As we celebrate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day today, we are reminded of the incredible strides women have made in business and entrepreneurship – and of the significant challenges that remain.
According to Wells Fargo’s inaugural Impact of Women-Owned Businesses, which was released earlier this year, women own more than 14 million businesses in the United States (about 39% of all companies), employing more than 12.2 million people and generating $2.7 trillion in annual revenue. In non-employer businesses, Arizona has a higher share of women-owned businesses than the United States as a whole.
Moreover, the growth of women-owned businesses outpaced men during the pandemic and post-pandemic years.
Still, there are numerous challenges women entrepreneurs face – including accessing venture capital dollars, gender bias, and limited access to mentoring or network opportunities.
It’s an experience that can be rewarding, but also difficult, said Michelle Smith, co-founder of Untethered Aviation in Sedona.
“Being a woman entrepreneur is a wonderful journey,” she said. “However, there are inherent challenges that can affect women specifically. Women tend to be more risk adverse, which leads to a fear of failing or not reaching ‘conventional’ expectations or standards as determined by their male counterparts.”
In addition to co-founding Untethered, Smith previously founded – and continues to run – a separate business, Independent Education Group, an education consulting firm.
Smith is one of the millions of women who have turned to entrepreneurship at higher rates than ever before, valuing the greater security, flexibility, and professional growth that can come from starting your own business.
“We are in a very special and unique space and I feel grateful every day for the opportunities that exist,” she said.
Tracie Hansen, owner of Minuteman Press in Flagstaff, observed that women are making remarkable progress in owning businesses in traditionally male-dominated industries like hers. “I think women often bring a fresh perspective to customer service, which benefits both businesses and the community,” she said.
Yet she acknowledges that women in business often feel the need to prove their abilities more overtly.
“Printing is a production-based industry, and I’ve noticed that people sometimes ask how much of the hands-on work I do myself,” she said. “I’m deeply involved in every aspect of my business, and I hope that dedication becomes the assumption for all entrepreneurs, rather than something we feel needs to be proven.”
There are numerous resources for women interested in pursuing entrepreneurship in northern Arizona, including Moonshot AZ, which not only fosters entrepreneurial businesses, but also offers specific training for female entrepreneurs through its WE Mean Business monthly meetups. The Business Resource and Innovation Center in Camp Verde offers entrepreneurs programs to assist in developing their business models, while the Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization provides small business loans for startups that might not qualify for conventional bank funding.
Meanwhile, Northern Arizona University offers the Venture Studio at Cline Library where students, faculty, alumni, and community partners can collaborate to develop market-ready solutions that address genuine user needs with an entrepreneurial mindset.
As we celebrate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, we should honor the achievement of our local female business owners but also recognize the need to support programs that ensure that more women have the opportunity to succeed as entrepreneurs so that their ideas and innovations can be fully realized and help transform our region.
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