According to SCORE, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, women-owned businesses in the United States increased 21% during the past 5 years. As a result, female founders are interested in small business training, networking and mentoring opportunities that support their success. This growth is reflected in the increasing number of women seeking guidance for their business ventures – 64% of SCORE clients are women, up from 60% from the 2 previous years.
Networking Opportunities
Local events for women small business owners are flourishing, providing opportunities for connection and resources. A recent SCORE Bucks County (Pa.) conference, “Women Building Businesses,” drew more than 200 attendees. Featured speakers covered topics ranging from social media consulting to employment law.
SCORE Westchester (N.Y.) hosted another Women’s Small Business Symposium, convening with more than 100 attendees to focus on the theme “Beating the Odds.” Speakers included executives and business owners, loan officers, grant experts and business tool demonstrators, designed to help women entrepreneurs navigate small business challenges.
Mentorship for Women-Owned Businesses
For many women small business owners, a mentor can provide a critical advantage. In fact, entrepreneurs who work with a mentor are five times more likely to start a business – and report higher revenues and increased business growth.
Useful Resources for Women Business Owners
SCORE offers free and confidential business advice alongside resources and tools created especially for women entrepreneurs. SCORE mentors, many of them successful women small business owners themselves, are ready to help other entrepreneurs achieve their business goals. To learn more, visit SCORE’s Resources for Women Entrepreneurs.
NEW BOOKS
Are you a female founder interested in additional resources? Here are a couple of new books to add to your reading list:
New Book Listens to Women Leaders and Discovers a Management Model for the Future
Ahead of International Women’s Day, Amplify Publishing has released a groundbreaking leadership book: The Sixth Level: Capitalize on the Power of Women’s Psychology for Sustainable Leadership. The book features real-life narratives that describe methods women business leaders have used to respond to crises and opportunities in their organizations. These strategies reflect women’s psychology and have enabled leaders to achieve greater profits and sustainability.
Based on the collected stories, co-authors Rachel Wallis Andreasson, Stacy Feiner, Jack D. Harris, and Kathy K. Overbeke developed Sixth Level leadership—an innovative model that centers on human connection and the ethic of care to achieve productive teams and sustained growth. Essential aspects of women’s social psychology are defined and inserted into organizational behaviors, enhancing shared experiences by improving the quality of human interaction while achieving successful results.
The Sixth Level model uses four core differentiators—qualities that distinguish women’s leadership. These differentiators (mutuality, ingenuity, justness and intrinsic motivation) redesign leadership and promote a collective interest to create healthy social dynamics that optimize business results. Although women are often oriented to these qualities, anyone can learn them.
Unlocking the Potential of Women Across the Globe
Who Runs the World?: Unlocking the Talent and Inventiveness of Women Everywhere by Lois Quam is now available. The book is published with Forbes Books, the exclusive business book publishing imprint of Forbes. Across the globe, women have their voices silenced and their autonomy taken away from them. In Lois Quam’s book, Who Runs the World?, the CEO and global healthcare sounds a wakeup call for the realities women face but also offers a message of hope and inspiration.
Lois Quam is the CEO of Pathfinder, where she demonstrates the vital role that empowered women can play in addressing major global challenges. Prior to Pathfinder, Quam served in the Obama Administration as the leader of the Global Health Initiative at the State Department, overseeing $8 billion in global health programming. She has also led a division of UnitedHealth Group focused on serving vulnerable populations through Medicare and Medicaid.
Quam is a Rhodes Scholar with degrees from Oxford University and Macalester College. Her career spans across the corporate, government and non-profit sectors. She has focused on expanding access to healthcare and economic opportunity for underserved communities around the world.