A Rising Tide—Financing Strategies for Women-Owned Firms

Women-owned firms represent an increasingly important segment of the small business sector. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 7.8 million women-owned firms in the United States in 2007, generating $1.2 trillion in revenues and providing employment for 7.6 million people. A Rising Tide presents the financial strategies that have helped today's bold and creative women entrepreneurs to succeed.

The authors take a "lifecycle approach" in discussing the issues and strategies for different types of women-owned firms, from nascent and home-based firms to growth-oriented and technology-based enterprises. Each chapter includes real-world cases studies featuring women entrepreneurs as a way to bring the book's lessons to life.

Uniquely, this book ties together the latest research on financing women-owned businesses and its implications for actual or potential entrepreneurs. Drawing on the Kauffman Firm Survey, a longitudinal survey of over 4,000 new firms, the authors are able to provide particularly useful conclusions, making this a must read for the thousands of women who are starting or may start businesses in the next few years.

Click here to view the book trailer.

Dr. Susan Coleman is a Professor of Finance at the University of Hartford. Dr. Alicia Robb is Senior Research Fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and is the Principal Investigator on the Kauffman Firm Survey. She is co-author of Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States.