Women-Owned Business Help from the Small Business Administration

SBA provides resources to help women entrepreneurs launch new businesses, grow their businesses and compete in the global marketplace. With our online resources, financing opportunities and Women’s Business Centers, we’re here to help you succeed.

• Starting a Business

  • Thinking About Starting
  • Writing a Business Plan
  • Registering a Business
  • Licenses & Permits
  • Laws & Regulations
  • Preparing Business Taxes
 

• Growing a Business

  • Hiring Employees
  • Employee Benefits
  • Marketing a Business
  • Exporting
  • Government Contracting

• Financing a Business

  • Estimating Startup Costs
  • Financing Basics
  • Finding Loans, Grants and Venture Capital
 

• Mentoring & Training

  • Find a Business Mentor
  • Online Training
  • Find Local Resources
  • Learn About the WOSB Program

SBA Resources for Women

• SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership

  The Office of Women’s Business Ownership is here to answer your questions on the Women’s Business Center program or other services for women. Learn More

• SBA Loans

  SBA offers a variety of loan programs for specific purposes—see which programs you qualify for. Learn More

• SBA’s Women’s Business Centers

  SBA’s national network of over 100 educational centers assist women in starting and growing small businesses. Find One Near You

• SBA’s Women-Owned Federal Contracting Program

  The WOSB Federal Contract Program levels the playing field for women competing for federal contracting opportunities. Learn More

On-line training curriculum: DreamBuilder
Through a strategic alliance with Thunderbird School of Global Management, SBA is pleased to provide access to the DreamBuilder online training curriculum in both English and Spanish.

Women’s Entrepreneurship Partner Groups

• Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO)
• Association of Women's Business Centers (AWBC)
• National Association of Women in Construction
• National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB)
• National Association of Women's Business Owners (NAWBO)
• National Women's Business Council (NWBC)
• U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce (USWCC)
• WEConnect International
• Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
• Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)
• Women's Presidents' Organization (WPO)

Related Blogs: 

• CommunityWomen Business Owners – Find the Help You Need to Start Up and Grow
• CommunityWomen Business Owners – How to Expand Your Sources of Capital and Get Outside Financing
• CommunityWomen Business Owners – How to Win your Share of Government Business
• CommunitySBA Announces Changes to Contracting Program to Help Women-Owned Businesses Compete for Federal Contracts

2014 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey

In 2014, U.S. businesses (nonfarm) invested $1.6 trillion in new and used buildings, structures, machinery and equipment (including computer software), up $110.8 billion (7.4 percent) from 2013. Investment spending in the mining sector totaled $228.7 billion in 2014, up $26.5 billion (13.1 percent) from 2013, with the oil and gas extraction industry accounting for $196.0 billion of the total spending, up $29.1 billion (17.5 percent) from 2013.

The Census Bureau’s Annual Capital Expenditures Survey provides estimates of all business expenditures during the year for new and used structures and equipment chargeable to asset accounts for which depreciation or amortization accounts are ordinarily maintained. Expenditures also include capitalized leasehold improvements and capitalized interest charges on loans used to finance capital projects.

Why C.E.O.s Are Growing Beards

THESE are dark days for the shaving industry. After experiencing a century of fairly steady growth, makers of razors and other shaving equipment have seen revenues level off or fall in the last few years. Beards are back.

One striking feature of this resurgence is that for the first time in well over a century, a growing number of the world’s business leaders are sporting facial hair. Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin, Goldman Sachs’s chief executive, Lloyd C. Blankfein, and Marc Benioff, the billionaire founder and chief executive of Salesforce, are just a few prominent examples.

It’s easy to view the bearded business leader as a mere extension of the overall beard trend, or yet another sign that work environments are becoming more casual. But the tangled history of facial hair and capitalism suggests that deeper forces are at work.


More from the New York Times

2012 Business Dynamics Statistics

The Business Dynamics Statistics provide annual statistics on establishments, firms, and job creation and job destruction from 1976 to 2012 by firm age and size. These statistics are crucial to understanding current and historical U.S. entrepreneurial activity. The statistics come from a collaboration between the Census Bureau's Center for Economic Studies, the Small Business Administration, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, an American nonprofit organization that focuses on entrepreneurship.

