National Women’s Small Business Month!
October is National Women’s Small Business Month!
In 1972, there were a little over 400,000 women-owned businesses in the United States and women needed a male relative to co-sign if they wanted to apply for a business loan.
That all changed in 1988, however, when the Women’s Business Ownership Act (H.R. 5050) increased the Small Business Association’s (SBA) access to capital to help fund women in business. Today, 33 years later, there are over 13 million women-owned businesses in the United States:
- Women own 42% of businesses in the United States
- Women-owned businesses employ 9.4 million workers
- Women-owned businesses generate $1.9 trillion annually
- Women of color account for 50% of female business owner
In Delaware, the Women’s Business Center at True Access Capital (WBC) provides in-depth, outcome-oriented business services to women entrepreneurs. WBC training includes courses on business planning, business financing, social media and marketing. The WBC began offering Let’s Zoom virtual meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each meeting includes a special guest speaker covering a variety of topics and challenges faced by small business owners and entrepreneurs.
All WBC clients have the opportunity to network with and learn from successful women business owners, including participation in “work-life balance” seminars several times each year. And through its partnership with True Access Capital, the WBC provides access to business capital for women business owners. As an official SBA Resource Partner, the WBC also partners with SCORE and the Small Business Development Center, and other state agencies, to help ensure the success of women and entrepreneurs.
More Assets for Women In Business:
National Association of Women Business Owners
SBA Office of Women’s Business Ownership
