2007 Survey of Women Business Owners: Read All About It!

I am always thrilled when someone at a BIG company gives me advance notice on important information. And that's exactly the case here. Patricia Ewert, who is Director of RSM McGladrey in Chicago, passed along a recently released survey of women business owners indicating that female entrepreneurs are not only working to have it all, but risk it all as well.

The message that resonated the most with me in the survey is to start early with your entrepreneurial desires!

Take a good look at some of the survey findings:

• Of the business owners of companies with revenue of $6 million or more, almost 40 percent were between the ages of 20 and 29 when they started their companies. Regardless of the size of the company, most women started their businesses between the ages of 30 and 39. When respondents were asked what they would do differently, a clear majority said they would have started their businesses earlier.

• It is often assumed that women are more risk adverse than men. But when asked “How much risk would you take or have you taken to start or expand your business?,” more than 60 percent said they had used or would use up to 95 percent of their personal savings or put up their home as collateral for a loan to start or expand their businesses.

• Also, nearly 85 percent of the respondents somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement that “compared to other people, they were confident in their abilities to succeed,” and according to the survey, they are. About 50 percent of respondents reported revenue growth of more than 10 percent in the previous year, while an impressive 32 percent had revenue growth of more than 20 percent.

The far-reaching 36-page survey, which polled 650 women business owners from 35 states, was sponsored by RSM McGladrey Inc., the University of Chicago, the Committee of 200 (C200) and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

For more information about this survey, please contact Pat at patriciadotewertatrsmi.com or call 312-634-3064 (Ext. 43064).