PrintWe are in the midst of an entrepreneurial revolution in America and throughout the world - and women are leading the charge. Consider this: Throughout the past decade, the number of female-owned ventures increased by 78 percent, which is almost twice the rate of growth for all businesses.
Half of all U.S. businesses are owned by women. According to the latest research, women-owned businesses contribute nearly $3 trillion to our national economy and create or maintain 23 million jobs. If women-owned businesses were a country, they would have the fifth-largest gross domestic product in the world, ranking ahead of the United Kingdom, France and Italy.
These numbers are even more impressive when you consider that female entrepreneurs have higher barriers to entry because they have less access to mainstream networks, resources and thus, fewer opportunities.
Here in Oklahoma, women entrepreneurs and aspiring women entrepreneurs represent a golden opportunity for economic growth. With greater access to resources, more role models, access to high-quality training and expertise, and more peer-to-peer networking, women- owned businesses can dramatically increase jobs, sales and tax revenues, and overall productivity.
Supporting and facilitating women's entrepreneurship is the goal of an exciting, innovative conference being offered by the Riata Center of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University. The Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference will help women entrepreneurs bridge the gap in accessing resources to start and grow businesses successfully. This one-day event Tuesday at the Cox Convention Center will:
→ Celebrate the accomplishments of female entrepreneurs.
→ Explore unique challenges and opportunities confronting women who want to pursue entrepreneurial dreams.
→ Learn how to effectively handle those challenges.
→ Provide insights and perspectives regarding the path to success.
We have gathered an outstanding group of successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, consultants and educators from across the United States. On hand will be the founder of Build-a-Bear Workshop, the founder of the largest bun company in the United States, and a long list of diverse speakers who will inspire women to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and dream big.
The Women Entrepreneurs Inspire conference will be a day packed with learning, inspiration and networking, and we anticipate it will lead to future opportunities to provide year-round support to women entrepreneurs in Oklahoma.
In an economic environment that seems to harbor more bad news than good for businesses, support of women's entrepreneurship should be seen as a refreshing beacon of hope - especially for the 8.5 million women-owned businesses in existence in the U.S. and the countless others that have yet to take flight.
Miyasaki is director of the Riata Center of Entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University.
