Women entrepreneurs with poor credit scores have a few lending options to check out when getting a business loan. One option is nonprofit lenders that focus on helping women-led startups get funding. Another option is alternative lenders with less strict requirements. Even if your credit is bad, there are still possibilities to secure funding for your business. Check out this this article in Forbes for resources that can help with funding!
The COVID pandemic has worsened existing challenges for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women entrepreneurs. Many AAPI-owned businesses have been hit hard, especially in industries heavily affected by the pandemic.
Language barriers and a lack of banking relationships have limited their access to loans and capital. AAPI women face a wage gap and have shouldered increased caregiving responsibilities. Despite these obstacles, AAPI women entrepreneurs remain resilient and determined to overcome the challenges they face. See this April 2023 post from CNBC to read more.
After three recent failures of medium-sized banks, many small business owners are worried about the safety of their money. According to this article from Investopedia, experts recommend diversifying deposits across multiple institutions to stay within the $250,000 FDIC limit. In addition, small businesses may want to approach credit unions and small banks as they may offer better terms. Check out the article for more thoughts on the topic.
This article from Forbes discusses the increasing popularity of crowdfunding as a funding option for early-stage startups, especially for female founders from marginalized communities. In general, crowdfunding provides an innovative solution for raising funds to launch or grow a businesses.
The article highlights specific difficulties faced by these marginalized founders in obtaining traditional funding and provides tips for running successful crowdfunding campaigns, including setting realistic goals, explaining the product or service clearly, promoting the campaign through multiple channels, building social proof, and offering attractive rewards to participants.
Looking for some great podcast episodes to add to your listening list? Here are five suggestions from JJ Ramberg, co-founder of podcast discovery app Goodpods. She provided MSNBC with a “must-listen” playlist for women entrepreneurs. Link to article.
Each month, we send an email blast to students enrolled in the program with a list of funding opportunities and business resources. In between the monthly email blasts, we keep this spreadsheet updated daily with new opportunities that we find (the last column indicates the date when the item was added to the spreadsheet): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zU5SUCYBopz64FM4q_nqp2wvILmcdItq_PRWQRXFUB4/edit?usp=sharingMore
Monique Rodriguez, self-made millionaire and founder of Mielle Organics, founded her natural hair care brand in the wake of losing her son at eight months of pregnancy. She decided to leave her career as a nurse and pour her energy into her startup which would also enable her to cope with her post-partum depression. That creative outlet that helped her get through the trauma of losing her son has become a multimillion-dollar brand sold in over 100,000 stores across the U.S.
Rodriquez mentions that the best career advice she’s ever received came from her husband who said, “Success, if not owned, is rented — and rent is due everyday. Don’t get complacent, don’t get comfortable, and never feel like you ‘made it.’ Because when you get to that place, there’s always someone trying to take your spot. You have to continue working and striving as if you know [your spot] is not guaranteed.” To read more about Rodriguez’s journey, check out this piece on CNBC.
According to this piece in Fast Company, during 2021 alone, over 5 million new companies were registered in the US alone which is an increase of 23% over the previous year. While some of this increase can be attributed to the impact of the global pandemic, research is suggesting that education is playing a role as well.
While some experts have felt that continuing education is more about “signaling rather than skill development”, this new research is providing evidence that additional years of post-high school education can boost self-employment in high-growth industries. Research goes on to point out that, “for women, education may have an even greater impact on encouraging them to jump into entrepreneurship by increasing their confidence in addition to their skills.”
Education is certainly something we believe in at the Institute! If you (or someone you know) would benefit from our free 12-week entrepreneurship certificate program, go to this page and click the “Join the Waitlist” button. We enroll on a quarterly basis and reach out to those on the notification list in the order that they are there.
Back in January 2022, we posted a link to a Google sheet we keep updated each day with global, regional and local grant opportunities being offered to small business owners. Updates to this list get emailed out to those enrolled in our program at the beginning of each month, but we are reposting a link to the spreadsheet here (so it is more visible in the list of posts) so all can take advantage of the latest and greatest information we have!
Studies have found that women tend to have less financial literacy than men. Given the number of resources available, this statistic can truly become a thing of the past. This article in GO Banking Rates highlights advice from female money experts and is worth scrolling through even if you think your finances are in great shape.
One expert shared that all women need to have control of “the big three” – being consumer debt free (no credit cards or auto loans); having an emergency reserve fund; and be contributing to a retirement plan. Other experts share advice including the importance of paying yourself first, having a handle on your cash flow and max-ing out any savings plans with tax advantages. The best piece of advice though is that there are no more excuses. Use the resources you can find and take the time and make sure your financial literacy is strong!