by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Since 2004 the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center (JWBC) has assisted over 1,000 aspiring and current women business owners in becoming more successful. A recent study presented to the community on Thursday, showed just how well women business owners are doing in Northeast Florida.
Jacksonville University and the Center for Women’s Business Research in Washington, D.C. developed the “2007 Report to the Community on the Status of Women Business Owners.” One of the key findings was that in 2006 women business owners in the seven counties of Northeast Florida generated $18.8 billion in total economic impact and 225,885 jobs.
The data and findings allow the JWBC, an economic and community development program of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, to develop programs and services based on the needs of women business owners.
“It is very important to have this type of work done,” said Dr. Gwen Martin, managing director and director of research at the Center for Women’s Business Research. “Before you can jump in and start doing things, you need a benchmark.”
Anna Brosche, JWBC Advisory Board chair and a partner at Ennis, Pellum & Associates, CPAs, said even though the center has had a lot of success in the past three years, they still wanted a study done to see what areas they could improve on.
“We discussed the importance of research,” she said. “We have to know them (the women business owners) first, before we define what we need to focus on next.”
Jacksonville University conducted a random study of 424 women business owners with at least 50 percent ownership. They first wanted to determine exactly who owns these businesses. Martin said the owners are on average about 50 years old, have a college education and work experience, their business is outside of their home, they have three to six employees and they operate a personal service or retail firm.
“These women generate mean annual gross sales of about $3 million and median gross sales of $150,000,” she said. “That’s incredible.”
Martin added that one of the most significant findings is that 13 percent of Northeast Florida’s women business owners gross more than $1 million in sales a year — nationally, that percentage is 3 percent.
The study showed that the most common problem they encountered when starting their business was the cash flow. Other problems included finances and controlling their time. The most common problem now is controlling their time followed by cash flow.
One of the main reasons why JWBC wanted this study done was to find out what women business owners need from the center to help them be even more successful. Some of the needs that emerged included programs on cash flow, increasing sales volume, finding/retaining employees, handling business growth, using the Internet effectively, setting up computer systems, selling and cost-effective advertising.
“Part of developing a plan is seeing where we are today,” said Roslyn Phillips, chief community officer for Mayor John Peyton, speaking on behalf of Peyton. “The Women’s Business Center plays a vital role in Jacksonville’s economic impact. The services provided by the center provide an important role in starting a new business.”
Dr. Hassan Pordeli, professor of economics and finance at JU, conducted an economic impact study of Northeast Florida women business owners using an “IMPLAN model.”
In 2006, there were 37,373 women-owned businesses in Northeast Florida. Duval County had the largest with 22,503 and St. Johns County was second with 4,507. The other counties in the study include Baker, Clay, Flagler, Nassau and Putnam.
“In the last four years, the growth has been tremendous,” said Pordeli. “That is a huge economic impact.”
He added that the 225,885 jobs created in 2006 is one-third of all jobs created in Northeast Florida.
Pordeli also put Jacksonville up against four other cities who are similar in size. The four cities were Charlotte, Charleston, Memphis and Nashville. Jacksonville ranked third, behind Charlotte and Nashville, for the number of women-owned businesses in 2006. Charlotte was at 58,835 while Nashville was at 37,647.
“Jacksonville has a lot to be proud of,” he said.
Martin added that she is going to use this study done for the JWBC as a model for other Women’s Business Centers in the U.S.
“You’ve got a great start here,” she said. “This study shows that women business owners really do have an impact on the economy.”
Sheryl Lynn, CEO and founder of The Local Applause Network, said as a business owner and a supporter of women-owned businesses, she isn’t surprised by the results of the study.
“It’s not a shock, but it gets my adrenaline going and reinforces to me that I am on the right track and I am doing a good job,” she said.