double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs vietnamese seafood double-skinned crabs mud crab exporter double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs crabs crab exporter soft shell crab crab meat crab roe mud crab sea crab vietnamese crabs seafood food vietnamese sea food double-skinned crab double-skinned crab soft-shell crabs meat crabs roe crabs
Lifestyle

These are the best states for women to start their own business

By
Zoya Gervis, SWNS
Published Oct. 3, 2019, 3:35 p.m. ET

More than half of women small business owners believe they overcame greater obstacles than their male counterparts, according to new research.

With one out of every five small businesses failing before the end of their first year, a poll of over 850 female small business owners found 56 percent felt they faced greater challenges than their male counterparts when starting their business.

And half of those surveyed revealed they were held to a higher standard when trying to open their business.

Conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Groupon for October’s National Women’s Small Business Month, the survey looked into a variety of topics, including the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs, the best states for women to open a business and why these entrepreneurs decided to become their own boss.

The best states to start a business
SWNS

The survey also delved into how women business owners achieved success and the most important issues they want to see addressed in the 2020 presidential election.

There are some unique challenges women in business face that their male counterparts do not. Seventy-one percent of female small business owners say that when they opened their business they had to go through unexpected challenges.

These challenges included balancing a business and family (54 percent), struggling to be taken seriously (48 percent), defying social expectations (31 percent), owning their accomplishments (25 percent) and access to capital (24 percent).

A surprising 34 percent of women small business owners say they had to finance the opening of their own business through a personal savings or by borrowing from a retirement account.

According to the results, Texas (a state with no income tax), Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee are the best states for women to start their own business.

Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, South Carolina and Ohio rounded out the top 10 best states for women in business.

The top five ways identified by survey respondents in which state officials can help small businesses are: lowering or simplifying taxes (50 percent), offering more small business resources (46 percent), improving access to health care and insurance benefits (36 percent), making housing more affordable (20 percent) and creating greater access to capital (17 percent).

Top obstacles women in business face
SWNS

According to the survey results, being your own boss (70 percent), having a flexible schedule (67 percent), pursuing your passions (45 percent), gaining more control over your future (38 percent) and receiving equitable pay (22 percent) were the top five biggest reasons women went into business for themselves.

Of surveyed respondents, it took an average of nearly three years to make their small business a success.

The women entrepreneurs studied said putting in the hard work (66 percent), taking pride in the quality of their product or service (57 percent), building a personal network (38 percent), serving an underserved market or space (25 percent) and having innovative business ideas (24 percent) were the biggest keys to their success.

Thirty-six percent of survey participants said they work more than 40 hours per week, and 76 percent stay up at night worrying about the success of their business.

“As one of the largest marketplaces of small businesses anywhere in the world, we’re thrilled to honor female entrepreneurs and recognize the contributions and value they bring to our lives on a daily basis and the communities we call home,” said Sarah Butterfass, chief product officer and “Women at Groupon” executive sponsor.

“Many of the women that we interviewed had to overcome unique challenges in order to get their small business off the ground and offered a number of key insights for those women thinking about starting their own business.”

Women small business owners were split on the Trump administration’s impact on small business — 32 percent of those surveyed said that the administration has had a positive impact on their business while 31 percent said that it had had a negative impact.

When it comes to the Democratic presidential candidates, more than half of the women small business owners who plan to vote during the primaries don’t think any of the candidates will positively impact small businesses.

National Women’s Small Business Month was created by the Small Business Administration to celebrate the contributions of women-owned businesses. According to the American Express 2019 annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, there are nearly 13 million women-owned businesses in the United States — supporting over 9 million jobs and generating $1.9 trillion in revenue.