Women-owned businesses are on the rise. According to Expert Market, an online business-to-business marketplace that helps businesses find suppliers, women-owned businesses have increased from 5.4 million firms in 1997 to 9.1 million in 2014, almost doubling their numbers. Most of the women-owned companies are small, yet they produced $1.4 trillion in revenue in 2014, a huge increase over their 1997 revenue of $819 billion.
Women entrepreneurs face many challenges, such as where to locate their businesses. Many choose Austin, Texas, where there is no income tax and the cost of living is lower. Others may choose D.C. Although more expensive, D.C.has so many resources to offer small businesses. So, where are most of the women-owned businesses located? The top 10 are:
- Washington, D.C. - 34.5 percent
- Maryland - 32.6 percent
- New Mexico - 31.7 percent
- Hawaii - 31 percent
- Georgia - 30.9 percent
- Illinois - 30.5 percent
- Michigan - 30.4 percent
- New York - 30.4 percent
- California - 30.3 percent
- Virginia - 30.1 percent
On the other hand, the states that have experienced the largest increases in women-owned businesses over the past 17 years include: Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Nevada and Mississippi. Georgia and Texas had the biggest increases with 117.9 percent and 98 percent respectively. The increase in Texas is considered remarkable in view of the fact that the state is still pretty much male dominated when it comes to business ownership.
As the number of female entrepreneurs in America continues to climb, it won't be surprising if they double their numbers again over the next few years.
For a complete map of all states and their percentages of women-owned businesses, visit www.expertmarket.us/women-owned-businesses
