A new study shows Georgia leads the nation in the growth of new women-owned businesses for the first time.
The number of firms started by women since 1997 has shown faster growth in Georgia than anywhere else in the nation, expanding by more than 111 percent, according to a report commissioned by American Express OPEN.
Georgia was the only state to see triple-digit growth, according to the study, and businesses owned by females will contribute more than $44 billion to the state’s economy this year.
Atlanta ranked sixth in metropolitan areas when the number of employees and the growth by annual income were factored in to create an “economic clout” ranking.
The report highlighted the number of businesses owned by women, their sales and the number of people they employ. The state has more than 308,000 women-owned firms.
Women are expanding their businesses and delighting in the competition.
Linda Echols started her own hair salon more than 30 years ago with a friend. She now has 24 employees, 20 of whom are women. For her next expansion, she has a vision of a not-for-profit cosmetology school that will provide an avenue to a career for victims of domestic violence. She said, “One key to success is offering flexible hours and days for young mothers. You cater to your customers and to your employees and they stay with you over the years.”
Over the past 15 years, the state has nearly doubled the national growth rate of 59 percent. In spite of the national downturn, employment numbers rose by 24.7 percent.
The report states that revenue growth is stronger among firms owned by women of color and that could indicate that business ownership is an attractive pursuit for them. The report said that “While firms owned by women of color are smaller than non-minority women-owned businesses both in terms of average employment and revenues, their growth in number and economic clout is generally far outpacing that of all women-owned firms.”
Nationally, the number of companies owned by African-American women is up 258 percent from 1997 to 2013, according to Womenable, the firm commissioned for the report. New enterprises owned by Georgia’s African-American women have grown more than 254 percent over that time.
Health care and social assistance have the largest share of women-owned businesses followed by educational services like private schools, cosmetology or training schools, other services such as beauty salons and pet sitting, and administrative and waste management services. The industries with the lowest concentration of women-owned firms are construction and transportation and warehousing.