Operation ‘Full Disclosure’ Targets More Than 60 National Advertisers

After reviewing numerous national television and print advertisements, staff of the Federal Trade Commission has sent warning letters to more than 60 companies – including 20 of the 100 largest advertisers in the country – that failed to make adequate disclosures in their television and print ads. The initiative – Operation Full Disclosure – is the FTC’s latest effort to ensure that advertisers comply with federal law and do not mislead consumers.

Operation Full Disclosure focused on disclosures that were in fine print or were otherwise easy to miss or hard to read, yet contained important information needed to avoid misleading consumers. In the warning letters, staff identified problematic ads, recommended that advertisers review all of their advertising to ensure that any necessary disclosures are truly “clear and conspicuous,” and asked them to notify the staff of the actions they intended to take with respect to their advertising. The response to staff’s letters has been extremely positive.

More from the Federal Trade Commission.

Census Bureau released 2012 ZIP Code Business Patterns statistics

ZIP Code Business Patterns provides the total number of establishments, employees, and payroll by 5-digit ZIP Code, and the total number of establishments by industry within employment-size class categories.

Please visit the U.S. Census Bureau’s website to access the data.

ZIP Code Business Patterns defines employment as all full- and part-time employees who were on the payroll during the pay period that includes March 12. Data sources for ZBP are Census Bureau reports and administrative records from other federal agencies.

For assistance, call the ZBP staff at 301-763-2580.

U.S. Economy Added Nearly 245,000 Nonemployer Businesses in 2012

The number of businesses without paid employees in the U.S. reached 22.7 million in 2012, up 1.1 percent from 2011, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. This marks the third straight annual increase in nonemployer businesses, which are businesses with no paid employees, annual business receipts of $1,000 or more ($1 or more in the construction sector) and are subject to federal income taxes.

Nearly all industry sectors that make up nonemployer businesses experienced growth in the number of establishments and receipts, according to findings from the report released this week. Nonemployer Statistics: 2012 includes data on nearly 450 industries in metropolitan areas, counties, states and nationwide.

“Nonemployer businesses represent entrepreneurship in perhaps its purest form, including the classic ‘mom and pop’ shops and people running businesses out of their homes,” said William Bostic Jr., the associate director for economic programs at the Census Bureau.
This release covers 19.6 million sole proprietorships, 1.4 million corporations and 1.7 million partnerships, which account for the total number of nonemployer businesses.

Florida had the largest increase in nonemployer businesses, with 57,978 added in 2012. California (39,051), Texas (38,504) and New York (15,207) had the next highest increases. California still had the largest number of nonemployer businesses with 2.9 million.

Census Bureau Releases New Interactive Visualization of Jobs, Businesses and Other Key Economic Statistics

The U.S. Census Bureau released a new interactive tool designed to visualize the key economic findings found in the statistical agency’s most recent Business Dynamics Statistics report released in July. The Business Dynamics Statistics Visualization Tool spans four decades of information about America’s economy – providing key insights on job creation and loss during the most recent recession. Economic measures such as employment, number of establishments and number of firms can be analyzed for a single year or multiple years from 1977 to 2011.

The tool has three major components: an interactive thematic map for the 50 states, interactive bar charts that give side-by-side comparisons of states and business sectors as well as time series data comparisons over a range of time.

“We are providing a new and easy way for users to look at key economic trends about America’s economy by visualizing statistics over time,” said Thomas Louis, the associate director for research and methodology and chief scientist at the Census Bureau. “The latest Business Dynamics Statistics report shows older firms dominate the economy, new firms are entering the economy slowly, and there has been an overall decline in job creation in recent years.”

In partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Census Bureau has produced annual data series for the Business Dynamics Statistics since 2008. Go HERE for more information on the Business Dynamics Statistics program.

Find guidance on how to use the visualization tool.

World Statistics Pocketbook, 2013 edition

The World Statistics Pocketbook, 2013 edition is an annual compilation of key statistical indicators prepared by the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Over 50 indicators have been collected from more than 20 international statistical sources and are presented in one-page profiles for 216 countries or areas of the world. This issue covers various years from 2005 to 2012. For the economic indicators, in general, three years - 2005, 2010 and 2011 - are shown; for the indicators in the social and environmental categories, data for one year are presented.

