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National Women’s Business Month

During the month of October the Small Business Administration is putting on a series of weekly web chats focused on the issues facing female entrepreneurs in honor of National Women’s Small Business month. Today women own roughly 30 percent of small businesses in the U.S. compared to the 10 percent of women-owned businesses 25 years ago. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics, which are compiled every five years, there were 7.8 million women-owned firms in 2007 – 90 percent of which were small businesses. Coincidentally, women-owned businesses are recognized as the fastest growing segments of the small business community. According to Owned Business Report, the states with the fastest growth in the number of women-owned businesses in the past 15 years are:

1. Georgia (95%)
2. Nevada (92%)
3. North Carolina (83%)
4. Mississippi (75%)
5. Texas (75%)

Unfortunately, 97 percent of those businesses have revenues below the million-dollar mark.  Key4Women, a program dedicated to offering women access to capital, on-going education and networking opportunities, hopes to change that. Maria Coyne, founder of Key4Women, and executive Vice-President of Business Banking at KeyBank, has stated that the program will lend $3 billion to women-owned businesses over the course of 3 years. This is just one way that the community is rallying together in support of the largest growing segment in the business realm. So tune-in and participate in the web chats made available by Small Business Administration. What are some management secrets you would share with women entrepreneurs looking to start their own small business?