Celebrating National Women's Small Business Month

October 4, 2016

Embracing female business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders

October National Women’s Small Business Month, and although Rose International has grown well beyond what might be considered “small business” I feel a lasting connection to anyone with the courage to start out on their own. Just how impactful are women-owned businesses? Here are some statistics from the most recent Survey of Business Owners (SBO) by the National Women’s Business Council:

In 2007, there were 7.8 million women-owned businesses in the United States. As of 2012, there are 9.9 million women-owned businesses, reflecting a himanhu-bhatia-blog-woman-writing-business27.5% increase from 2007 to 2012. Per the 2012 SBO, women-owned firms make up 36.2% of all nonfarm businesses and generate 1.6 trillion in total receipts. Of all women-owned firms, 10.6 % are employer firms; it's an increase of 143,000 women-owned employer firms. These women-owned employer firms employ 8.9 million people, and generate receipts of $1.4 trillion. There are 2.1 million more women-owned businesses in 2012 than 2007 and almost 1.5 million more jobs since 2007.

This study is done every five years, and I’m quite excited to see the latest figures when the next is completed in 2017!

For more on National Women’s Small Business Month, stay tuned to the NWBC Facebook page.