Women are starting businesses at an unprecedented pace. According to the 2018 State of Women-Owned Business Report, there are an estimated 12.3 million businesses owned by women in the U.S. economy. These firms employ around 9.2 million workers and generate more than $1.8 trillion in annual revenue, with around $1.3 trillion adding to the U.S. GDP. Clearly, women-owned small businesses are doing wonders for the economy. As a result, it is imperative to support and sustain these enterprises.

In today’s business world there is an increasing number of businesswomen and female entrepreneurs. From start-ups to large scale establishments – the climate is right for innovating and creating from a woman’s perspective. TRUiC CEO Nagabhushanam " Bobby " Peddi says that “our organization invested a lot to make sure that women who are serious about business, can find all the guides they need to tap into a wealth of opportunities aimed at helping them to succeed”.

Entrepreneurs and young business owners endure a challenging road during their planning, launching, and maintaining their business. Unfortunately, some of these challenges are still being endured by millions of female entrepreneurs, as a lack of funding, community support and growing confidence in the economic environment are withholding them from breaking the barriers.

Additionally, we cannot ignore the hardships women in male-dominant businesses and companies face, but as the socio-econic scales start to balance out, we’re beginning to see a rise in female corporate leadership, ignoring and dismantling gender based stereotypes and building a balance in the modern work and family lifestyle.

For women in business to launch their dream company smoothly and successfully there are 5 Important Resources for Women in Business :

Business Formation Resources

Small Business Administration (SBA)

This ads a federal agency, dedicated to helping small businesses through “counselling, capital and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses”.

SBA’s resources for female entrepreneurs are seemingly endless, ranging from business guides on launching and managing your business to in-person local assistance.

The benefit of SBA’s offerings is there is no membership required, and small business owners will just need to fill in applications for SBA-guaranteed grants or loans which has a wait-time of around 60 to 90 days.

SCORE

Another exceptional service, partnering with the Small Business Administration is SCORE, an official resource for business mentoring and education. With over 10,000 expert volunteer mentors waiting in the wings, SCORE offers invaluable help to small businesses hoping to establish themselves or expand to achieve their goals.

This mentoring service can be accessed at one of the 300 local SCORE chapters or via email, phone, or video. There is no membership fee involved – simply submit a mentoring request or find your nearest local chapter and see what it has to offer.

Financial Resources

WomensNet

One of the few places offering grants to female-founded small businesses is WomensNet, who prides themselves on ditching endless paperwork required for government grants, and rather asking one thing of its recipients: “pay it forward”.

As of recent the WomensNet Amber Grant has doubled to $4,000 for 2020 and is awarded to one female-founded business each month, with the opportunity for a winner to earn an additional $25,000 grant at the end of the year. All it entails is a simple $15 fee and a handful of persuasive answers to the short application.

Certification Resources

The National Women Business Owner Corporation (NWBOC)

The NWBOC has appealed for women business owners who want national certification and who wish to benefit from further resources such as mentoring programs, training opportunities and funding to apply, since they offer an application kit to help business owners through the process. There is a $400 minimum application fee and it can take from 6-8 weeks to process the certification. The benefit of this certification is that the NWBOC provides a national certification program to both WOSBs and EDWOSBs.

Instagram Verification Service

For you as a woman in business to achieve the necessary news visibility, there are PR experts as well as a designated professional editorial team to help you through the process before applying for Instagram Verification. Making use of a fast and discreet service with a high success rate is the best way forward. When managed by experienced PR teams, a 3 step Instagram verification process will suffice, namely PR preparation, Instagram profile optimization, and submission for verification.

Being verified by Instagram is a way to ensure that the account that is being used is of authentic ownership by the person, but also boosts engagement from the public more frequently with companies or businesses through spreading accurate and reliable content.

Networking Resource

eWomenNetwork

As the name suggests, eWomenNetwork is a small business networking resource for women in business. Boasting with a considerable network size, connecting over 500,000 women and men with 118 chapters across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom this organisation facilitates community-building. This is achieved through several core initiatives, such as its annual conference, Women’s Success Summit, SpeakersNetwork, success coaches, and monthly Sip, Tip and Talk events for women in business.

Becoming part of this ever-growing network and gaining access to exclusive networking resources for women business owners such as chapter meetings or private coaching sessions is simple. Interested parties simply must create a profile and pay a once-off, life-time initiation fee of a meagre $357 and $19.95 per month. If you are looking for a Platinum membership, you will need to add your name onto a waitlist.

Giving it some final thought

Being a female entrepreneur comes with its challenges, but you aren’t alone, together you will be provided with all the necessary networking tool and resources to reduce stress while you work on your start-up or already established company.

Women in business events – such as local meetups, global conferences, and support groups – allow you to connect with other businesswomen, listen to the industry experts, share your own ideas, and discover valuable women in business resources to grow your own leadership skills. The window into the entrepreneurial world for women in business may seem daunting, but with the help of useful resources along with guides from experienced entrepreneurs will help you enjoy your journey.