Colorado tops the list of places for women business owners

Things are looking pretty good for women entrepreneurs in Colorado. According to a new report released by Fundera last week, the state ranked 9th in the country for women small business owners.

With more than 11.3 million small businesses generating roughly $1.6 trillion in revenue, it’s obvious that female founders are a force to be reckoned with. The number of woman-owned businesses is growing as well: Women are now the majority owners of 38 percent of the country’s businesses, a 9 percent increase since 2007.

The report highlights the business climate in each state, shedding light for women thinking about starting their own businesses.

Using a composite score, Fundera ranked each state based on a variety of metrics, including number of women-owned businesses, average revenue and growth of women-owned businesses, and general economic health. The data for the report was pulled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The top two states were North Dakota and South Dakota, respectively.

Colorado came in 9th, with some impressive rankings in specific categories. According to the study, Colorado has the highest percentage of women with a Bachelor’s degree or higher, with a total of 23.9 percent, and ranked 5th for overall unemployment rate at 3 percent. The state also came in 6th for number of businesses per 100 people – a sign that small businesses are a huge part of Colorado’s local economy.

However, there were some local figures that showed room for improvement. The report points out that there is only one SBA Women’s Business Center in the entire state – a crucial resource providing technical assistance and training for female-owned businesses.

Colorado is also lagging in the percentage of women-owned firms in business for 11-plus years, a metric designed to show survival rate; at 36.4 percent, the state ranks 41st. Both these metrics show that there’s a lot more work that Colorado can do to support women entrepreneurs, and it starts with providing needed institutional resources to female small business owners.

Luckily, there are many resources online that female entrepreneurs can take advantage of.

The links below provide assistance with topics ranging from financing to growth and mentorship.

• Forbes — New Study: Women Entrepreneurs Ask For Less Financing Than Men, Get Smaller Loans At Higher Rates
• Fundera — The Top Small Business Loans for Women in 2017
• National Women’s Business Council — Grow Her Business
• SBA — Resources for Women
• Score — Find a Mentor
• Women who Startup

Successful entrepreneurs have one thing in common: Support.

Though Colorado’s acknowledgement as one of the top 10 states creating a supportive environment for women entrepreneurs is good news, there remains more work to be done.