At Lendistry, every month is Women’s Small Business Month, but nationally the month of October is dedicated to female entrepreneurs. Why?
Women in Business – By the Numbers
… Because while the number of woman-owned small businesses has increased 18% since 2017, less than half of all privately-held firms are owned by women (39%), and just one in five firms with revenue of over $1 million is woman-owned.
Those are strong numbers, to be sure, but there’s a lot of progress to be made. Even though, according to the SBA, women pay off debt faster than men do, they still find it more difficult to obtain small business funding. Fundera research reveals that only one in four female entrepreneurs apply for business financing, and when they do apply, they ask for approximately $35,000 less than male business owners. Small business funding enables small businesses to grow faster, employ more people, open new locations, and become a powerful force in the local and national economy.
What can women do to obtain funding? The SBA’s Women’s Business Center is a dedicated resource to “level the playing field”. Here at Lendistry, we focus on providing financing to the underfunded and have helped hundreds of women start or grow small businesses. Opportunity Fund and Accion are also well-known microlenders for women and the underbanked. Angel investors and crowdfunding have also helped springboard women-led firms.
The Future of Business is Female
The fastest-growing demographic of small business owners is black women. The US Census reports that black women make up 42% of new women-owned businesses, which is triple their percentage of the female population.
Ever since African American entrepreneur, Madam C.J. Walker, became the first female self-made millionaire, women have shown their business acumen and innovative ideas.
“Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” – Madam C.J. Walker
Angi (formerly Angie’s List) and Mrs. Fields are female-founded household names of our generation. From Cher Wang in the tech industry, to Cynthia Ndubuis of eco-friendly soap fame, to Sara Blakely who revolutionized shapewear with SPANX, women continue to remold the foundations of every industry.
At the 2020 Freedman’s Bank Forum, Lendistry CEO Everett K. Sands confirmed, “Whether you call it a movement or call it opportunity, the fact is women are performing better as business owners than men, and with technology we have the data to prove it.”
Kauffman reports that the number of new women-owned businesses is increasing at twice the rate of male-owned businesses. The SBA adds that the majority of women-owned firms are in the healthcare and social services industries. Plus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says healthcare is the fastest-growing industry in the country. In our books, this adds up to promising new numbers for the next few years.