Utah is ripe for building a business and doing business. However, the landscape of doing business is constantly evolving and at the forefront right now are women.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s third annual Center for Women in Business Summit on March 27 in Washington, D.C., celebrated the successes of business women around the country. More than ever, women are stepping forward in becoming CEOs, managers and even entrepreneurs.
In fact, the fourth annual American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses Report indicates that Utah alone has an estimated 73,000 women-owned firms employing more than 58,000 and doing $13 billion in sales. Since 1997, the national number of women-owned business has increased 68 percent and Utah has seen growth of 73.8 percent over that same period.
Talk about women making business happen.
The aforementioned summit marked the launch of a new report, titled,“Women-Owned: Businesses Carving a New American Business Landscape.” This presents the Center for Women in Business’s latest research highlights the growing impact of women entrepreneurs and small business owners on the national economy. The report also says that Utah is one of the top states for self-employed women.
It opens:
“The face of entrepreneurship is changing.
Over the last 15 years, women-owned firms have grown by one and a half times the rate of other small enterprises and now account for almost 30 percent of all businesses. Additionally, one in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.”
In the “Women-Owned” report, the Salt Lake Chamber’s Women’s Business Center (WBC) is highlighted as being “unlike many such centers, the WBC is operated as a nonprofit organization within the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, giving it access to a unique set of tools and resources to aid female entrepreneurs,” including the option of using chamber resources to enhance their offerings such as events, opportunities to connect with Chamber member business professionals, developing international business, consulting, training and mentoring.
“As one of the best places to do business in country, Utah’s smart and innovative women are making a difference in small business locally,” says Ann Marie Thompson, program director of the WBC. “Daily we assist women who are starting and growing businesses. We witness first-hand the exciting advancement of great products and services in the marketplace.”
To read the complete feature, see page 30 of the “Women-Owned: Businesses Carving a New American Business Landscape.”
Furthermore, The Center for Women in Business examines the “1099 economy” and the women who have started their own micro-enterprises either out of choice or necessity. The research also provides powerful examples of systems and programs that encourage and support women’s business initiatives in communities around the United States.
Though this report is only a snapshot of what’s going on in our nation, women are making a huge impact in how business gets done, and are paving the way for more women to take to the helm in entrepreneurship.
