Login
At the Small Business Administration, we recognize that helping small women-owned businesses is critical to our economy. Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing segments. In fact, from 2002 to 2007, the growth of women-owned firms outpaced firms owned by men at a rate of 4-to-1.
The impact women-owned businesses have on our economy is easy to see: they employ more than 7 million workers and generate more than $1 trillion in revenue each year. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is committed to helping these businesses start, succeed, and grow, with opportunities for women-owned businesses existing in all of SBA’s core program areas.
Many people are familiar with the SBA because of its loan programs, and for good reason. We’re the nation’s largest single financial backer of small businesses. Over the past three years, we’ve guaranteed an average of over $30 billion in loans to small businesses each year. SBA loans are three to five times more likely to go to women than non-SBA loans. This is critically important because women-owned firms typically start with less capital. A Kauffman Foundation study found firms starting with higher levels of capital show significantly better performance in terms of assets, revenue, profitability and survival.
While these loans cannot be used for
acquiring residential real estate, they can be used for most business purposes, including:
- expansion/renovation
- new construction of owner occupied commercial real estate
- to purchase equipment, fixtures, and make leasehold improvements
- refinance business debt for compelling reasons
- as a seasonal line of credit
- purchase inventory
Through Fiscal Year 2014, the SBA is waiving the guaranty fee on all 7(a) loans of $150,000 or less. Why is that important? Because the most significant credit gap we see is for smaller dollar loans. This is important because these lower dollar loans often help finance new startups and entrepreneurs in underserved communities, which include women, minorities, veterans, and others. Setting these loan fees at zero effectively makes these loans cheaper for borrowers, encouraging lending to small businesses facing the most constraints on credit access. That’s good for these businesses, it’s good news for their neighborhoods and communities, and it’s good news for our economy.
Another SBA program area you should
consider is government contracting. The federal government is charged with putting at least 5 percent of federal contracts in the hands of small women-owned firms. This is referred to as the Women Owned Small Business Program (WOSB). Women-owned
businesses get the contracts they need to
increase their top line and create more jobs, and the federal government gets innovative products and responsive services, often with a direct line to the CEO.
Federal agencies meet the 5 percent goal by using set-aside contracts, which limit competition to firms with the same status (for example, all women-owned small businesses). There are two federal contracting certifications reserved solely for women-owned businesses. The first is the Women Owned Small Business certification (WOSB) and the second is the Economically Disadvantaged
Women-Owned Small Business certification
(EDWOSB). An EDWOSB is a small business concern that is at least 51 percent directly and unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more women who are citizens (born or naturalized) of the United States and who are economically disadvantaged. The EDWOSB automatically qualifies women-owned small businesses for the WOSB Program.
A woman is presumed economically disadvantaged if she has a personal net worth of less than $750,000, if her adjusted gross yearly income averaged over the three years preceding the certification does not exceed $350,000, and the fair market value of all her assets (including her primary residence and the value of the business concern) do not exceed $6 million.
The government buys nearly $100 billion worth of goods and services from small businesses each year, making it a vast market with a lot of potential. To learn more about contracting with your business, you can visit our Government Contracting Classroom at www.sba.gov/gcclassroom, and to learn about upcoming federal procurement opportunities, visit FedBizOpps at www.fbo.gov.
SBA, with the help of its resource partners, is also part of the largest entrepreneurial development and training network in the nation. We have more than 110 Women Business Centers, 900 Small Business Development Centers, and 360 SCORE chapters across the country where small business owners and entrepreneurs can receive comprehensive training and counseling on a vast array of topics. How great is it to be able to meet with a mentor that’s been in your shoes and understands your situation? Let’s say you need some PR tips and best practices. Chances are there will be a mentor nearby who either ran their own PR firm or worked as an executive for a PR firm.
