NAWBO Partner Benefits

By supporting NAWBO, your company will:

1. Build its brand among the woman business owner community (and remember, women don’t just buy brands, they "join" brands as fiercely loyal consumers).
2. Grow its bottom line through opportunities to sell and affiliate with our membership of diverse and dynamic companies.
3. Identify and form business relationships with highly qualified women-owned businesses that can provide needed goods and services.
4. Benefit from the positive public relations generated by your company‘s contribution to the growth of women-owned businesses.

Some NAWBO Numbers

A recent study by the Center for Women’s Business Research shows that women-owned companies continue to expand faster than all businesses. The Center’s analysis shows that:

1. As of 2004, there are an estimated 10.6 million privately-held, 50% or more women-owned firms in the U.S., accounting for nearly half (47.7%) of all privately-held firms in the country.
2. Privately-held, 50% or more women-owned firms in the U.S. generate $2.46 trillion in sales and employ 19.1 million people nationwide.
3. Women-owned firms spend an estimated $546 billion on salaries and benefits for their employees.
4. The number of privately-held, 50% or more women-owned employer firms grew by 28.1% from 1997 to 2004—three times the growth rate of all U.S. privately-held employer firms (9.1%).
5. Privately-held 50% or more women-owned firms are just as likely as all privately-held firms to have employees (23% of women-owned firms compared to 25% of all firms).

For Virginia, the Center for Women’s Business Research found that:

1. As of 2004, there are an estimated 233,085 privately-held, 50% or more women-owned firms in Virginia, accounting for 45.7% of all privately-held firms in the state.
2. The 233,085 privately-held, 50% or more women-owned firms in Virginia generate $46 billion in sales and employ 422,243 people.
3. Between 1997 and 2004, the number of privately-held, 50% or more womenowned firms in Virginia increased by 16.4%, employment grew by 29.1%, and sales increased by 43.8%.
4. 52,865 of the 50% or more women-owned firms in Virginia are employer firms. The number of these firms grew by 27.4% from 1997 to 2004.
5. Among the 50 states and Washington, DC, Virginia ranks 15th in the number of privately-held, 50% or more women-owned firms in 2004, 15th in employment, and 19th in sales.