The current financial climate has left many women without alternatives and has forced them to tap into their own resourcefulness.  Since money is tight, currently women have created home based businesses to provide extra income to support the family.  As a result, new and diverse industries have been popping up everywhere. The women-owned small businesses now play a huge part in our country’s economic development.

Businesses owned by women tend to be more often self-funded than the businesses owned by male counterparts.  Therefore, they are in less need of bank financing during a time when small business lending practices are very restricted.  With that being said, only 39 percent of female business owners need to apply for a commercial bank loan, compared to 52 percent of companies owned by men.

The Center for Women’s Business Research reports that over 8 million businesses owned by women are currently in the U.S.  This translates to $2.32 trillion more or less in revenue and 23 million jobs yearly.  This also translates to about 16 percent of the workforce.  These figures are astonishing and also mean that women owned businesses are a force to be reckoned with.  If these women and their businesses would be a country on its own, it would be second ranking right behind Germany in the GDP results!

In the time from 1997 until 2011 the number of businesses owned by women has increased by 50 percent, in Florida it has risen by 73.3 percent.  This makes Florida 4th in the ranking of states by growth. Businesses owned by women have also begun to diversify into all types of industry.  Construction, transportation and manufacturing, once typical to their male cohorts are now increasingly women-owned firms.  Women now own eight percent of the American based construction companies. Typically, the largest sectors so far have been in health care, education services and administrative assistance.

This new generation of women running their own companies also has more managerial experience and employment profiles than in the past.  They are also more for gender equity and employ roughly 48 percent man, while businesses owned by men still employ on average 62 percent men. The management styles also differ from male business owners.  Women are not as hierarchical and are more likely to seek more information and input from others, including employees.  Female business owners also tend to use three unique tactics not ever remotely considered by their male counterparts: trusting their intuition, focusing on networking and relationships and placing stronger emphasis on balancing their lives.

If you are a woman considering opening your own business, due diligence is in order. Self-employment offers many benefits such as flexibility, but also means many long hours and plenty of dedication.  To start your own business you must first find something that genuinely interests you and that you have a passion for.  There are so many more opportunities out there for women these days, and it will be interesting to witness how women will shape the business world over the next years.