Why is having a mentor important? Because we know the growth rate in revenues and employment for small business clients who receive SBA counseling has outpaced the rate of growth in the economy overall, measured in terms of changes in GDP. This is particularly impressive during a recessionary period. We also have considerable evidence small businesses that have had more than three hours of counseling have higher one-year survival rates than firms receiving less counseling. In addition, these surviving small businesses tend to realize higher growth in revenues and employees than those who have had less counseling.
Visit www.sba.gov to gain acces to the fantastic resources on a number of business topics, from managing a business, to exporting, and everything in between. There’s a Learning Center with all sorts of content to enjoy from the comfort of your home or office. You can find various community blogs at www.sba.gov/blog and interact with business experts and business owners in an environment that’s prime for sharing and learning.
The bottom line is no matter where you are, there’s an SBA resource near you. Just go to www.sba.gov and click on ‘Local Assistance.’ Whether it’s one of our close to 70 SBA district offices, an SBA lender, or one of the thousands of SBA Resource Partner mentors, you’ll always be able to reach someone ready, willing and able to help you start, build and grow your business. That’s our mission. We know when you succeed, our economy and our nation as a whole succeeds.
Based on market research on which industries are underrepresented in terms of percentage of women business owners, SBA has identified over 300 industries that qualify for set-asides, including:
- 237210 WOSB Land Subdivision
- 337110 WOSB Wood Kitchen cabinet and countertop
manufacturing - 337121 WOSB Upholstered household furniture manufacturing
- 337125 WOSB Household furniture (except wood and metal)
manufacturing - 337127 WOSB Institutional Furniture Manufacturing
- 337211 WOSB Wood Office Furniture Manufacturing
- 337212 WOSB Custom Architectural Woodwork and Millwork
Manufacturing - 337214 WOSB Office Furniture (except Wood) Manufacturing
- 337215 WOSB Showcase, Partition, Shelving, and Locker
Manufacturing - 531210 WOSB Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers
- 236115 EDWOSB New Single-Family Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders)
- 236116 EDWOSB New Multifamily Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders)
- 236117 EDWOSB New Housing For-Sale Builders
- 236118 EDWOSB Residential Remodelers
- 237110 EDWOSB Water and Sewer Line and Related Structures
Construction - 238110 EDWOSB Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure
Contractors - 238120 EDWOSB Structural Steel and Precast Concrete
Contractors - 238130 EDWOSB Framing Contractors
- 238140 EDWOSB Masonry Contractors
- 238150 EDWOSB Glass and Glazing Contractors
- 238160 EDWOSB Roofing Contractors
- 238170 EDWOSB Siding Contractors
- 238190 EDWOSB Other Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors
- 238210 EDWOSB Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring
Installation Contractors - 238220 EDWOSB Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning
Contractors - 238290 EDWOSB Other Building Equipment Contractors
- 238310 EDWOSB Drywall and Insulation Contractors
- 238320 EDWOSB Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
- 238330 EDWOSB Flooring Contractors
- 238340 EDWOSB Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
- 238350 EDWOSB Finish Carpentry Contractors
- 238390 EDWOSB Other Building Finishing Contractors
- 238910 EDWOSB Site Preparation Contractors
- 238990 EDWOSB All Other Specialty Trade Contractors
- 321911 EDWOSB Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
- 531110 EDWOSB Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings
- 531120 EDWOSB Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings (except
Mini-warehouses) - 531130 EDWOSB Lessors of Miniwarehouses and Self-Storage Units
- 531190 EDWOSB Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
- 541310 EDWOSB Architectural Services
- 541320 EDWOSB Landscape Architectural Services
- 541330 EDWOSB Engineering Services
- 541340 EDWOSB Drafting Services
- 541350 EDWOSB Building Inspection Services
- 541410 EDWOSB Interior Design Services
- 561210 EDWOSB Facilities Support Services
- 561720 EDWOSB Janitorial Services
- 561730 EDWOSB Landscaping Services
- 561740 EDWOSB Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
- 561790 EDWOSB Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings