This guide outlines the incredible growth of women owned businesses and why they continue to grow.
It has been theorized that one of these days, a woman will swim faster than any man has done before. The theory is sound and based on biology. The idea is that women are better equipped at swimming, or at least at floating. There are a lot of other physical things that a woman can do better, if given the time to do it. There are also other activities where there should be no difference between the performance of a man and a woman. Business and running a company is another one, with women owned businesses increasingly on the rise.
One case in point is that of writing. There should be as many women writers as there are men, because the activity does not depend on any biological advantage. In the same manner, programming also does not hold any gender advantage for men. It just so happens that there are more male programmers than women, because of gender bias during the formative years. Up to early grade school, female students are equal in numbers to male students, when it is part of the curriculum.
The moment young children are given a choice whether to program or not, or a choice to study math or not, more females opt not to go through it. The reason? It is seen as a ‘male activity’.
When you take the gender bias aside and just deal with men and women as equals you would find that women owned businesses can do the same things as men’s business. There are lot more activities, including starting and running a business, where men and women can excel together. There are women owned businesses now which are thriving and exceeding the achievements and milestones of male-dominated ones.
There are differences though between businesses which are run by men and women. For one, the male company is more focused on sales and production while egos run high. But women owned businesses, on the other hand, are also bent on meeting sales targets and goals while keeping the employees home at decent hours and making sure they spend time with their families.
Why women owned businesses are booming
In the struggle to conquer spaces, more and more women have launched themselves in the North American market as entrepreneurs . A survey by the National Council of Women Business Owners’ Institute for Entrepreneurship Development (free translation for the National Woman’s Business Council – NWBC), carried out last year, showed that 31% of US companies are women owned businesses. One in five earns more than $1 million.
The study also showed that in 2017 there were more than 9.4 million women owned businesses in the United States. In 2015, there were 9.1 million – 300 thousand new companies managed by women were created in the period. The estimated revenue generated was a US$1.7 trillion in the last three years.
The growth trend for women owned businesses has been sustained in recent years. The total number of companies created in the United States grew 47% between 1999 and 2014. In this universe, those that belong to women increased by 68%. In terms of job creation, companies led by women accounted for more than half of the vacancies in the labor market in 2017 – 8.3 million employees last year, out of a total of 16 million in the universe of all companies.
Motivation
The survey revealed that several factors influenced the increase in women owned businesses, including greater access to lines of financing aimed at women, as well as motivating campaigns for small female entrepreneurs. Regarding the decision to open women owned businesses, the main motivating factor, according to the survey, was the search for flexibility in favor of a balance between personal life and work.
Interviews and focus groups were conducted to profile female entrepreneurs in Houston, Los Angeles and Washington DC, analyzing small, medium and large business owners.
Ana Carolina Teixeira, partner-owner of Quattro – a company headquartered in Orlando, Florida, which brings together companies operating in four areas: development and management of projects, real estate, administration and design — is an example of women owned businesses seeing success.
With a background in product marketing, she left Brazil in 1999 and moved to New York, transferred by the company she worked for, a multinational in the hygiene products sector. After a year and a half in the city, she left work and moved to Orlando with her husband. In Florida, she had three children and between the birth of the first and the second, she started working as a realtor between 2004 and 2005.
“It was an interesting market for me and I could work more independently,” she said. The businesswoman recalls that during the 2008 housing crisis, the market had a strong impact, but that, at the time, it changed its focus to buying houses. “There was a very large offer and the sale was impaired, but there was an opportunity to buy.”
Challenges
Taking advantage of the opportunities, Ana Carolina ended up opening the company in partnership, in 2010, and expanding the business until consolidating the group that today is one of the largest in Orlando – a very heated market. The businesswoman said that despite having always fought for her space, she realizes that doors are currently “open more easily” to women owned businesses.
“Today, I still attend meetings where I am the only woman, but awareness of women’s rights has grown. Women are becoming more and more empowered and this is reflected in the way we position ourselves.”
Ana Carolina celebrates good economic results. Last year, the company sold US$ 22 million and of the group of 16 employees it has, 90% are women. “Most with children and, even so, 100% dedicated to work. Great professionals”, he says proudly.
Growing movement
Last year, the red carpets at awards shows in the United States were marked by black dresses, in demonstrations against sexual harassment in the movie industry in the country, after revealing a series of scandals involving powerful producers. Campaigns on social media engaged artists and internet users.
But long before, actresses like Reese Wtherspoon had been striving to make a difference in an environment that has long been led by men. Seven years ago, she created Pacific Standard, a production company specializing in storytelling about women.
The 2014 movie Garota Exemplar and the series Big Little Lies, both produced by the company, made millions of dollars and were critically successful. The feature was nominated for an Oscar for best actress and the series won four Golden Globes. Reese is one of the protagonists of a movement that works to support women entrepreneurs. She has the backing of other top names in the US media, such as presenter Oprah Winfrey.
Ophah has been quoted by liberal groups for the next presidential race, and as she was honored at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, she recalled her past abuses and said the time has come when women will be heard and respected.
