Merry Christmas From the Official Escape From Corporate America Blog!

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Happy Holidays From Escape From Corporate America!

Photo credit:  @2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Raising High-Achieving, Independent Women

Whether you are raising a daughter, looking out for a niece or overseeing the well-being of a granddaughter or neighbor, this article on Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pictured) sharing her thoughts about how to raise a trail-blazing daughter will inspire you.

Want to Raise a Trail-Blazing Daughter?  'The Notorious RBG [Ruth Bader Ginsburg]' Says Do These 7 Things

Mr. President: Make It Easy On Us to Grow

Elizabeth Gore (pictured), entrepreneur-in-residence at the Dell computer company, wrote a letter to both main USA presidential candidates prior to November 8th, which urged the next president to take steps that would make it easier for businesses owned by women to grow.

Read the letter, headlined, What We Need to Succeed, and take a look at the article.

The Future of Small Business Is Female

Women are making it happen, building businesses, fostering collaboration and mastering the world of social media.  We're good.  We're best at what we do.

Discover what women who started small businesses with BIG ambition are doing these days.

Inspiring You to Succeed

To commemorate Women's Entrepreneurship Day (11/19), here are 30 quotes from successful and powerful women entrepreneurs that will inspire and motivate you.

Pat yourselves on the back too for all your great work.

Read more:  30 Motivational Quotes from Women Entrepreneurs That Will Inspire you to Succeed

Pro-Women

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Below are a few organizations that work to fight for the rights of our most vulnerable populations, and ways you can volunteer or donate to make sure they are able to work harder than ever. Another one not mentioned on the list that I am involved in is Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global.

A List of Pro-Women, Pro-Immigrant, Pro-Earth, Anti-Bigotry Organizations That Need Your Support

Useful Leadership Lessons

We started this blog, Escape From Corporate America, because so many women are fed up with Corporate America.  Yet, many women decide to stay in Corporate America by choice because whatever the setbacks in their careers, these challenges often provide useful leadership lessons that help propel their ascent and success.  That's the case with a new book by Joann S. Lublin.

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Joann S. Lublin, author of the new book, Earning It:  Hard-Won Lessons from Trailblazing Women at the Top of the Business World, shares many real-life and compelling stories about workplace experiences and moving up advice from more than 50 corporate female leaders.  Some of the inspirational leaders featured in the book include Mary Dillon, CEO of Ultra, Virginia Rometty, CEO of IBM, and Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, to name just a few.

Whether you are an entrepreneur or corporate executive and you want to know what to do or what not  to do when you confront the challenges of the workplace, this book offers great practical advice in every chapter that will help you navigate the business world.  You can be smart about good choices and you can be candid about mistakes -- but the point is you must willing to put yourself out there, be courageous, take chances, and earn what you deserve.    

And for my men readers, please read this book.  We need you to help us succeed in business and in the executive suite.  Your mothers, wives, daughters, nieces and granddaughters will applaud you for your effort and support.  I will too.

To learn more about Earning It, and to order a copy, visit:
https://www.amazon.com/Earning-Hard-Won-Lessons-Trailblazing-Business/dp/0062407473/

Photo courtesy:  Laurel Delaney

To Grow, Find Good Mentors

Three out of 10 small businesses are owned by women nationally.  About two percent of them have broken the $1 million mark in revenues.  Why is it so hard to break into the million-dollar plus revenue range?  Many think it is because women lack good outside advisors.

But the people problems run far deeper than not having outside experts. About six in 10 of the [Kaufman Foundation] survey respondents said they lacked a strong support structure within their businesses.

Learn more:  Female business owners say they need mentors, marketing help

Note:  A good peer-to-peer advisory group is the Women Presidents' Organization.  (Disclosure:  I manage the Chicago market for WPO.)

Never Be Afraid to Start Your Own Business

Artist Sylvia Sinel (pictured) said her craft is experiencing a revival.  Sinel moved from Sweden three years ago and said she "found her medium" in New Zealand.  In it, she wasn't afraid to start her own business.  After joining the Waikato Society of Potters, she started with ceramics.

Read more to learn what happened next:  From working with money to working with clay

Take It Global Gals!

If you are in or around Chicago on Friday, October 21st, join us for the world's best little Global Small Business Forum held at 70 West Madison Street from 7:30 a.m. -- 4:30 p.m.  My company, Global TradeSource, Ltd. (GSBB Media, LLC) is hosting it.  You'll hear from entrepreneurs and business owners -- men and women alike -- talking about how they expanded their businesses internationally.

