Luminary Fellowships

State of Women-Owned Businesses 

The US has 12.3 million women-owned businesses today and that number has increased steadily year-over-year since 2008 and the Great Recession. Did you know...

• US women-owned businesses generate $1.8 trillion a year

• 40% of all US businesses are women-owned

• Women start over 1,800 net new businesses every day 

• 64% of new women-owned businesses were started by women of color 

• Black women-owned businesses grew at 50% from 2014-2019

• Latina women-owned businesses have grown more than 87% since 2007 with more than 400 started every day

• There are 114% more women entrepreneurs today than there were 20 years ago

Challenges Women-Owned Businesses Face 

Market misperceptions
Women entrepreneurs’ competency and market knowledge is routinely disregarded, including market opportunities they identify.

Network exclusion
Women entrepreneurs often experience limited, gender-based, access to established social and business networks, creating less access to knowledgeable mentors, ongoing education and capital expansion.

Managing expansion while underfunded
Barriers to start-up and growth capital create new, ongoing challenges, including constraints on funding for recruitment, access to new markets and overall expansion.

Revenue growth
Despite women owning 40% of all the businesses in the U.S.,  less than 2% of women-owned businesses generated more than $1 million in sales (and that percentage is even lower when you only look at women of color-owned businesses).

The She-Cession

While PPP, small business relief funds and grant programs have provided short term financial relief, they may not fully address the chances for small business recovery and long-term survival of WOBs. Covid-19 has created a “She-cession” disproportionately impacting women and WOBs.

• More than 60% of WOBs in the US self-fund (bootstrap) their business
  
• The current volume of applicants for financial relief exceeds the financial support needed for WOBs
• Money is not enough

WOBs need more than capital - they need access to ongoing education, coaching/mentoring, community, networks, guidance and exposure in order for them to sustain, recover and prosper. Without this support, the Shecession worsens.

Luminary Women-Owned Business Fellowships deliver the following: 

• Ongoing education & critical introductions
• Community and connection
• Business resources and tools
• Marketing support
• Strategic planning and advice
• Coaching and mentorship
• Leadership development

Luminary Fellowships invest in women-owned businesses for the long-term, delivering the necessary tools in order to rebuild, recover, manage and grow your businesses.  A check helps for a day; a Luminary Membership provides for a lifetime.

Thank you to to our Fellowship partners including: