An Investment for New Jobs

The state's economy has long been rooted deep in the coal seams that stretch below our mountains. Our residents have traditionally found work in steel and glass production, timbering, and manufacturing. But today, while much of that bedrock remains, we are expanding our economic base to create new opportunities for the future. Numerous women entrepreneurs have contributed to this evolution, bringing with them a keen business sense, self-reliance, ingenuity, and dogged determination.

Women-owned businesses are increasing in number, range of products, diversity, and economic impact. As the numbers of women business owners grow, they contribute to the success of West Virginia's economy. According to the National Foundation of Women Business Owners, as of 1996, there were 40,400 women-owned businesses in West Virginia, employing 62,800 people and generating $7 billion in sales. Between 1987 and 1996, the number of businesses owned by women in the state increased nearly 64 percent.

Recognizing the growth in the number of women entrepreneurs, the Congress recently approved legislation fully funding two important programs. The legislation provides $8 million in funding for the establishment of Women's Business Centers nationwide. Already, 35 centers are open across the country, including one in Charleston, and this additional funding will help to open another 25 centers in the coming year, resulting in one center in each of the 50 states. These centers, run by the Small Business Administration, provide entrepreneurial training to the women business owners of today and tomorrow.

In that same appropriations bill, the Congress provided $600,000 for the National Women's Business Council, which serves as an independent source of advice to the federal government on issues affecting women business owners.

It takes a great deal of courage to start something new, to carve a reality out of a dream, often with few resources, sometimes in adverse surroundings, and in an economy that demands much of its participants. But federally supported resources like Women's Business Centers and the National Women's Business Council can help women to make the successful move into small business ownership.

As more and more families are finding it difficult to make ends meet on one salary, greater numbers of women are joining the ranks of small business owners. Ensuring the success of these women entrepreneurs is an investment in the economic well-being of the nation, and in the quality of life of West Virginia families.
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December 16, 1998