Our sponsors this year are:  CEI, MB Financial, TradeUp and Nixon Peabody.  Without them, this program would not be possible.

To learn more and to register, visit:  http://www.global smallbusinessforum.com.  There's a fee involved but the good news is that you receive breakfast, lunch, all program content, and a copy of my latest Exporting book endorsed by Good to Great and Beyond Entrepreneurship best-selling author Jim Collins.  Students get a substantial discount.  Oh, and we are also auctioning off two really neat prizes:  an iPad mini and a Mio global health watch!  Eli's Cheesecake will be serving up something sweet and memorable for each attendee.

I hope to see you there! 

Illustration credit:  @2016 GSBB Media LLC, 2nd Annual Global Small Business Forum 2016.  All rights reserved. 

Women-Owned Businesses Are Growing Across the Nation

Dun & Bradstreet and Pepperdine University have released new data showing how women-owned small businesses stack up against the national average for accessing capital.

The index shows that women-owned businesses are feeling more optimistic for growth compared to other businesses, however they are feeling more restricted when it comes to accessing capital.  Other key facts include:

• 69% of women-owned businesses are planning to hire in the next six months (compared to 61% national average)
• 67% of women-owned businesses are in need of financing due to planned growth (compared to 59% national average)

You can access the full PCA Q3 index report here.

Women-Owned Businesses Will Be the Major Job-Creators in 2018

According to The Guardian Small Business Research Institute, women-owned businesses will create more than half of the new jobs by 2018.  So the question that begs to be asked:  Which U.S. presidential candidate will you vote for to support job-creating entrepreneurs like ourselves?

Read more:  How Will You [Candidates] Support Job-Creating Entrepreneurs?

Screenshot:  A look back on the more cordial days between Trump and Clinton.

Are You Robbing Yourself of Entrepreneurial Success?

I can't say I do any of these.  Do you?

4 Ways Entrepreneurs (Especially Women) Unintentionally Rob Themselves of Success

Regardless, there's a nice ending:

"Listen to yourself. Live your truth. Claim your sense of knowing. It's your company. Have faith in your intuitive sense of what needs your attention, when, and why.  Trust yourself."

Screenshot:  Reina Trust Building (Michelle Reina, PhD, pictured right, and author of the above article). 

Raising an Entrepreneurial Daughter

Is entrepreneurialism a skill that can be developed?  It's certainly a mindset.  Here are four ways you can help your daughters become entrepreneurs, not just in business, but in life.  It starts with setting an example.

4 Ways Parents Can Foster an Entrepreneurial Spirit in Their Daughters

On Financing, Female Entrepreneurs Still Face Challenges

According to Fundera's new study, two things are a fact:

1. Women are approved for small business financing at a lower rate than men.
2. Women entrepreneurs also typically receive smaller loan amounts and worse loan terms than their male peers.

What's the good news?  Not much when it comes to financing for female entrepreneurs.  Consider this as well (as it relates to No. 1):  Women are half as likely as men to be approved for loans from the Small Business Administration. 

Read on.  Female Entrepreneurs Still Face an Uphill Battle with Financing

Over-50 Entrepreneurs Have the Fire in the Gut

Are you an encore entrepreneur -- a man or woman over the age of 50?  Like any business you start, you must write down your goals if you want to achieve them.

If you want to do it and you’re willing to work hard, I’ve seen what success looks like,” she [76-year-old Elinor Arendt] said, giving an example of her willingness to work hard. Arendt said she has been lifting weights three times a day since January 1990.

For inspiration, read more:  Looking for an encore:  Over-50 entrepreneurs are focus of start-up effort

What Leads to Success in Starting a Business?

Is the following what you are thinking?  When I started my business, it's what I thought.

Many people start a business thinking they will start making money immediately they open their doors - only to find that making money in a business is much more difficult than they thought.

Below, women entrepreneurs share basic steps that led to success in their businesses.

How successful women grow their businesses 

Entrepreneurship Can Be a Lonely Endeavor

Entrepreneurship can be a grueling and solitary journey.  Ask some of the women who attended a recent conference hosted by Amazon in Seattle, Washington.

For the attendees who came from 43 U.S. states, the U.K., Canada and Australia, it was a rare close encounter with the company that enables their entrepreneurial ambitions but is also the hard-to-read arbiter of a ruthlessly competitive platform.

