From founders to managers, CEO to COOs, an increasing number of women are in positions of authority in the business universe. Based on the results of recent research, their leadership can potentially result in handsome returns for company ledgers.
In a joint study spearheaded by the University of Connecticut and the nonprofit group Girls With Impact, women who serve as the main figureheads for start-ups may be more likely to bring greater profits for the companies that they helm, USA Today reported.
53% of start-ups that won money were owned by women.”
Researchers came to this determination after examining several years’ worth of college venture competitions hosted annually by the Mansfield, Connecticut-based university. They found that even though slightly less than 18 percent of the start-ups were headed by women, they were more likely to walk away with prize money by the end of the competition. Indeed, 53 percent of the teams that won were led by women. Additionally, of the five teams that earned the top prize – $15,000 – three were launched originally by women and the other two had women in CEO roles.
Jennifer Openshaw, founder and CEO of Girls With Impact, noted that the study’s findings speak for themselves.
“This shows that we can’t ignore having women on our teams,” Openshaw said, according to USA Today. “Women are part of the answer.”
163 million start-ups launched by women in last year worldwide
The U.S. isn’t the only place where more women are increasingly entrepreneurial; the same goes for much of the world. According to figures crunched by Babson College, an estimated 163 million women have started a business within the last 12 months. In fact, women business owners outnumber men in several countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, the report found.
Openshaw told USA Today that to help increase their upward mobility and imbue them with confidence, girls should be exposed to entrepreneurship early in life.
“Women comprise the majority of buyers,” Openshaw explained. “Smart companies are putting women in innovation roles for that reason – they bring the perspective of the buyer.”
9.9 milion businesses in the U.S. are owned and operated by women.”
8 million people in U.S. employed by women
With the economy on more solid footing, evidenced by increased hiring and business development, women have helped contribute to this reality, as in recent years, most new businesses are women owned, according to the Small Business Administration. Linda McMahon, who heads the SBA, pointed this out during a recent conference hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners. She noted that although most companies that women own don’t have employees, they still employ more than 8 million individuals and operate 9.9 million operations across the U.S.
McMahon also stressed how women have really come a long way in a relatively short period of time.
“Back then, women weren’t allowed to get a mortgage or even a credit card in their own names,” McMahon recalled, referring to the 1940s and 1950s.
Women have a variety of financing avenues they can pursue to further their companies’ development. Around 40 percent have taken out a line of credit, according to NAWBO survey data, and roughly 25 percent have accessed a bank loan.
At Growth Capital, loans are our specialty. From the Ohio Regional 166 to the SBA 504, we have the financing options entrepreneurs can use for a variety of purposes, whether to keep things running for existing businesses or to get things going for start-ups. Businesses of all types are eligible and down payments are eminently affordable.