According to the statistical findings of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), more than 11.6 million US businesses are owned by women, with 5.4 millions of those businesses owned by women of color. Overall, these businesses employ nearly 9 million people. As of 2020, this boom in women-owned businesses shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, but according to NAWBO, 68 percent of US businesses are still run by men. What steps can be taken for more successful women-owned businesses?
Our very own Judy P. started her JudyP Apparel company in 2010 with a passionate focus on US made products with US materials. She believes her success comes from treating everybody she works with fairly and reinforcing the idea that they are all a part of the same team. She says her greatest accomplishment is creating a team of incredible people that are not only good at their job, but enjoy doing it. When it comes to men and women, she sees her success as a result of being a self-made person that didn’t stop to consider her gender as a setback and who worked harder and smarter than everyone around her.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, over the past 20 years women have grown their businesses at nearly four-times the rate as men. Equality is well on the way but it could always arrive faster. Will it take another 20 years? Probably not. As Judy says, there’s no one secret to running a successful women-owned business other than the drive to work hard and to never consider adversity to be stronger than oneself.
Have a happy International Women’s Day from all of us here at JudyP!