Amazon wants to personally connect with its merchants, particularly due to the Marketplace becoming one of the main pillars of Amazon's fast growth.

Read more:  Women entrepreneurs find Amazon marketplace profitable, sometimes perplexing

Screenshot courtesy:  The Seattle Times

Top 5 Cities That Cultivate Women Entrepreneurs

The top five cities considered the best to be a female entrepreneur:

1. New York
2. San Francisco Bay area
3. London
4. Stockholm
5. Singapore.

To make it to the top of the list, five important categories of city characteristics were identified:

1. Capital
2. Technology
3. Talent
4. Culture
5. Markets

New York is doing something about it.

The [New York] city is encouraging women like Rita [a retired school teacher from India] to understand they are not in this alone, that there is assistance and encouragement as they move into a new business enterprise and for many, a new role in life.

Read more:  New York Program Cultivates Women Entrepreneurs

Women Entrepreneurs Get a Confidence Boost

Is the glass half full for women entrepreneurs when it comes to growing our businesses?  We certainly hope so.  Yet, for our male counterparts, they share a glass half empty outlook.  At least that is according to the inaugural Bank of America Women Business Owner Spotlight.  Take a look:

Based on a national survey of 1,000 small business owners, BofA (BAC) found that 54% of women small business owners expect their revenue to increase over the next year, compared to 48% of men. And of those surveyed, 60% of women expect to grow their business over the next five years vs. 52% of men. 

Read more:  Female Entrepreneurs Getting a Confidence Boost in 2016

How to Get Finance Ready

Women are also nearly twice as likely as men to rely on family members to fund their new businesses, and young men age 18 to 24 are about twice as likely to start a business as young women of that age.  What factors are at play here?  Women business owners:

• Are more efficient with their money when it comes to launching a new company
• Have less access to capital
• Are wary about the financing process

True or not true?  Regardless, find out what actions you can take to get your business finance ready. 

Read more:  Women vs. Men With Startup Funds, the Gig Economy's Impact, and More

Entrepreneur Ivanka Trump

Ivanka Trump owns her own company.  More importantly, she wore a dress from her own label to introduce her father at the Republican National Convention 7/21/16.  According to the New York Post:

...the 34-year-old mother [Ivanka Trump] of three is putting out the message that she’s an up-by-her-bootstraps, entrepreneurial kind of gal, too.

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.

Now, the big question becomes:  Where does she make these dresses?  I have a feeling they might not be made in the USA, which leads me to ... her father better take a more favorable position on international trade (TPP, NAFTA, etc.).

Read more:  Ivanka Trump wears her own label's $158 dress to introduce her Dad

It's Still a Man's World in the Aftermarket Automotive Industry

Come on ... research shows that more diverse companies are more profitable.  So what gives when it comes to the old boy's network in the aftermarket automotive industry?

Women business owners have experienced this:

Several female auto business owners said it was commonly assumed they knew nothing about the industry, with customers and distributors asking to speak to men.

They go on to say:

“It is unfortunate to say, but in the field, women are not viewed as competent by their male counterparts . . . the biggest problem is not being seen as having equal intelligence with regards to the trade,” one women told Hachem [St. Clair College researcher Nour Hachem] in a focus group.

Hachem conducted a study for Automotive Industries Association Canada, which entailed surveying owners, employees and hosting seven focus groups for women in the industry across the nation.  The net result is:

Women working in the aftermarket automotive industries say it’s still a man’s world.

Hopefully these issues don't apply to Mary Barra, CEO of GM.

Read more:  Automotive industries still filled with barriers for women.

Are You a Chicago Woman?

Chicago Woman is a magazine and media brand that speaks directly to professional women who live, work and play in Chicago. They tell the stories that empower women, while inspiring them to live their best lives, at the office and at home. Chicago Woman was created to serve as a platform for the women who are the movers, shakers and makers in the beautiful city of Chicago (my hometown I  might add :-)!

Whether you live in Chattanooga or Chicago, you'll find many of the articles featured at Chicago Woman Magazine inspiring and informative.  Here's an example.

Learn more:  Chicago Woman Magazine

Best Beach Reads to Build Your Business

I am not a big beach reader but I love to squirrel away in my home and knock down a business book or two each week.  Everyone has to find their special place to recharge.  Inc. Magazine has put together a wonderful list of great reads for the summer.  One I'm sure to buy is Adam Grant's "Originals."  It looks fabulous.

