SCORE’s latest infographic answers: are women-owned businesses as successful as male-owned businesses?
SCORE surveyed more than 20,000 business owners at all points of the business lifecycle: pre-start, startup, in-business and transitioning.
Women are slightly more likely than men to start businesses in 2017: 47% of women started a business in 2017 vs 44% of men.
Top industries for women-owned businesses:
- 19% Professional Services
- 12% Retail Sale/Trade
- 10% Health Care and Social Assistance
Top industries for men-owned businesses:
- 15% Professional Services
- 12% Construction/Manufacturing
- 9% Retail Sale/Trade
Women are just as successful in revenue:
- 59% of male entrepreneurs and 57% of female entrepreneurs predict revenue increases
- 15.5% of both men and women predicting static revenue
- 9.5% of men and 9% of women predicting a decrease in revenue
There is little difference in longevity of men and women-owned businesses. Years in business:
- 1 year: 5% of male entrepreneurs and 4% of female entrepreneurs
- 3 years: 12% of men and 14% of women
- 6 to 10 years: 20% of men and 21% of women
- 11 to 20 years: 17% of men and 15% of women
- 20+ years: 17% of men and 13% of women
Men-owned and women-owned companies experienced similar changes in number of employees:
- No change: 62% of male entrepreneurs and 65% of female entrepreneurs
- Increase: 30% of men and 27% of women
- Decrease: 8% for both
Overall, there is no difference in reported success between men-owned and women-owned businesses. Is your business:
- Struggling? 33% of male entrepreneurs and 34% of female entrepreneurs
- Maintaining its current size? 32% of both men and women
- Moderately expanding in size/revenue? 28% of men and 29% of women
- Aggressively expanding in size/revenue? 7% of men and 5% of women