The month of March is Women’s History month and as a tribute to International Women’s Day, we would like to highlight some of the important accomplishments of women business owners.
A recent study, 2024 Wells Fargo Impact of Women-Owned Business Report, found that the growth of women-owned businesses outpaced the market.
In particular, the number of women-owned businesses increased by double the rate of their counterparts between 2019 and 2023, and from 2022 to 2023, the rate of growth increased to 4.5 times.
14 MILLION AND COUNTING …
This impressive rate of growth is particularly important as there are now over 14 million women-owned businesses and which account for over 39% of all businesses.
They generate $2.7 trillion in revenue and employ over 12 million workers according to the Wells Fargo study.
The study also found that women business owners were able to sustain and even grow their businesses during the difficult COVID period. Despite industry lockdowns and supply chain disruptions throughout the pandemic period, women business owners launched more businesses than were closed.
On balance, women-owned businesses also were able to grow their revenue and workforce by adding revenue of $580 billion and added 1.4 million jobs.
WHAT ARE THE LESSONS?
These statistics are impressive, and it’s important to understand what lessons we can all learn from these accomplishments.
This topic has been researched by several different sources, and several qualitative and quantitative traits are consistent.
From a statistical perspective, there are studies that show evidence of higher productivity for women-owned businesses.
For example, a study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, revealed that companies established by women yield significantly higher revenue than the average company, over double per dollar invested.
In addition, women-owned startups generated more than double that of the average company.
BETTER RISK MANAGERS …
From a qualitative perspective, research shows that women have a higher level of loss aversion.
In other words, they are open to taking risks when necessary, however, in a tempered way, they are unwilling to throw caution to the wind and as a result are better managers of risk.
Women also tend to place a lower emphasis on external motivations, such as the goal of solely being profit-oriented and having a stronger desire to contribute to society.
Some data also shows that women are more productive in the workplace. Collaboration and empathy skills help women be better teammates and stronger leaders because they see others as actual people, not just work producers.
As a result, women leaders tend to be more attentive to their employees’ needs, aspirations, and personal lives. This leads to lower employee turnover, higher job satisfaction, and increased productivity.
SHE SUCCEEDED BECAUSE SHE …
Revitalization Partners has worked with several women-owned businesses over the past twenty years and has observed some unique qualities.
Given that we are typically called in during times of stress, the ability of a business owner to take our advice and make adjustments quickly makes the difference between an ongoing business concern or the demise of a business.
In one situation, we were called in when the wife of a family-owned business had to step into the role of CEO when her husband could not deal with the challenges of the business.
Although she had little experience in managing a business, we worked with her and the management team to restructure the business, find new business opportunities, and reduce costs during this difficult time.
We worked with her for several months, and when the business became profitable, we ended our involvement. Several years later, she sold the business to a competitor and realized a significant profit.
Her ultimate success was defined by her willingness to seek outside help, evaluating and acting on the advice she received and learning quickly to avoid the mistakes of the past.
MANAGED WIND DOWN VERY WELL …
In a different situation, we helped a woman-owned business suffering extreme revenue declines assess its options.
After working with us, she made the difficult decision to wind down the business and liquidate.
She was able to manage the winddown, pay off her creditors in full, and liquidate the business without going into a costly court-supervised winddown.
By making informed decisions during the process, she was able to avoid litigation by a variety of creditors and exit the business without personal loss.
We are pleased to highlight women business owners’ accomplishments during this month and hope that there are some lessons here to be learned for everyone.
It’s also important to understand that businesses will not always perform as expected. When that happens, it’s important to take the time to establish a plan to deal with those issues and have advisors who can help when needed.
Revitalization Partners specializes in improving the operational and financial results of companies and providing hands-on expertise in virtually every circumstance, with a focus on small and mid-market organizations. Whether your requirement is Interim Management, a Business Assessment, Revitalization and Reengineering, a State Receivership or Bankruptcy Support, we focus on giving you the best resolution in the fastest time with the highest possible return.
