On Friday, November 18th the world will celebrate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (which is technically recognized on November 19th, but, you know, weekends and all). Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) is still in its infancy as the inaugural event was held in 2014 at the United Nations in New York City. According to WED’s website, it “is a day on which the work of women entrepreneurs is observed, discussed, and celebrated.” All told, 144 countries around the globe recognized the inaugural event.
How do women business owners and entrepreneurs impact the economy you might ask? Well, we’re glad you did because we have some statistics for you. In 2009 the Center for Women’s Business Research released an economic impact study on this very topic and its findings are very encouraging. Possibly the biggest takeaway is that the 8 million U.S. businesses majority-owned by women have an economic impact of 3 trillion dollars which roughly translates to 23 million jobs and accounts for 16% of all U.S. jobs.
Women-owned businesses have been growing over the last couple decades as we might expect, but a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article from 2012 indicates women-owned businesses in St. Louis grew much slower than the national trend. According to the article, “Nationally, the State of Women-Owned Business Report found capital enterprises created by women increased 29 percent between 2002 and 2012. The growth of female-owned businesses in St. Louis, meanwhile, stalled at 8 percent.” While there are certainly several factors at play as to why growth in St. Louis was stagnant, the state of Missouri grew at 16% clip in the aforementioned decade.
No matter what type of business or enterprise you may own or be starting, we at CLH Insurance support Women’s Entrepreneurship Day and what it stands for. We are happy to provide any council as it pertains to insurance and are eager to help grow local business in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. Call us today at 636.391.0700 to learn more or get started with a free Business Owners Policy quote here.