The topics covered include: agriculture, balance of payments, education, energy, environment, food, gender, health, industrial production, information and communication, international finance, international tourism, international trade, labour, migration, national accounts, population and prices. The technical notes contain brief descriptions of the concepts and methodologies used in the compilation of the indicators as well as information on the statistical sources for the indicators. Reference to primary sources of the data is provided for readers interested in longer time-series data or more detailed descriptions of the concepts or methodologies.

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pocketbook/World_Statistics_Pocketbook_2013_edition.pdf Direct link to United Nations Statistics Division PDF document

European Social Statistics: 2013 edition

The pocketbook European Social Statistics provides a comparative overview of the social statistics available in Europe. The most recent data are presented here showing the situation in the 27 Member States and at the European and Euro area levels (EU-27 and EA-17 aggregates) where relevant as well as in EFTA (including Iceland, which is also a candidate country) and candidate countries when available (Montenegro, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey). This pocketbook, intended for both generalists and specialists, is divided into seven parts.

Each of the seven chapters focuses on an area of social conditions. Within each chapter, a range of policy-relevant indicators, as well as more descriptive data, are presented in tables and graphs and accompanied by a short commentary.

Direct link to PDF document from Eurostat.

Canadian information

For Canadian information, you may want to check out Industry Canada which has a business and consumer section. Under the business section, you'll find all types of information.

'World's Most Ethical Companies' Revealed

Turns out successful businesses aren't concerned only with their bottom line..

Ethisphere Institute, which compiled the list, says it based its rankings on the following factors: ethics and compliance programs; reputation, leadership and innovation; governance; corporate citizenship and responsibility; and culture of ethics.

(VIA here.)

Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES)

PURPOSE

To provide broad-based statistics on business spending for new and used structures and equipment. United States Code, Title 13, authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory responses. The survey is also referred to as the ACES program.
COVERAGE

All domestic, private, non-farm businesses, including agricultural non-farm (NAICS Subsectors 113, 114 and 115) including nonemployer businesses. Major exclusions are foreign operations of U.S. businesses, businesses in U.S. territories, government operations (including the U.S. Postal Service), agricultural production companies, and private households.
CONTENT

Basic data for each year include expenditures on new and used structures and equipment (including added expenditure detail by type of structure, and by type of equipment in years ending in 3 and 8).
FREQUENCY

Data collection begins in mid-March and continues for 9 months; data are for activities in the prior calendar year. Basic annual data are supplemented on a 5-year cycle; 5th year supplements provide added detail by type of structure and by type of equipment. Data has been collected annually beginning with data for 1993.

More here.

Copyright Clearance Center Announces Motion Picture License

The CCC, in partnership with the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC), developed the Motion Picture License to meet the diverse needs of businesses and their employees and reduce the risk of unintended copyright infringement.

The Motion Picture License allows one to show motion pictures legally in an organization for sales meetings, employee training and development programs, company functions and more while respecting the rights of content creators.

More HERE.

Bribe Payers Index 2011

From Transparency International:

Bribing public officials when doing business abroad is a regular occurrence, according to a survey of 3,000 business executives from developed and developing countries.

Transparency International’s 2011 Bribe Payers Index ... ranks 28 leading international and regional exporting countries by the likelihood of their firms to bribe abroad. Companies from Russia and China, who invested US $120 billion overseas in 2010, are seen as most likely to pay bribes abroad. Companies from the Netherlands and Switzerland are seen as least likely to bribe.

More HERE.

Developments in Women-owned Business, 1997-2007

The years from 1997 to 2007 were a dynamic period in the U.S. economy. The strong growth early in this period was arrested by the recession of 2000-2001; strong economic growth resumed in 2002-2007. The data reflect an economy moving out of a recession and ending on a high note in 2007. How did women and other small business owners fare during this 10-year period between 1997 and 2007?

The primary goal of this report [PDF] is to place gender in a broader perspective. Business ownership no longer can be analyzed simply on the basis of the owner’s gender; businesses owned by women and men more and more share the same general development patterns. Moreover, the strong growth of publicly held firms, which cannot be identified by the demographic characteristics of their many owners, has led to the need to focus on both privately owned and publicly held firms.

The research summary can be found HERE.

Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Joe Johnson at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.

