NEW YORK, March 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The annual Biz2Credit Women-Owned Business Study found that profits for women business owners fell 26% in 2021 compared to 2020, while average annual earnings fell 4%. Additionally, the study found that operating expenses have increased, the main reason why profits have fallen in 2021.
“The cost of doing business has increased significantly in 2021, particularly labor costs, fuel costs, and raw material and inventory prices, which have soared due to the disruption of the supply chain,” explained Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, one of the country’s leading small business experts. corporate finance and FinTech. “These economic pressures particularly hurt women-owned businesses. Supply chain shortages have negatively impacted the earning potential of small businesses.
“Additionally, the emergence of the omicron variant at a time when the first wave of COVID began to wane and continued restrictions hurt small businesses. This has resulted in consumer reluctance to patronize restaurants, Broadway theaters and other entertainment venues, as well as travel and tourism related businesses,” Arora added.
Profits for women-owned businesses averaged $88,995, well below the 2020 figure of $119,654 and $47,152 less than the average for men-owned businesses ($136,147) in 2021. The analysis also revealed that the average credit score (580) for a female business owner decreased from 588 last year and was 14 points lower than the average score for a male business owner ( 594) in the study.
The Biz2Credit study reviewed 100,000 credit applications from across the country for the previous full year (2021) and examined the financial performance of small and medium-sized women-owned businesses in the United States. Despite the austerity imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, many women-owned businesses continue to find opportunities for growth.
The Biz2Credit Study of Women-Owned Businesses looked at financial metrics including annual revenue, operating expenses, age of business, and credit scores of loan applicants. Main conclusions:
Performance of women-owned businesses
- Average annual income went from $493,401 in 2020 to $475,707 in 2021.
- Average profits (annual revenue – operating expenses) of women-owned businesses fell to $88,995 in 2021 from $119,654 in 2020
- Average expenses went from $373,748 in 2020 to $386,712 in 2021.
- Average credit score for women business owners increased from 588 in 2020 to 580 in 2021.
- Best industry: Services (excluding public administration) represented 31.9% women-owned businesses in 2021.
“Although the average annual income of women-owned businesses has declined, one reason is that women have started to build new businesses at a higher rate during the pandemic. That’s the bright side,” Arora said. “The decline in the average age of companies has decreased, indicating that start-ups have sought funding on our platform over the past year.”
Comparison of female and male owned businesses
Biz2Credit compared male- and female-owned businesses in its study, and the numbers point to a larger problem: Women-owned businesses experience a revenue gap. Some specificities:
- Female to Male Loan Ratio: 33% women compared to 67% of male business loan applications according to Biz2Credit data in 2021.
- Average annual income: Women-owned businesses ($475,707) earned $199,936 less on average than male-owned businesses ($675,643) in 2021.
- Average credit score: On average, the credit score of women-owned businesses (580) was 14 points less than male-owned businesses (594) in 2021.
- Average loan size for women-owned businesses ($49,712) was 41% less higher than the average loan size for male-owned businesses ($83,198) in 2020.
- Average age of businesses for women-owned businesses was almost 4 years old (45 months) and was below the operating age of male-owned businesses by exactly 4 years (48 months).
Industry
Almost a third (31.9%) of women-owned businesses that applied for commercial loans in the last 12 months Services (except Public Administration). Retail accounted for 15.1% of candidates, followed by Accommodation and catering (9.1%), Health care and social assistance (7.4%), Transport and storage (5.4%) and Arts, entertainment and recreation (4.7%).
Geography
Texas is the state that produced the most applications from women-owned businesses, followed by Georgia, Illinois, Florida, California and New York.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Round 2: Female or Male Owned Businesses
In December 2020, Congress appropriated $284 billion for small business COVID relief for a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Biz2Credit looked at its data from PPP loan applicants and found that 49% of PPP Round 2 applicants were female business owners (compared to all SBA lenders at 34%). The average amount approved for PPP Round 2 applicants who identified as female business owners on the Biz2Credit platform was $23,101, compared to $36,348 for those who identified as male business owners.
Importance of women-owned businesses
There are nearly 13 million women-owned businesses in the United States in 2019, and from 2014 to 2019, the number of businesses owned by women of color increased by 43%, according to the report on the state of women-owned businesses of American Express. An estimated 10 million people are employed by women-owned businesses and they generate nearly $1.8 trillion in revenue, according to the Census Bureau.
Biz2Credit has partnered with the Association of Women’s Business Centers, which works to ensure economic justice and entrepreneurial opportunity by supporting and nurturing a nationwide network of 140 Women’s Business Centers (WBCs). These centers help women succeed by providing training, mentoring, business development and financing opportunities to more than 150,000 women entrepreneurs each year.
“Women’s business centers have grown tremendously in terms of locations and customers served. As the economic first responders to the pandemic, the Women’s Business Centers have helped a record number of clients access an all time high level of funding for their businesses, compared to previous years,” said Corinne Hodges, CEO of the Association. of Women’s Business Centers. “The nationwide network of 140 Women’s Business Centers provides free advice, training, networking opportunities and perhaps most importantly, access to much-needed finance (or capital) for businesses to start and /or develop.”
In 2021, WBC locations served 88,000 customers, helped start 3,300 businesses, and supported 89,697 jobs by delivering thousands of more than 27,000 training sessions and nearly 170,000 consulting hours. WBC clients received a higher total of SBA loans ($262,455,406) in 2021 than in 2020 (up 31%).
A success story
Women business owners expressed the importance of obtaining financing in the difficult economic circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continued to ravage many small businesses in 2021. Many entrepreneurs who were able to obtain financing reported receiving a lifeline.
“The funds I received allowed me to ease a lot of tension and pressure and allowed me to keep my staff,” Debbie Elder, owner of Shady Oak Elementary School in Richmond, TX, since 2014 “Once I got my money, all that headache went away. I was then able to focus on getting more students, marketing and making sure this financial situation didn’t happen again. Never again.
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Methodology
The Biz2Credit Women-Owned Business Study dataset includes nearly 100,000 completed credit applications received through the Biz2Credit platform in 2021. The four most important variables in the analysis were: annual income , operating expenses, business age and personal credit score. The data was then tabulated to examine female and male-owned businesses based on annual revenue, operating expenses, age of business, personal credit score, financing rate and average loan size. The study looked at 20 different industries, as well as geography.
About Biz2Credit
Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged over $7 billion in small business financing. The company extends its cutting-edge technology into customized digital platform solutions for banks and other financial institutions, investors and service providers. Visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @Biz2Credit, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Media Contact: John Mooney, (908) 720-6057, john@overthemoonpr.com
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