Women entrepreneurs on a dramatic rise in NYC over past 5 years: Study

Watch out men, women are taking over the Big Apple.

In honor of the start of Women’s History Month, a new study by the nonprofit Center for an Urban Future was released Tuesday showing that over the past five years women-owned businesses have grown four times as fast as male-owned businesses in New York City.

According to the study — called “Breaking Through: The Economic Impact of Women Entrepreneurs” — with a total of 413,899 women-owned firms, New York had more women-owned businesses than any other American city.

“Women entrepreneurs have become a major force in New York City’s economy, but we have only begun to harness their tremendous economic potential,” said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future.

Based on the study — which was funded by Capital One’s Future Edge initiative — women-owned businesses make up more than 40 percent of private companies in the city — compared to 33 percent five years ago and 32 percent 10 years ago.

Over just the last five years, the number of women-owned firms in almost every major industry sector increased by at least 20 percent, according to study. Businesses owned by women make up 72 percent of all businesses in the health care and social assistance sector and 62 percent of the educational services sector.

The report also stated that male-owned businesses increased by 8 percent during the same period compared to a 36 percent increased by women-owned businesses.

The borough of Brooklyn has more women-owned business than all but three other cities — New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago — with a total of 118,489 and the Bronx had the fastest growth in the number of such businesses with a 53 percent increased in over the past five years.

And although the report discovered that women entrepreneurs have increased tremendously and have had a large impact on New York City’s economy, there is still some struggles women face when attempting to start or grow a business.

For example, the study found that women have less money to invest than men and in fiscal year 2014 women business owners received just 20 percent of all SBA loans and 12 percent of the dollars lent.

According to the study, many women — especially low-income and immigrant individuals — lack basic business and financial skills and others work harder to be taken seriously and fight perceptions that their male counterparts are more capable and committed.

Based on the data, 9 percent of the city’s women-owned businesses have paid employees and the average of those businesses have sales of $128,268 — lower than women-owned firms in Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Los Angeles.

The report added that if one quarter of the existing 376,405 women-owned businesses with no paid employees added just one employee in the next three years, there would be more than 94,000 new jobs in the city.

“Women are making significant strides as business leaders and entrepreneurs, yet many continue to face common challenges related to managing and securing financing, as well as adopting technology,” said Keri Gohman, head of Small Business Banking at Capital One. “The great news is there are a variety of quality, accessible resources — through organizations and programs like Grameen America, Business Advising.org and others — designed to help business owners understand, plan and communicate their financials effectively.”