women in franchising: Lisa Williams | Vice President of Retail & Innovation | PROSE Nails
Women Empowered by Entrepreneurship An entrepreneur’s journey in franchising often begins without capital, a team or market. But almost all start their ventures with an abundant supply of optimism. It’s what helps franchisees see well beyond their risks, providing them with the confidence and capacity to remain resilient. Entrepreneurship is ultimately the great economic equalizer, creating a pathway for mainstream economic participation.
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rom geography and gender to race and ethnicity, diversity in its many forms drives innovation. Because of a woman’s different perspective, skills, and experiences, they solve problems in different and innovative ways. This should bode well for the U.S. economy, but women face more obstacles than other entrepreneurs in general when starting and growing a business. Eradicating barriers that thwart the success of women-owned businesses is an economic imperative that can spur innovation and improve productivity, which will ultimately create jobs, build wealth, and jumpstart the economy. In 2021, it was estimated that the US had 12.3 million women-owned businesses 14 Franchising MAGAZINE USA
generating $1.8 trillion a year. In fact, 40% of US businesses are now women owned. This number becomes even more astounding when you consider that there were only 402,000 women-owned businesses in 1972. The number of female entrepreneurs operating American businesses today marks a 114% increase over the same statistic a couple of decades ago, with many of them finding financial success and rewarding careers through opportunities in the franchise industry. Yet there is a significant size disparity between women owned businesses and others. Closing the gap benefits everyone, not just women. More goods and services bought and sold grows the economy. Thriving companies improve owners’ financial positions and boost employees’ incomes. Launching more companies to
solve business and consumer pain points makes our country and our economy more competitive. Realizing the economic potential of women-owned businesses requires changes in policies, business practices and attitudes. Making meaningful change also requires understanding that womenowned businesses are not monolithic. Influences such as gender, race, ethnicity, entrepreneurial motivation, generation, and geography are complex dynamics that also need to be factored in. In general, COVID was unkind to women far more than men when it comes to leaving the workplace and we’re still uncertain of how many women-owned businesses were created during the pandemic. With necessity being the mother of all invention, it’s safe to say that women-
