Women Entrepreneurs Rocking the Business World

Women Entrepreneurs Rocking the Business World

Women-owned corporations have become more widespread in today's society. In just 2015, there were 887 launched per day, indicating a 1.5% increase than the national average of businesses in the United States. A few states with the fastest growth of Women Entrepreneurs include Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. The 2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report by Womenable & American Express OPEN, to analyze trends in women's enterprise growth and development tells us that:

1. The number of women-owned firms in the U.S. have surpassed approximately 9.4 million enterprises–30% of all businesses in the country;

2. The revenue generated by these enterprises is now estimated to stand at nearly $1.5 trillion and has increased by 79% since 1997;

3. Women-owned firms now employ over 7.9 million workers (excluding owners), providing one in seven jobs among privately-owned businesses; and

4. These businesses are increasingly being started by women of various ethnic backgrounds. There are an estimated 3.1 million minority women-owned firms, representing one in three (33%) women-owned firms. In fact, the growth in the number of African American, Asian American, Latina, Native American/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander since 1997 surpasses the growth in the number of non-minority women-owned firms by several-fold.

There is obviously a combination of factors contributing to this upward trend of new women entrepreneurs. To briefly explore the impact of the digital age in influencing and facilitating the entrance of increasing numbers of women launching their own enterprises,

below are 5 factors that I believe is changing the gender composition of the business landscape today:

1. Web-based services, cloud-based tools and virtual workforces can lower the cost of a start-up dramatically making it more feasible to run one’s own business. Women prefer lower risk-taking in business than men.

2. Entrepreneurship in the digital age lends itself to childcare and family life. Achieving a work-life and personal-life balance is more likely to be a greater priority for women in business.

3. Digital tools mean that women can now build a business from home and create individualized, virtual workplaces, and flexible schedules that suit their lifestyles.

4. Women generally possess strong communication skills and social intelligence that are essential to business development and operation in the digital age.

5. Women place a high value on relationships; therefore, their management style and approach to building their business is generally more focused on building a team. Women are used to collaborating which enables them to work well together. This prevails within the family and the community and carries over into the digital business arena as well.

More businesses are becoming keenly aware of the absolute necessity of optimizing the skills of individuals who excel in applying digitization to drive growth and profits. One boon to women might be increased recognition, appreciation, and consequent rise in employment, promotion, and remuneration as they begin to operate more and more in the digital economy. Whatever the contributing factors–and there are many–let us celebrate the growth in Women Entrepreneurship and utilize this valuable resource in our economy.