Nearly two out of every three companies launched today are being founded by women. Over the past few years, women have held the top spot at companies such as Wellpoint Inc., Avon, Sara Lee and HP. Economists predict that women entrepreneurs may lead the economic recovery by creating new jobs.
Despite being a fast-growing segment, there remains a stunning gap between these realities and the general perception about women CEOs and entrepreneurs.
To underscore this trend, Smart Business has partnered with the Women Presidents’ Organization as a national media partner. WPO is the premier organization for women entrepreneurs, with more than 1,400 members worldwide. Through this partnership, we hope to help bust myths about women-led organizations and share the experiences of women CEOs.
One component of this partnership is a regular column by WPO Founder and President Marsha Firestone, which will begin in May and will discuss topical issues faced by this demographic.
Smart Business Executive Editor Dustin S. Klein recently sat down with Firestone to discuss the growth of women-led businesses and the role WPO plays in fostering them.
Tell me about the role women entrepreneurs play in the economy.
The impact on the American economy can be measured by the number employed and the revenues generated. If we take just the Women Presidents’ Organization, the average revenues are $13 million but the aggregate revenues are $15 billion. The average number of employees among our members is 96 people, but the aggregate number of employees is 110,000 people. So you can see, this is a tremendous impact on the economy.
The real place that women have carved out where they have more influence, more power and more economic security, is in owning their own businesses. Two out of every three new businesses are being started by women, so not only are they generating this revenue but they are also employing a lot of people worldwide.
What unique challenges do women business owners face that perhaps their male counterparts do not?
That can be summarized in one word: invisible. Unfortunately, women-led companies are not always recognized by the public-at-large. They are perceived as mom-and-pop operations. … Three percent of the women who own their own businesses generate more than $1 million in revenue. Only 6 percent of male-owned businesses generate more than $1 million in revenue. …
There was an article on the front page of a major publication that led with the question: ‘Why do women own such small businesses? Why are they all crafts and cookie bakers?’ I think that says it all.
