The Women's Business Development Center marks its 25th Anniversary with news of great strides by (and on behalf of) women entrepreneurs. The Center co-founder Hedy Ratner gave an interview recently to Francine Knowles of the Chicago Sun Times well worth your read... whether female or male business owner.
Ms. Ratner talks about the evolution in lending policies and perceptions, brought about in large part by the SBA's guarantee program of loans to women-owned-businesses. It's a far cry from the state of the small business market when a father, husband, or brother co-signing was needed to seal the deal.
Twenty five years ago, only 10% of businesses were owned by women. Now, women are starting businesses at a much faster rate than their male counterparts, and are contributing the lion's share of new, badly needed jobs in our faltering economy.
We recommend a quick read of the Sun Time's article as a good check in for the state of women-owned businesses. Whether you are one or not, the are undoubtedly a growing number of your vendors or B2B clients. And if they're not, maybe you need to do a look into why! You could be missing an amazing opp for your own business.
No comments:
Post a Comment