Read:  Top 23 Business Books You Should Read This Summer

P.S.  I also just finished updating my best-selling Exporting book and the 2nd edition will be ready in early fall.  Watch for more on that coming soon!  Have a great 4th of July holiday weekend!  Oh, one more thing ...

P.P.S.  Escape From Corporate America is 12 years old on July 7th.  We launched EFCA on July 7, 2004. Yay to you for your interest and yay to us for keeping on, keeping on.  To the future!  And thank you for your readership.

Fake It Till You Make It

It's hard to believe that women the world over running successful businesses still struggle to be taken seriously.  One woman business owner who runs Australian-based Cupcake Central says "To a certain extent, I had to fake it till I make it."  She goes on to say, "You have to sell the dream."

Whether you fake it till you make it or have a hard time being taken seriously, never give up.

Learn more great inspiring tips from women business owners: The truth about discrimination facing female entrepreneurs

Screenshot courtesy: Cupcake Central

Leading Reasons Why Men and Women Go Bankrupt

What a sensitive topic.  Who likes to talk about insolvency whether personal or professional?  Best to sweep it under a carpet and move on.  Not so fast.  Men’s and women’s distinctively different roles in the economy reveals pronounced differences in the factors that cause them to go into bankruptcy.

The leading reasons for men to go bankrupt are job loss and business failure, while the most common causes for women are the breakdown of a relationship, living beyond their means and the loss of a partner’s income, according to a study by R3, a professional association for insolvency practitioners.

Read more:  Men and women go bankrupt for different reasons | FT.com

Young Women Entrepreneurs Are Leading the Job Creation Charge

According to a new survey, EY Global Job Creation Survey 2016, released this week, women are creating more jobs and hiring more workers than their male peers.  The survey shows that job creation levels are even higher among younger women.

But what is even more exciting is that young women entrepreneurs, are leading the job creation charge.

Women younger than 35 expect to have an average 16 percent increase in their workforces this year, and 56 percent report they hired more new workers last year than expected. That's compared to 13 percent of young men who expect to grow their employee numbers this year, and 56 percent who hired more people than they anticipated last year.

Read more:  Women Entrepreneurs Are Creating More Jobs Than Men

How Women Entrepreneurs Fare on Business Ownership in Kansas City

How well are Kansas City women entrepreneurs actually doing in comparison to their male counterparts on business ownership? And how does Kansas City stack up against other cities and the national average?

Read more:  Women in Entrepreneurship:  How KC Stacks Up to Other Cities

Become a WEGG Warrior

For those of you who currently export or desire to, Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization offers monthly webinars that are no charge on how to take your business global.  Full disclosure:  I serve as the Executive Director of WEGG so I'll be on the webinars with you.

Learn more:  WEGG Webinars  Sign up for the next one on June 8th.  Become a WEGG warrior.

Repurposing Valuable Content to Grow Your Business

Dequiana Jackson (pictured), CEO of Inspired Marketing, Inc., shows you how to repurpose a simple one-hour teleseminar into twelve other grand marketing vehicles.

Read:  12 Ways to Repurpose Your Best Business Content

How Opening a Business Can Be Surreal

According to the Center for American Progress, black women comprise 13 percent of the female population in the United States.  Between 1997 to 2013, the number of companies created by black women nationwide grew by nearly 258 percent — and the trend is growing in Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana.

The [Shreveport] Times recently sat down with four black women entrepreneurs driven by past experiences, hardship and unique circumstances.

Learn more about their stories:  Four Inspirational Women You Should Know

Screenshot courtesy:  Suite 9 1 Six (the business of one of the four women interviewed in the article)

Tips On Landing Government Contracts

Gloria Larkin (pictured) is president of marketing consulting company TargetGov and author of The Basic Guide to Government Contracting and The Veterans Business Guide: How to Build a Successful Government Contracting Business.  In addition, she is the past National Procurement Committee co-chairwoman for Women Impacting Public Policy.

Below Larkin shares two main points on how to land government contracts:

1. One piece of paper can accomplish more than an expensive, glossy brochure by precisely pinpointing what a company’s abilities and offerings are and how they can benefit a customer.
2. Capability statements (word-heavy documents) help create critical first impressions and define business strategy while appealing to three layers of decision-makers: Small-business representatives, contracting officers and program managers.

