NEW YORK, March 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The annual Biz2Credit Women-Owned Business Study found that women-owned businesses had higher earnings growth (27% increase) than male-owned firms (22%) increase in 2022. Additionally, a year-over-year comparison showed an increase in overall annual revenue by 2% and a decline in operating expenses by 3% last year.
The Biz2Credit Women-Owned Business Study examined financial indicators, including annual revenue, operating expenses, age of business, and credit scores of loan applicants. Key findings:
- Average Earnings (Annual Revenue - Operating Expenses) for women-owned businesses increased 27% ($57,712 in 2022, up from $45,295 in 2021), while earnings for male-owned businesses increased 22% ($108,067 in 2022, up from $88,328 in 2021). Earnings for all small businesses increased by 23% last year, rising from $69,451 in 2021 to $85,593 in 2022.
- Average Revenue for women-owned businesses rose 2% to $263,091 in 2022, up from $258,590 the previous year. A year-over-year comparison showed an increase in overall annual revenue by 2% and a decline in operating expenses by 3%.
- The Average Credit Score for women dropped by 1 point from 588 in 2021 to 587 in 2022. The credit score for male-owned businesses was 610 in 2022, down two points from 612 the year before. (Credit scores based on owners’ personal FICO scores.)
- Applications for credit from women-owned businesses were 37% of funding requests on Biz2Credit’s platform; male-owned firms submitted 63%.
- Average Funded Amount: Male-owned businesses received $93,976 in funding, while women-owned businesses received $55,898 on average.
- Funding Requests by State: The most loan applications from women-owned businesses came from Texas, Georgia, Florida, California, and Illinois.
- Average Age of Business for women-owned firms was about 3.5 years (41 months), while male owned firms were longer established at just over 4 years (50 months).
- Categories of Businesses: Other Services (except Public Administration) represented 29% of the women-owned firms in the study, followed by Retail (16.5%), Accommodation and Food Services (8.9%), Health Care and Social Assistance (7.2%), and Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (6.1%). Women-owned businesses in the Manufacturing sector experienced a 35% increase in earnings, while companies in the Information Technology (IT) sector had the highest average revenue.
“Women-owned businesses did very well in 2022. Their earnings rose by 27%, which is higher than male-owned firms grew over the year prior,” explained Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, one of the country’s leading experts in small business finance and fintech. “We saw growth among women-owned companies in sectors including Services, Manufacturing, Accommodation and Food, and Healthcare.”
“With more and more people buying goods online, service businesses have done well. Many of them, including spas and nail salons are run by women,” Arora added. “As COVID restrictions eased, people started spending money again. Women-owned businesses benefited from pent-up demand.”
Importance of Women-Owned Businesses
There are nearly 13 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. as of 2019, and from 2014 to 2019, the number of firms owned by women of color increased by 43%, according to American Express’s State of Women-Owned Businesses Report. An estimated 10.9 million people are employed by women-owned companies, and they generate nearly $1.9 trillion in revenue, according to the Census Bureau.
Biz2Credit partnered with the Association of Women's Business Centers, which works to secure economic justice and entrepreneurial opportunities by supporting and sustaining a national network of 150 Women’s Business Centers (WBC). These centers help women succeed by providing training, mentoring, business development, and financing opportunities. In 2022, AWBC's SBA-funded WBC locations served more than 85,000 clients, helped start more than 3,000 firms, and helped clients access a record $1 billion in capital.
“Women’s Business Centers have expanded, now reaching into every state to assist women to access networks and funding for their businesses. The work has gotten tougher compared to recent years,” said Corinne Goble, CEO of the Association of Women’s Business Centers. “The national network of nearly 150 Women’s Business Centers is seeing more business starts but also greater challenges accessing opportunities and funding to help them grow and succeed.”
Federal help is needed
“When we invest in women-owned businesses, we give our overall economy a boost. I am proud to support female entrepreneurs and will continue my work to ensure all business owners have equal opportunity to provide for their employees and contribute to our economy,” said U.S. Representative Sharice L. Davids (D, KS-03), a member of the House Small Business Committee.
Rep. Davids has introduced two bills to support military veteran and female entrepreneurs that both passed the House with broad bipartisan support. The Women’s Business Centers Improvement Act increased funding for Women Business Centers, which offer a full range of critical counseling and technical training services for companies primarily owned by women. She also sponsored the SERV Act, which addresses access to credit and promotes small business programs available to veterans.
Success Story
Like many businesses, Jonathan Sprouts, a Massachusetts-based company that increases the availability of sprouts in supermarkets and via food services companies is a woman-owned business in a male-dominated industry. The company struggled through the pandemic and later with the supply chain and staffing issues that hindered countless small businesses logistically and financially.
“We couldn't find our cups, our seeds, our labels. Everything was double due to inflation and staffing shortages. We had to pay double or even triple in a very short time to keep our customers stocked,” explained Liz Reilley, co-owner and president of Jonathan Sprouts. “I knew I needed some funding to get us through this pinch.”
“Now, we are watching our business turn around. The loan gave us the time we needed to raise our prices and catch up with inflation. It literally saved our company. I was not sure if we were going to be able to continue,” she added. “We were not prepared to go through a pandemic, followed by a supply chain shortage, a staffing shortage, and inflation. Today we're back on our feet. We have everything we need to continue this business. The market is strong, and we're going to be strong for decades.”
Methodology
The dataset for Biz2Credit’s Women-Owned Business Study is comprised of nearly 150,000 completed credit applications received via the Biz2Credit platform in 2022. The four most important variables in the analysis were: annual revenue, operating expenses, age of business, and personal credit score. The data was then tabulated to examine women-owned and male-owned firms based on annual revenue, operating expenses, age of business, personal credit score, funding rate, and average loan size. The study looked at 20 different industries, as well as geography.
About Biz2Credit
Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged more than $7 billion in small business financing. The company is expanding its industry-leading technology in custom digital platform solutions for banks and other financial institutions, investors, and service providers. Visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @Biz2Credit, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Media Contact: John Mooney, (908) 720-6057, john@overthemoonpr.com
