Businesswomen on the go

Utah ranks third in the nation for women-owned business growth, according to a study by the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C.

The study, conducted between 1997 and 2002, found that the number of women-owned businesses in Utah grew by 27.2 percent. Nationwide, the number grew by an average rate of 14 percent.

Employment by Utah's women-owned businesses jumped 94 percent, compared to an average rate of 29 percent in other states.

Idaho and Wyoming topped the center's list. Nevada and Arizona ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

According to the report, the top five states enjoyed "strong overall business growth and market expansion, a greater than average degree of federal financial support for small business, higher than average population growth, lower than average wages, lower than average employment of women in professional and managerial positions and an overall state tax structure that relies more on sales taxes than corporate and personal income taxes as a source of revenue."

"Women business owners in these states are taking full advantage of the special opportunities presented by a vibrant, growing economy, a relatively low-cost work force and government programs providing access to capital, training and technical support," Myra M. Hart, chairwoman of the Center for Women's Business Research and a professor at Harvard Business School, said in a prepared statement. "Not only are they growing at twice the rate of all women-owned business in the United States — their businesses are expanding in employment and revenues by more than two and a half times the rate of all U.S. women-owned enterprises."

Jan Hemming, president of the National Association of Women Business Owners' Utah chapter, agreed that women have more and better opportunities today than ever before.

"There's a critical mass of elements that have contributed," Hemming said. "Everything from favorable bank financing, more female mentors, corporate downsizing, personal independence, plain old chutzpah and the state's pioneering tradition."

Hemming cited a 2002 NAWBO/CWBR survey that ranked Utah's women-owned businesses first among metropolitan areas nationwide in the percentage of growth of women-owned businesses and for their employment levels and sales over the previous five years.

"In the Salt Lake/Ogden region, women employed more than 57,000 people and generated $6.2 billion in sales," Hemming said. "For a small state, the numbers seem remarkable. But I think there's a lot of energy here and a lot of innovation."