What not to do?  Larkin adds:

"Don’t use pretty pictures of people smiling, because they don’t say anything to your target."

Read the article:  Business owners soak up advice on landing government contracts

Project Entrepreneur: Increasing the Number of Female-led High-Growth Companies

UBS has launched a philanthropic program called Elevating Entrepreneurs. The initiative serves under-resourced, high-potential companies by connecting them with people to help grow their businesses.

One of their initiatives is:

“Project Entrepreneur, in partnership with the Rent the Runway Foundation, [which] aims to increase the number of female-led high-growth, economically impactful companies. Program elements include a venture competition, digital hub, multi-city events, and an accelerator program.” 

Learn more:  Elevating Entrepreneurs program helps under-served businesses achieve success

Oh, No Let's Go!

Our tribute to the late Prince.  Beginning lyrics to his song, "Let's Go Crazy:"

"Dearly beloved

We are gathered here today

To get through this thing called life ..."

May he rest in peace in purple heaven.

The Sunny Realities of What It Is Like at the Top

At the  recent Women’s Entrepreneur Festival, a couple hundred businesswomen came together to share their best-kept work secrets. The group discussed the sunny realities of what it’s like to be at the top, or at least somewhere vaguely near it.  Here are seven insider secrets they shared.

1. Cybrids are the future. 
2. If you want to start a business, start small.
3. But it’s important to remember that “it’s very hard to come back from a bad culture.” 
4. Accept that you don’t know everything. 
5. Be able to sell your vision — not just to investors, but to everyone. 
6. Rejection is simply information. 
7. Kim Kardashian and Sheryl Sandberg are two sides of the same coin.

Read the entire article:  7 Insider Secrets From Female Entrepreneurs

A Positive Attitude Can Drive You Almost Anywhere

Ever watch Shark Tank, a place where budding entrepreneurs bring their dreams to fruition?  Kristen Asleson has and in the article below she talks about the importance of attitude when pitching a product.

Having a fresh, positive outlook and attitude can drive you just about anywhere. Even if you financial brilliance and an idea that would make other inventors green with jealousy, without the right attitude, you won't get too far.

Read:  Women at Work:  A positive attitude can drive you almost anywhere

To Get Ahead, Advocate For Yourself

Interesting twist here:  The article below shares a few tips gleaned from a panel of five executive women -- yes, you read that right ... executive women, not entrepreneurs -- who have accomplished a great deal during their careers in corporate America but the conversation takes place during the Women Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship event last week at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center.

Take a look at what the women executives had to say about life in Corporate America:

• "The glass ceiling still exists in the corporate world for women and even though they have cracked the surface, it has not yet been shattered."
• "The glass ceiling is alive and well," said Christann M. Vasquez, president of Dell Seton Medical Center.
• “It’s hard to know even within your own corporation whether you are getting fair and equitable pay,” she said. But some online sites like Glassdoor can provide insight into industry salaries.

And here's to a great ending of the article:

“I learned to have a sense of confidence in myself and not to be pushed around,” she said. “That was to discourage me. That’s what I call dream thieves and I wasn’t going to let anyone steal my dreams.”

Definitely read the entire piece to get your day's dose of inspiration:  How to Empower Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

The Future of Leadership is Women

Meet the world's greatest female leaders.  Forbes has put together its 2016 list of game-changing leaders, which includes 23 women.

Screenshot of Mina Guli, CEO of Thirst and one of the women featured on the list.

Achievement Brings Its Own Rewards

In the article below, learn about Grace.  Not just any Grace, but amazing Grace -- the untold story.

Grace is a Gen X. She comes from humble family roots with a strong work ethic. She may not have been the high school beauty queen or the class clown, but she learned early in life that achievement brings its own rewards. 

Read:  The story of amazing Grace and women in business

Road to Entrepreneurial Success Is Never Smooth

The road to entrepreneurial success is never smooth.  In fact, it's quite bumpy and filled with twists and turns.  Some liken it to a roller-coaster ride!  Yet, there are strategies for combating what might be considered self-defeating beliefs and achieving new heights in your career.

Here are three.

As an Entrepreneur, What Should You Watch on TV?

As USA Today contributor Rhonda Abrams says, "Small business is the second-most admired institution in America, yet it’s rare to see small business owners on television. Cops?  Sure. Dysfunctional families?  Plenty.  Even aliens.  Small business owners?  Not so many."

