Microenterprise development organizations (MDOs) are adept at doing more with less. Compelled by the drive to serve larger numbers of aspiring entrepreneurs amid a tighter funding environment, many are, not surprisingly, looking more closely at distance learning. Both urban and rural programs have grown geographically by establishing branch or regional offices wherever potential clients work and reside in numbers. But, the costs and organizational impact can be high, leading MDOs, especially those focused on training and technical assistance, to explore virtual alternatives.
Archives: Resources
A Snapshot of Women Small Business Owners
Women play a central role in rebuilding the middle class and keeping our economy growing. As women continue to start businesses in this country, it is imperative they have the right tools to be successful. But do they? Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation began to explore this question by conducting a brief poll among women small business owners.
Small Business Sustainability Report
Green market opportunities and operating practices should matter to owners of the smallest businesses. As this report makes clear, that’s not just for ethical reasons. Our work – including a national survey of more than 1,300 business owners – reveals a compelling business case for green.
Research on the Women-Owned Small Business Program
The primary focus of our analysis was to evaluate the impact of the WOSB FCP on the participation of and awards granted to women-owned small businesses. Of principal interest was whether WOSBs are meeting procurement thresholds of 5 percent (in both contract number and dollar amount) of total Federal prime contracting awards since the implementation of the WOSB FCP rules in 2011.
Women in Business: 2007-2010
In its latest infographic, ‘Women in Business: 2007 – 2010’, the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) builds off its previous analysis in the 2012 annual report to track the performance outcomes of approximately 98% of employer establishments identified in the 2007 Survey of Business Owners. Using the data sources available to the Census Bureau, NWBC and the Census Bureau have tracked the expansions and contractions in employment, as well as the closing or sale of businesses, through 2010. This is the most recent government data available on women business owners.
Impact of Microenterprise on the Community
Does microenterprise have an impact on the local economy? Drawing on nearly 25 years of experience and five years of data collected from 753 clients, Women’s Initiative examined the impact of our program on the local economy through increased sales, income, jobs, and sales tax. We found that, even as economic recovery and job growth remained weak in the U.S., our clients – the low-income, high potential women we serve – multiplied their annual gross revenue more than thirteenfold within the first 18 months after training, and in 2012 alone, our clients provided 2,313 jobs for others through their businesses. Including the jobs that they created for themselves, this amounted to a total of 5,317 local jobs created and retained in 2012. The findings in this report indicate that our program has had a significant impact on the local economy. For every $1 invested in our program, $30 was returned to the local economy within 18 months after training. Moreover, this return on investment accumulated each year as clients’ businesses continued to thrive. Five years after training, the return on investment reached $108 for every $1 invested in our program, demonstrating that an investment in microenterprise has a powerful and sustainable economic impact on the community as well as on the individual entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurial Assessment for the U.S. 2011
During the summer of 2011, the United States participated in the 13th annual cycle of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research. Across the globe, 54 economies participated in the survey, spanning diverse geographies and a range of development levels. In the United States over 5,800 adults between the ages of 18 and 99 were interviewed.
2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report
The GEM study is uniquely positioned to advance understanding about entrepreneurship and facilitate decisions and initiatives that promote these endeavours. Each year, GEM provides a broad array of data on societal attitudes, participation levels of individuals at different stages of the entrepreneurship process and the characteristics of entrepreneurs and their businesses. This information can enable comparisons within and across individual economies, geographic regions, and economic development levels.
Entrepreneurship in Portland
The State of Entrepreneurship in Portland reviews the current environment for entrepreneurship in Portland and defines an action plan to complement the City’s target industry cluster and neighborhood economic development strategies and catalytic redevelopment efforts.
2013 Independent Business Survey
ILSR’s annual survey has found that independent businesses experienced solid revenue growth in 2012, buoyed in part by “buy local first” initiatives.