As I consider the possibility of opening up my own shop, articles like this give me hope.
Women-Owned Firms without Employees: A Growing Economic Force
— reported at HispanicAd.com
A new report estimates that women-owned firms without employees are increasing in number and revenues faster than all U.S. firms without employees. The Center for Women’s Business Research estimates that between 1997 and 2004, women-owned non-employer firms grew at 18%, twice the national rate (9%) for all non-employer firms. During the same time period, the revenues for women-owned firms without employees grew 66% compared to 42% for all firms without employees.
The report entitled, Women-Owned Firms Doing Business Without Employees: A Growing Economic Force, is underwritten by Wells Fargo & Company.
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The highest growth rate for women-owned non-employer firms is in non-traditional industries, defined as those industries that are historically dominated by men. Between 1997 and 2004, the number of majority women-owned firms without employees grew by an estimated 29% in agriculture services; 27% in construction; and 26% in transportation, communications, and public utilities. Slightly more than half (53%) of women-owned non-employer firms are in the service sector and the next highest percentage (14%) is in retail trade.
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For more information at http://womensbusinessresearch.org.