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The Role of Microbusiness Employers

The SBA Office of Advocacy released a report on the impact of microbusiness on the national economy. Microbusinesses, defined in the fact sheet as firms with 1-9 employees, are the smallest of the smalls but they are the most common type of small business and exhibit an oversized role in employment.

Challenges of African-American Entrepreneurs

The report, entitled “Stuck From The Start: The Financial Challenges of Low- and Moderate-Income African-American Entrepreneurs in the South,” reflects interviews with 30 African-American business owners in eastern North Carolina, southwestern Georgia and the Jackson and Delta regions of Mississippi. The project was launched to better understand why Black-owned businesses struggle to succeed relative to their White peers.

Prosperity Now Scorecard – California

Prosperity Now (formerly known as CFED) released its 2017 Scorecard, which finds that even as many major economic indices suggest that the U.S. economy is gaining momentum, only a lucky few are actually enjoying the opportunity to get by and get ahead. The Scorecard measures how states’ residents are faring economically and what the states do to put them on stronger financial footing. This year’s Scorecard assesses the states on 113 measures in five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Home ownership & Housing, Health Care and Education.

Millennial Women & Entrepreneurship

This report explores entrepreneurship among millennial women via multiple avenues. First, the report covers existing research on millennial entrepreneurship, including how the media portrays these entrepreneurs. This section highlights millennial women and identifies knowledge gaps, requiring additional study. Second, the report presents a data-based profile of millennial women entrepreneurs in America utilizing data from the American Community Survey and the Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons. Finally, the conclusion posits further research questions with an eye towards developing action-oriented policy initiatives to assist millennial women in starting and growing businesses.

The Tax Code & Women Business Owners

This report, in keeping with the mission of the Kogod Tax Policy Center (KTPC) to conduct non-partisan policy research on tax and compliance issues specific to small businesses and entrepreneurs, provides an initial assessment of how the Code’s tax expenditures targeted to help small businesses grow and access capital impact women-owned firms. The results are eye-opening.

Women’s Business Ownership 2012

Women’s importance to the U.S. business community is self-evident, and statistics like these help our understanding of their impact. As the only large-scale survey on business demographics, the Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners (SBO) provides an opportunity to evaluate women-owned businesses. Using the SBO data, this report analyzes the unique characteristics, current role, and opportunities for growth of women-owned businesses in the U.S. economy. Due to changes in the SBO’s survey methods, this report is primarily a snapshot of women-owned businesses in 2012.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Model

One approach to understanding the interactions between the actors and processes that support segments of entrepreneurs, such as women entrepreneurs, is the application of an “entrepreneurial ecosystem” framework. NWBC’s entirely new ecosystem model serves as a tool to evaluate regional support of women’s entrepreneurship. The convergence of the domains on women-owned ventures, centrally displayed, demonstrates that actors throughout the ecosystem work together to engage, advise, and drive the growth of women entrepreneurs.

Crowdfunding for Women Entrepreneurs

This research was commissioned by The National Women Business Council (NWBC) and prepared by A2F Consulting LLC to explore the distinct relationship between crowdfunding and women entrepreneurship and develop a deeper understanding of crowdfunding as a capital source. The research aims to: i) identify and document available demographic and other descriptive quantitative information on crowdfunding, including equity crowdfunding; ii) identify gender differences in crowdfunding in terms of industry, goals, investors, platforms used, and success; iii) document existing policies that may support or hinder women’s participation in crowdfunding campaigns; iv) provide additional information and guidance to women entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital through crowdfunding; and v) provide policy recommendations for supporting women entrepreneurs.

Generational Views of Entrepreneurship

America’s SBDCs did a study – America’s Voice on Small Business – that delves into the entrepreneurial mindsets of different generations of Americans. The findings reinforced previously held beliefs such as a strong entrepreneurial inclination among millennials, while challenging preconceived notions about their motivations for starting a business. One third of Americans (34 percent), have worked in a small business and nearly a quarter (24 percent) of both millennials and GenXers own or have owned a small business.

2016 Employer Firms Credit Survey

The 2016 SBCS, which was fielded in Q3 and Q4 2016, yielded 10,303 responses from employer firms in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report findings provide an in-depth look at small business performance and debt at the end of 2016.