EDC June

U. S. Women's Chamber of Commerce
Economic Development Council - June Objectives (to download a PDF of this - go here)

Thank you for stepping up to a leadership role with the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce™. Have you ever thought about the status of women-owned businesses in your community? Are we big enough to compete? Do we have adequate access to capital, to markets and to centers of influence?

Our June tasks for your region include gaining a good understanding of the status of women-owned businesses in your community. Information reported from around the U.S. will be used to create an extensive report on the status of women in business. Your contribution to this important work will be recognized.

For example:

How many women-owned businesses are there? How many do they employ? What are their sales?
How many SBA loans were awarded to women-owned firms in your region last year - of what dollar amount? How about other lenders?
What is the budget of your state, region or city purchasing? What percentage of that goes to women-owned firms?
What are the leading women's business organizations? What are the leading economic development organizations? Are women adequately represented on their boards and in their leadership?

Please use the form below to submit information regarding your community. Use this form as many times as you need to submit the information. We realize that you may be submitting bits and pieces. Simply come back to this form and complete the information you have found. However, please include your personal information each time you post.

Your First Name :
Your Last Name:
Your State :
Your City of Region:
Your E-mail :
Your Company Name
Your Phone :
Section 1: Women's Business Size and Competitiveness An important part of business growth is the ability of businesses to compete. Business size (relative to the market) is a key element of competitiveness. (Hint - you may find metro numbers at this link. Go to the bottom of the second page - and find the 2002 numbers.) Below is an example of Atlanta: Atlanta has 107,409 women-owned firms or 28.6% of the total firms. Their sales are $16, 897,129,000 - which is only 7.1% of the market whole.
For what region are you providing information?
How many women-owned businesses are there in your area (51% or more woman-owned)?	Number of women-owned (51% or more woman-owned) Percentage share of women-owned businesses (what % of the total market are women-owned)
What are the total sales of women-owned businesses in your area?	Total sales of women-owned businesses in your region Percentage of total sales for the region
How many employees do women-owned firms have?	Total employees: women-owned firms Percentage compared to market whole
How does the percentage of sales and employees for women-owned businesses compare with the percentage of women-owned firms in your area? (For instance - if women-owned firms represent 30% of the firms in your region, do they also represent 30% of the total sales for the region?)
Comments
Section 2: Women's Business Access to Capital Access to capital is imperative to business growth and competitiveness. Did you know? Between 1998 and 2003 the share and value of SBA 7(a) loans going to women-owned businesses actually decreased? Find out if your local SBA Office knows the statistics for their lending and what they are doing to increase lending to women-owned firms. Give them a call and get the ball rolling for knowledge and outreach! Find basic loan data here - http://www.sba.gov/loans/business/ Find the contact for your region here - http://www.sba.gov/regions/states.html
FY 2003 Total Number of 7(a) loans made to women-owned firms. (in your region)
FY 2003 Total Dollars in 7(a) loans lent to women-owned firms.
FY 2003 Total Number of 504 loans made to women-owned firms.
FY 2003 Total Dollars in 504 loans lent to women-owned firms.
FY 2003 Total Number of Micro-Loan loans made to women-owned firms.
FY 2003 Total Dollars in Micro-Loan loans lent to women-owned firms.
FY 2003 Total Number of SBIC loans made to women-owned firms.
FY 2003 Total Dollars in SBIC loans lent to women-owned firms.
Does the SBA regional office in your area have any goals to increase the number and size of loans made to women?
What type of outreach are they doing to educate women about their lending?
Comments
Section 3: Women's Business Access to Markets Women-Owned business must have access to federal and local government procurement markets to assure their growth in the small business marketplace. As you may know, women-owned businesses have been struggling for years to attain the federal government's 5% goal (even though we have 30% of the businesses in the U.S.). The situation is no better when we look at local government (or large corporate) markets. What % of sales from women-owned firms are happening in your region?
In your state -- what % of purchasing by the state government goes to women-owned firms.?	State %
In your city -- what % of purchasing by the city government goes to women-owned firms.?	City %
In your county -- what % of purchasing by the county government goes to women-owned firms.?	County %
In your specific local government entity (e.g. airport, port authority) -- what % of purchasing by the entity government goes to women-owned firms.?	Entity %
If you have a federal agency active in your region, what share of purchasing do they do from women-owned firms?	Fed Entity %
If you have a large corporation active in your region, what share of purchasing do they do from women-owned firms?	Corporation %
Comments
Section 4: Women Business Owners Influence in Community In most communities, women-owned businesses represent about 30% of the market. But, do they hold 30% of the influential seats on local commissions, regional chambers of commerce, and with local area economic development entities? If not, why not? What is the status of women-owned business representation in your area? List the various important business commissions, regional chambers and economic development entities and tell us about their composition.
Influential commission, chamber or entity - name, number of board/commission members and number of women-owned businesses represented on the board/commission.	Organization Name Number of Board/Commission Members Number of Women-Owned Businesses Represented on the Board/Commission
Influential commission, chamber or entity - name, number of board/commission members and number of women-owned businesses represented on the board/commission.	Organization Name Number of Board/Commission Members Number of Women-Owned Businesses Represented on the Board/Commission
Influential commission, chamber or entity - name, number of board/commission members and number of women-owned businesses represented on the board/commission.	Organization Name Number of Board/Commission Members Number of Women-Owned Businesses Represented on the Board/Commission
Influential commission, chamber or entity - name, number of board/commission members and number of women-owned businesses represented on the board/commission.	Organization Name Number of Board/Commission Members Number of Women-Owned Businesses Represented on the Board/Commission
Influential commission, chamber or entity - name, number of board/commission members and number of women-owned businesses represented on the board/commission.	Organization Name Number of Board/Commission Members Number of Women-Owned Businesses Represented on the Board/Commission
Comments
Section 5: Other Comments? If you have any other comments/questions about your market, please let us know below.
Your comments on what needs to happen in your market :
Thank You!