How Do Women Measure Up in the United States Business Sector?

Women Business Owners, Time for You to Consider Government Grants

By Ines Q ComptonAccording to the 2002 US Census Bureau, here are the stats about women in the business sector.

Women-owned businesses are responsible for $939.5 Billion in business revenues annually in the United States They own 6.5 million US businesses that are not farm-related. They employ over 7 million people. These women-owned businesses account for over 28% of all U.S. businesses that are not agricultural farms.

Here’s more: 32 % of women -owned businesses operated in health care, social assistance, and personal services.  Women own close to half of all such businesses in the US. Wholesale and retail businesses made up over 38% of women owned-businesses.

Over 40% of this wholesale number is made up of businessese electronic businesses, agents and brokers.

California leads as the state with the most women-owned businesses, just under 900,000 with a total revenue of over $137 billion! These account for over 13% of all California businesses. New york comes in second with just over half a million women-owned businesses with total receipts  of just over $70 billion! Texas – you guessed it – come sin thrid with just over 450,000 women-owned businesses with total gorss revenues of over $65 billion.

Women – owned businesses contribute substantially to our economy. Ready?

Let’s see these numbers grow. Time for women-owned businesses to take off.

Now let’s look at Shelley and Brianna, two women business owners who got their start with government grants.

Shelley lives in a single family residence , with her husband John and her 2 kids who are now in middle and high school. Lucky to be doing ok with the mortgage and the bills, they live well on the tight budget and always have been happy, but she knows she has to substantially add to the family revenue. John’s salary will not be increasing by much. Though she has supported her family through its younger years , at times working for somebody else, and other times an at-home mom, she is now finding time to get to her own dream business off the ground.

She has always been dreaming of opening that coffee cart downtown near the busy business center in the hub of downtown for years. Now is the time , but she knows if she is going to get this done, she will have to come up with the funding on her own. Worried about the prospect of funding her kids through college in the coming years, she knows she has got to get a move-on, and make up the difference in the household income in a hurry!

Wondering if her small business idea could qualify for start-up seed money, she proceeds to complete a detailed business plan with the help of her friend Melissa, owner of the booming floral delivery service in town. “As a matter of fact”, she recalls with some relief, ” MELISSA’S Masters in Business from the local college was MADE POSSIBLE BY A GOV GRANT!…AND! her business opened its doors largely due to public funding !” She rolls up her sleeves determined complete the app effectively and on time.

She finds a government grant for $150,000 to start up a coffee business (!) of all things and applies. While she is looking for herself, Shelley finds a grants for $300,000 to start a day care center. Paul’s wife Brianna has been running a day care unofficially out of her house. She shows Brianna the grant opportunity and Brianna gets funded as well. Sound amazing? These grants are out there right now.

Get started.