Now is a good time for women to obtain a small business loan for their companies, since October is National Women’s Small Business Month across the country. Originally started by the National Women’s Business Council, WSBM is a time for people all over the nation to highlight and honor the contributions women have made to the business world.
“This October we celebrate the women that have persevered and become successful business owners and we will continue to push for increased access to capital and to markets so women entrepreneurs can keep growing and scaling their businesses,” Carla Harris, the Presidential appointed chair of the NWBC, said.
According to American Express Open Forum, with 9.4 million companies in the country, women-owned enterprises account for 30 percent of all businesses – up from 9.1 million a year ago. Collectively, these businesses employ more than 7.9 million people and are responsible for more than $1.5 trillion in revenue. Since 1997, profits by female-owned firms have grown by 79 percent.
Despite the major strides by women entrepreneurs, business owners and the hard-working females across the country, the National Women’s Business Council reported there are still barriers to obtaining resources needed to start and grow a company. Because of the these barriers, National Funding has designed small business loans tailored for women business owners.
While the current numbers regarding women-owned firms and businesses are impressive and will continue to grow, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done in this realm. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women still only earn 78.3 cents for every dollar a male earns. In addition, the median annual earnings for a woman working full time and year round in 2013 is $39,157, as it was in 2002 at $39,108.
