Women-owned businesses up 59% nationally

Rather than fight against the glass ceiling, more U.S. women than even have opted to break free and start their own business.

Through March, there were an estimated 8.6 million women-owned businesses in America, generating more than $1.3 trillion in revenues and employing nearly 7.8 million people, according to a study by the small-business arm of credit card giant American Express (NYSE: AXP).

Gathering data 1997–2013, the report found women-owned firms increased by 59 percent, besting the national business growth average of 41 percent. According to the study, Missouri ranks No. 36 in the nation with a women-owned business growth rate of 37 percent.

“Clearly, women-owned firms are a force in the U.S. economy,” said Patricia Brown-Dixon, U.S. Small Business Administration Region 7 administrator, noting women-owned businesses now account for 29 percent of all enterprises nationwide.

Brown-Dixon said even though women are opening businesses at a rapid pace, capital hurdles remain.

“A lot of women don’t go to a bank for fear of rejection, choosing to borrow from relatives, friends or use credit cards,” she said.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988, which helped address the needs of women in business by giving women entrepreneurs recognition and resources and b eliminating discriminatory lending practices by banks that favored male business owners, according to SBA.gov. The law also instructed the SBA to open Women’s Business Centers nationwide, which provide financial assistance to private organizations to conduct demonstration projects giving financial, management and marketing assistance to small businesses, including startups by women.

Brown-Dixon said the act is a landmark piece of legislation.

According to the Urban Institute – an independent, nonpartisan institute commissioned by President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s to investigate and analyze U.S. social and economic issues – SBA-guaranteed loans are three to five times more likely to go to women than non-SBA loans.

While there aren’t any SBA loan programs specifically targeted toward women business owners, the SBA is one of the largest loan guarantors in the country, Brown-Dixon said.

Springfield entrepreneur Andrea Alcorn started Gracie’s Bridal at just 23 years old with the help of an SBA loan.

“Without that loan, my business probably wouldn’t be in existence,” she said of her six-year-old wedding and formal gown shop at 2724 S. Glenstone Ave.

Graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a business degree, Alcorn said she had a dream and a plan, but no money.

“I started my business before the economy went down and it was still hard for me to get a bank loan,” she said.

Now with five full-time employees, Alcorn credits the SBA for jump-starting her venture, saying, “The SBA loan gave me an opportunity to achieve my dream.”

Just down Battlefield Road, Edible Arrangements owner Jeni Huelskamp recently utilized an SBA loan to refinance her five-year-old fresh-fruit bouquet business.

“We started in December 2007 and I didn’t know about the SBA program then. We got a straight bank loan,” she said of the franchise business, which employs eight full-time and additional seasonal workers at 1336 E. Battlefield Road.

Huelskamp said she took advantage of Score programs and training through the Missouri State University Small Business and Technology Development Center, but following the market crash, she figured an SBA loan was her only hope for refinancing.

“It wasn’t our only option, but an alternative option that worked well with our business,” she said.

Brown-Dixon said SBA’s more than 100 Women’s Business Centers are in place to help women business owners such as Huelskamp and Alcorn.

“These centers operate with the mission to level the playing field for women entrepreneurs, who still face unique obstacles,” she said. “Women have a different mindset. When they need help, they don’t ask, they just muscle through.”

In fiscal 2012, the WBC network served 137,942 clients throughout the country and supported $40.5 million in capital infusion of loans and equity investments.

“When we talk about small businesses, the goal is to be all inclusive and not single out women-owned businesses,” said Brown-Dixon, “but there are still a lot of barriers in the way. We have removed a lot during the years, but a lot still need to be broken open.”