Small Business

Jordan Allen is dressed conservatively: dark suit, white dress shirt open at the neck, a heavy watch on his wrist. When he’s done with his set-up, it’s still early, so he works the room, going around the table, introducing himself, shaking hands with everyone. In answer to a question, he says that he’s been in business for six years. Which might not seem that remarkable, until you consider that Jordan is in the eighth grade. But after he’s been formally introduced by his host, and launches into his talk, there’s no doubt that this young man has developed significant business vocabulary and acumen over half a dozen years of growing his business.

In the business world today, the number of women entrepreneurs is growing rapidly with more and more female-founded entrepreneurial ventures being established on a daily basis. In fact, as of 2016 there were more than 9 million women entrepreneurs in the United States. Since 2001, the growth rate of women-owned firms has been 1.5 times higher than other small businesses. Overall, firms led by women account for about 5 million U.S. jobs.