s business centers and women business owners. Founded in 1998, the AWBC supports entrepreneurial development among women as a way to achieve economic self-sufficiency, create wealth and participate in economic development through education, training, mentoring, business development and financing opportunities.

Research:

To support the women-owned business industry you need good research. Over the past decade, several groups have published articles and reports on the growth of the industry. The following are a few research pieces to help build a knowledgeable financing strategy for addressing women-owned businesses.

Small Business Administration - http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/women.html
The SBA provides a great deal of resources for women-owned business including research and information on the industry. This is the best starting point for collecting industry information.

National Women’s Business Council - http://www.nwbc.gov
The NWBC is a bi-partisan federal advisory council created to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the federal government on economic issues of importance to women business owners. The Council's mission is to promote initiatives, policies and programs designed to support women's business enterprises at all stages of development in the public and private sector marketplaces. They organization provides a wide range of resources for addressing the industry.

Center for Women’s Business Research - http://www.womensbusinessresearch.org
The Center for Women’s Business Research is a very solid source of information about women business owners and their enterprises worldwide. Since 1989, the Center has documented the economic and social contributions of women business owners and challenged the perceptions of this expanding economic force.

Interesting Reports:

National Women’s Business Council - Support for Women’s Enterprise in the
United States: Lessons Learned
http://www.nwbc.gov/documents/briefsupportforWBOs.pdf

National Women’s Business Council - U.S. Case Study: Successful Public and Private Sector Initiatives Fostering the Growth of Women’s Business Ownership
http://www.nwbc.gov/documents/oecd.pdf

National Women’s Business Council - Best Practices In Supporting Women’s
Entrepreneurship in the United States: A Compendium of Public and Private Sector Organizations and Initiatives
http://www.nwbc.gov/documents/Best-practices-brief.pdf

This article is intended to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and CDFA are not herein engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services, nor does it intend that the material included herein be relied upon to the exclusion of outside counsel. CDFA is not responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in this fact sheet. The information provided has been collected from a variety of sources. Those seeking to conduct complex financial deals using the tools mentioned in this document are encouraged to seek the advice of a skilled legal/consulting professional.