Nonemployer Statistics, 2009

Annual report on businesses without paid employees in nearly 300 industries for the nation, states, counties and metropolitan areas. Most who own such businesses are self-employed and operate very small businesses (for example, real estate agents or beauticians) that may or may not be their primary source of income.

The number of nonemployer businesses...declined by more than 260,000 between 2008 and 2009 across the United States, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau...In 2009, there were 21.1 million nonemployer firms, a decrease of about 1.2 percent from 2008. This continues a decline first noted in 2008 — following the beginning of the recession at the end of 2007 — when the total number fell by more than 350,000 from a peak of 21.7 million firms in 2007.

“Nonemployer firms generate a small percentage of total U.S. business receipts, but they constitute the majority of U.S. businesses...”

The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Business

From SBA [PDF].

"The annual cost of federal regulations in the United States increased to more than $1.75 trillion in 2008. Had every U.S. household paid an equal share of the federal regulatory burden, each would have owed $15,586 in 2008."

Check especially the chart on PDF page 60.

Number of Minority-Owned Firms Increased at More Than Double the Rate of All U.S. Businesses From 2002 to 2007

In 2007, minority-owned firms numbered 5.8 million, up from 4.0 million in 2002, an increase of 45.5 percent, more than double the 17.9 percent increase for all U.S. businesses, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 Survey of Business Owners. Receipts of minority-owned firms increased 55.0 percent to $1.0 trillion over the five-year period, compared with the 32.9 percent increase for all businesses nationwide. In 2007, more than one-fifth (21.3 percent) of the nation’s 27.1 million firms were minority-owned.

Of the 5.8 million minority-owned firms, 766,533 had paid employees, an increase of 21.7 percent from 2002. These firms employed 5.8 million people, a 24.4 percent increase from 2002, and their payrolls totaled $164.1 billion, an increase of 42.2 percent. Receipts of minority-owned employer firms totaled $860.5 billion, an increase of 54.3 percent from 2002.

In 2007, minority firms with no paid employees (nonemployers) numbered 5.0 million, an increase of 50.0 percent from 2002. These firms had receipts totaling $164.3 billion, an increase of 58.9 percent...

The new data are from the 2007 Survey of Business Owners: Company Summary, which provides statistics on minority and nonminority business ownerships every five years, as well as breakdowns and cross-tabulations by gender, race, ethnicity and veteran status. Separate data are provided on firms equally owned by minorities and nonminorities, by men and women and by Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

For most minority groups, the gains in the number of women owners were higher than for men.

The three states with the largest number of minority-owned firms in
2007 were California, Texas and Florida. California had 1.2 million minority-owned firms, or more than a fifth of all minority-owned firms in the United States. Texas had 723,057 minority-owned firms, or 12.6 percent of all minority-owned firms, and Florida had 680,069 minority-owned firms, or 11.8 percent.

The Survey of Business Owners defines minority-owned firms as firms in which blacks, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, or Hispanics own 51 percent or more of the equity, interest or stock of the business. Additional reports from the survey highlight other characteristics of businesses and owners.

The Survey of Business Owners is conducted every five years as part of the economic census. The 2007 survey collected data from a sample of more than
2.3 million businesses. More details concerning the SBO survey design, methodology, comparability and data limitations can be found at here.

Veteran-Owned Businesses Numbered More Than 2 Million in 2007

In 2007, U.S. military veterans owned 2.4 million businesses, which accounted for 9.0 percent of all businesses nationwide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These businesses generated $1.2 trillion in receipts, or about 4.1 percent of all business receipts nationwide, and employed nearly 5.8 million people.

All in all, businesses where veterans were majority owners or half-owners numbered 3.7 million, representing 13.5 percent of all businesses nationwide, accounting for more than $1.6 trillion in receipts and employing 8.2 million people.

The new data come from the Survey of Business Owners (SBO): Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2007, which provides the first-ever detailed information for all veteran-owned businesses in the United States, including number of firms, sales and receipts, number of paid employees and annual payroll. Statistics are also shown for nonveteran-owned businesses, as well as for businesses that are equally owned by both veterans and nonveterans.

Nearly one-third of veteran-owned businesses (32.5 percent) operated in the professional, scientific, and technical services and the construction sectors.

More info HERE.