Women in Small Business Exude Optimism

Female small business owners have been just as hard hit by the financial crisis as their male counterparts. But they’re more optimistic about the future.

That’s a key finding of a survey of owners of businesses with from one to 499 employees by the City Business Journals Network, which is owned by American City Business Journals, the parent company of bizjournals and Portfolio.com.

“I would say that they are optimistic about future prospects and they seem to find the silver lining in the struggle,” said Godfrey Phillips, vice president of the network and head of its research efforts. Women own 2.6 million U.S. businesses, 34 percent of small businesses, according to the network.

But while they’re optimistic, more women than men small business owners say they’re concerned about the economy, 75 percent compared to 67 percent. For both groups, the economy is the top concern, ahead of the cost of benefits and the rising cost of doing business.

Women’s businesses tend to be smaller than those owned by men, and they’re more profitable. Women-owned businesses’ annual average profits are $2.4 million, compared to $1.5 million for male-owned small businesses.

But women business owners aren’t as obsessed with money as their male counterparts. Fifty-seven percent said what they do matters more than how much money they make, compared with 49 percent of male business owners.

And women business owners are more concerned about the environment than men, with a strong majority, 57 percent, saying their company respects “green values,” compared to 46 percent of men.

Just as many women as men tell researchers they have been impacted by the economic downturn. Eighty percent of both groups say they’ve been impacted. But for women small business owners, “They’re getting through it, and it’s raising their self-esteem,” said Phillips.

And a larger majority of women than men expect their businesses to grow substantially over the next few years. Sixty-one percent of women said they expected substantial growth, compared to 57 percent of men.

Maybe that’s because they believe the tough times have brought out the best in them. Fifty-four percent of women told researchers they have come to see what a solid business person they are, and 66 percent feel strongly that it’s better to be an entrepreneur than work for a large company. The corresponding numbers for men are 50 percent and 62 percent.