Women Who Mean Business

In previous posts, we’ve talked about the unpleasant but inescapable reality that an entrepreneur needs money to get a new business up and running, and to keep it running. Friends and family, crowdfunding, Shark Tank—all good possibilities.

Today, though, I’d like to remind all the women entrepreneurs out there of the numerous resources available to women-owned businesses. And out there you are! The 2023 Annual Report of the National Women’s Business Council estimates that women own more than 14 million companies, around 39% of privately held businesses, representing an increase of 13.6% from 2019 to 2023. Check out these:

• WBE Certification. Certification as a Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) is available for businesses at least 51% of which are owned, controlled, operated, and managed by women. Certification as a “Women-Owned Small Business” (WOSB) or as an “Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business” (EDWOSB), are subsets of WBE certification and can provide additional benefits. At both the state and federal levels, certain percentages of government contracts are targeted to be awarded to WBEs, WOSBs, and EDWOSBs. WBE-certified companies have access to education and networking opportunities, and may join online network databases, including WBENCLink2.0, which provides increased visibility to corporate and government entities. SBA also administers loan and loan guarantee programs for WBEs. WBE certification can also provide tax benefits, access to small business loans and funding programs, and also taps into the goals of private and public companies to achieve supplier diversity.
  
  The Small Business Administration (SBA) oversees and administers the WOSB and EDWSOB programs, and its website provides a wealth of information and resources. This website also lists a number of resources for businesses deemed to socially or economically disadvantaged.
  
  The website for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) is a great place to start exploring the certification process and all the benefits that can flow from certification.
• Tax benefits. In general, there aren’t any direct tax breaks or credits made available to WBEs, but a WBE can still benefit from tax incentives available to investors, such as tax credits and capital gain tax waivers for investments in WBEs. Some of these incentives are also available to companies who do business with a WBE, and, as noted above, many companies, in response to shareholder pressure or simply due to increased awareness and commitment to inclusive business practices and equal opportunities, may be incentivized to work with WBEs to promote diversity. Available state and local tax credits and other benefits vary by state and municipality.
• Grants. Free money! Multiple federal, state, and local grant opportunities exist for WBEs, especially WOSBs and EDWOSBs. A quick Google search turned up literally dozens, such as this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one.

One final thought. Recent polls of women entrepreneurs and similar studies find that businesswomen view the decision as to when and whether to have children to be extremely important to their careers. Restrictions on reproductive health decisions can impede business opportunities for women by hampering mobility and workforce participation, resulting in loss of both educational and business opportunities, loss of economic power, and lower lifetime earnings. So here’s a plea to all woman entrepreneurs, and to anyone who loves or supports an entrepreneurial woman: Access to reproductive health care and decision-making is, directly and indirectly, on many ballots this fall. VOTE!