LatinaLista — The state of the U.S. economy may be uncertain but the same can't be said for business women of color. According to the U.S. Census, businesses begun by women of color are "soaring" and growing at a faster rate than U.S. business growth overall.
The news is particularly good for Latinas.
Between 2007 and 2012, the number of companies owned by Latinas rose 87 percent. In contrast, during this same time period, businesses started by black women rose 68 percent and for Asian women only 44 percent.
A new factsheet analyzing the latest Census data (2012) on Hispanic Women-Owned Businesses, released by the National Business Women's Council, showed that there were 1,475,829 Latina-owned businesses. Among all women-owned firms, Latinas own 15 percent.
As to be expected, the states with the highest number of Latina-owned businesses are the states known to have the most Hispanics: California, Texas, Florida, New York and Arizona. You would expect that since these states are home to so many more Latina-owned firms that they would also be home to the most profitable — not so.
The states where more Latina-owned firms are grossing big receipts are Kansas ($2,056,502); Connecticut ($1,799,482); Alaska ($1,705,514); Massachusetts ($1,580,958) and Indiana ($1,327,868).
The data further reveals that most Latina business owners are finding their business niche in such industries as retail, administrative services, healthcare and social services, and, believe it or not, in "professional, scientific and technical services."
Agriculture, oil and gas and information industries are among the fields with the lowest Latina representation.
The data also shows that the vast majority of women-owned businesses (89%) are not only the owner but the sole employee too.
As the economy improves, chances are so will the growth of existing Latina-led businesses, as well as, the emergence of new ones — ushering in a new era for working Latinas.
