As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we wanted to remind you why it’s important to support women-owned businesses, such as Avoca’Do. In case you didn’t know that Avoca’Do is women-owned, read up on our story and more about founder, Lexi Brenner, here.
According to WBENC, there are now around 12.3 million women-owned businesses, compared to 1972 when there were only 402,000. It is also said that women-owned businesses are expanding at a rate of 5 times the national average. While all of these accomplishments are remarkable, women still face challenges every single day.
The Challenges
Based on a study done by Biz2Credit research, between 2018 and 2019, male owned firms made over double the amount of revenue than women-owned did. In addition, 88% of businesses owned by women make less than $100,000 per year in revenue, and 62% of women entrepreneurs report their business as their primary income source. Another struggle women face is receiving less funding from entrepreneurship programs than men do. The male vs female statistics of 2020 claimed 33.9% of men entrepreneurs receive funding in comparison to 23.8% of women. These are only a few of the many struggles women encounter when building their own business in comparison to men. Women need our support now more than ever, as the pandemic hit small businesses hard.
How Can I Support?
There are many different ways consumers or even business owners can help women-owned businesses succeed, so here are a few:
- Make a conscious effort to shop women-owned
- Promote women-owned businesses on social media
- Write a positive review for the business
- Mentor other women
- Donate or invest
- Encourage the hiring of women or promotion of women to high positions
- Do your research on successful female entrepreneurs