Below, she highlights the results of asking small business owners to share their favorite TV small business characters -- from The Shark Tank to The Good Wife to The Simpsons.  I know, I know, who has time for TV but you'd be surprised at how many successful entrepreneurs do.  See what you are missing.

Read the entire article:  Strategies:  Who has the best small business on TV?

Are Black Women Entrepreneurs Not Getting Investors?

Despite Black women being the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. —owning 1.5 million businesses and generating $44 billion a year— the initial support to launch is not there.  Why is that?

“They weren’t getting the seed funding they needed,” Finney [research lead by Kathryn Finney with Dr. Marlo Rencher was published in “The Real Unicorns of Tech: Black Women Founders” and examined 60,000 startups 88 of which were Black women led ...] told Forbes. “We don’t have lead investors. We don’t have people willing to write that first big check.”

Black women entrepreneurs only received 0.2 percent of all venture funding in the past five years.  It's as if black women entrepreneurs are not seen as innovators or women who can run successful businesses.

Read more:  Study Discovers Black Women Entrepreneurs Not Getting Investors

A Place Where Business Owners Turn to Get Inspired

Loren Feldman (pictured), formerly the small business editor of The New York Times, now oversees entrepreneurship coverage at Forbes. You don't want to miss his features.

In the article below he covers today's must-reads for entrepreneurs, including one that features women entrepreneurs.  Great stuff.  Here's a clip:

Six women entrepreneurs begin a conversation about imposter syndrome and breaking through $1 million in revenue: “Several of us had been called “that girl,” as if we hadn’t yet made it past puberty. 

Read more:  Today's Must-Reads For Entrepreneurs:  Can Gusto Supplant Zenefits?

Give Back. Reach Out to Help.

There are millions of executive coaches out there in the world but what about mentors to women entrepreneurs and business owners?  Founder, Encore Entrepreneur Institute, Janice Celeste (pictured) says:

With 10.6 million women-owned businesses in America, there should be plenty of women mentors, right? No, there is a drought of female mentors in the United States. A survey by LinkedIn shows that only one out of five women has a mentor.  

Yet, anyone who has solid business experience, particularly growing a successful business, can mentor a woman-owned start-up enterprise.

The key:  You must ask.  

If there is someone you have your eye on, reach out to her today to see whether she has time to mentor you.

What are you waiting for?  

Read more:  Why women-owned startups are desperate for female mentors.

Growing a Business Requires an Investment of Time

According to data from the most recent American Express OPEN Small Business Growth Pulse, 89% of small businesses indicate they invest a significant amount of their personal time in an effort to grow their business.

Also in line with these findings:

Six in ten (60%) small business owners say they spend a larger percentage of time working ON their business to drive growth rather than IN their business managing details.

Women Business Owner Highlights

Nearly eight-in-ten women businesses owners (78%) state growth is the top priority for their business, on par with men (80%) and small business owners overall (79%).  However, while growth is a priority for women business owners they are not following through with hiring (58%) and capital investment plans (64%) at the same rate as their male counterparts (61% and 77% respectively). 

Read more:  Small Business Owners Investing Significant Personal Time and Savings to Grow Their Business, According to American Express OPEN Research

Where in the World Are Women Most Likely to Found a Business?

According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking 2015, the number of female entrepreneurs is now significantly higher than in previous years.

Even so, it is much lower than the number of men starting new businesses. In 2012, approximately 12 percent of global startups had a female founder and this increased to 18 percent in the 2015.

Which global city grabs the top spot for women starting a business?  I am proud to say it's my home town:  Chicago!

Read more:  The World's Top Cities For Female Entrepreneurs

Note:  For women business owners who want to finance their international business activities, you might want to register for a webinar on 2/3 at 10:00 a.m. Central.

In 2015, Women Entrepreneurs Own 30 Percent of all Enterprises in USA

According to the 2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN:

Women entrepreneurs now own 30% of all enterprises in the United States. As of 2015, there are slightly more than 9.4 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., yet, these account for only 4.23% of business revenues, which is roughly the same amount they contributed in 1997. In addition, 70% of women-owned firms have less than $25,000 in revenue and only 10% have paid employees.

These women need business-friendly loans and services and the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, a leading advocate for women on economic and leadership issues, is on a mission to find the right credit union to serve its more than 500,000 members’ needs.

Learn more:  Credit Union Partner Sough for Women's Chamber of Commerce