Great news for women entrepreneurs in Tampa Bay. “America is home to more than 11.6 million women-owned businesses, but Tampa Bay is the best place in the country for them,” states Tampa’s News Channel 8.
Out of 107 metropolitan areas studied in the United States, Tampa Bay is the top-ranked market in 2018 as the BEST METROPOLITAN AREA for women to start a business according to a report released by Business.org. In the report, Tampa Metropolitan area includes St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
The Tampa Bay Business Journal reports that “the area has one of the most saturated women-owned business climates in the nation. The ranking shows the Tampa area is an inclusive and diverse metro where all can succeed, a metric many large companies value in a region, according to NRI, a national corporate relocation company.
The analysis measured five metrics including the percentage of women-owned businesses to overall business; the number of new businesses per 100,000 people; pay gap; unemployment rate among women; and the number of National Association of Women Business Owners chapters. Each criteria was weighted with the number of women-owned businesses carrying the most weight and the number of NAWBO chapters the least.
The rankings are broken down into five categories:
- Women-owned business
- Number of start-ups
- Pay gap
- Unemployment among women
- NAWBO chapters.
Tampa didn’t top any individual category, but ranked sixth in the first two, 15th in pay gap, 26th in female unemployment and had four NAWBO chapters.
The Melbourne metropolitan area was the lowest ranked in Florida at No. 89. Orlando fell slightly behind Tampa at No. 4 while Sarasota, Lakeland, Daytona Beach, Fort Myers and Jacksonville areas were in the middle of the pack.
Business.org analyzed 107 metropolitan areas. The study found overall about 35 percent of businesses are women-owned”.
A few other Sunshine State towns also made the top 10 list. Orlando claimed the fourth slot and Miami just snuck in grabbing No. 10.
The driving factors
Business.org examined five key metrics to decide which cities provide the best environment for women entrepreneurs:
- Percentage of women-owned businesses
- Number of new businesses per 100,000 people
- Women-to-men pay difference
- Unemployment rate for women
- Number of National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) chapters
Women networking opportunities
Fortunately, in Tampa Bay, there are a lot of networking opportunities with many organization in the area. Here are just a few of them:
- Working Women of Tampa Bay
- The South Tampa Chamber of Commerce
- Holistic Network International
- Hispanic Professional Women’s Association
- Tampa Bay Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (BPW / FL)
There are a ton more organizations in Tampa Bay. For example, there are Chamber of Commerce and Business Networking International (BNI) groups in almost every city. Start asking about possible groups in your field to your peers, friends, etc. Do some research on Google. See what organizations you can try out to start networking and growing your business. If you are a public speaker or writer, consider giving a presentation in your industry or writing a blog or article for their newsletter to get exposure and promote you and your business. Just say yes!
Contact
Linda Simon Studio is a full-service marketing and design firm specializing in marketing strategy, identity brand design, website design, SEO, content writing, collateral, point of sale design, and photography. Linda Simon Studio was founded by Linda Simón in 1996 and is based in beautiful Palm Harbor, Florida just north of Clearwater & Tampa Bay. Schedule your Personality Portrait today. Call Linda at 757-430-9008 or email linda@lindasimonstudio.com.
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