Women small business owners and entrepreneurs are optimistic about success.

Finally. We all could use positive news about women business owners in the post-pandemic, pre-recession universe. Thankfully, it’s here.

“Women business owners have a positive business outlook… Most expect revenue growth over the next 12 months, and a majority feel equipped to weather a potential recession.” According to a new Bank of America report, 2023 Women & Minority Business Owner Spotlight.

According to the report, 74% of women say they feel equipped to survive the recession. “More than half of women business owners believe they currently have equal access to capital to start a business, as gaps still exist for women entrepreneur.” Still, 53% of women business owners rate their mental health as strong.

“ We all could use positive news about women business owners in the post-#pandemic, pre-recession universe. Thankfully, it’s here. #womeninbusiness”

In the study of “1,079 small business owners in the United States with annual revenue between $100,000 and $4,999,999 and employing between two and 99 employees, 49% of women business owners say they have better work-life balance as a business owner compared to their previous work experience,” the report shows.

The research shows that “more than half of Hispanic-Latino business owners plan to expand their business and nearly half plan to hire more employees.” Additionally, “Black small business owners have optimistic revenue expectations, even with a slightly tempered economic outlook. Nearly all, or 86% report they believe their revenue will increase over the next year as 58% say they believe their local economy will improve over the next 12 months.

Most Black entrepreneurs, or 76% report that they plan to expand their business over the next year, up 6 percentage points from fall 2022. Another 62% of Black entrepreneurs say they have better work-life balance as a business owner compared to their work experience before becoming a business owner.

“Most #Blackentrepreneurs, or 76% report that they plan to expand their business over the next year, up 6 percentage points from fall 2022. #Blackowned”

In the Asian American/Pacific Islander business community, “small business owners have tempered their overall business and economic outlook for the year ahead, as just over half believe their revenue will increase over the next 12 months. Nearly half of AAPI business owners plan to expand their business and roughly one-in-four plan to hire more employees.”

Every business owner and entrepreneur has a role model for success in Selena Gomez, actor, activist, non-profit founder and make-up brand creator. Her phenomenal results are connected to her social media popularity as she has 428 million Instagram followers, making her the most followed woman on the platform.

“Every business owner and #entrepreneur has a #rolemodel for success in @SelenaGomez, actor, activist, non-profit founder and make-up brand creator of @RareBeauty. ”

According to Fast Company, her makeup line Rare Beauty that launched in 2020, “is expected to exceed $300 million in sales in 2023, according to industry sources—triple what it earned in 2022, when sales doubled from 2021. Near the end of its first year, the brand went global, just recently expanding into India and Indonesia.

In a short time, she has reached the top of the industry in sales above legacy brands. Fast Company reports,” A recent survey by investment bank Piper Sandler showed that Rare Beauty ranks second on its list of the top cosmetics brands among Gen Z, behind mass-market juggernaut E.l.f. and above Maybelline, L’Oréal, and Fenty Beauty.”

This great news is tempered by mixed reports of groundbreaking for women at a time where stasis still hampers many.

McKinsey’s new Women in the Workplace 2023 report shows in a study of 27,000 women in the workplace that, “The pandemic and increased ﬂexibility did not dampen women’s ambitions. Roughly 80 percent of women want to be promoted to the next level, compared with 70 percent in 2019.”

Still, the numbers are not all stellar. “Over the past nine years, women—and especially women of color—have remained underrepresented across the corporate pipeline. However, we see a growing bright spot in senior leadership. Since 2015, the number of women in the C-suite has increased from 17 to 28 percent, and the representation of women at the vice president and senior vice president levels has also improved significantly.”

That pipeline has a breakdown of 48% women, with 29% white women, and just 18% women of color. Women represent roughly one in four C-suite leaders, and women of color just one in 16.

“@McKinsey ‘s new Women in the Workplace 2023 report shows that women represent roughly one in four #Csuite leaders, and women of color just one in 16. #womenleaders”

The report shows, “At every stage of the pipeline, women are as committed to their careers and as interested in being promoted as men. Women and men at the director level—when the C-suite is in closer view—are also equally interested in senior-leadership roles. And young women are especially ambitious. Nine in ten women under the age of 30 want to be promoted to the next level, and three in four aspire to become senior leaders.”

Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead, founded the organization with the mission of achieving gender parity in leadership across all sectors by 2025. Clearly, there has been great progress.

“@GloriaFeldt, co-founder and president of @Takeleadwomen, founded the organization with the mission of achieving #genderparity in leadership across all sectors by 2025. Clearly, there has been great #progress. ”

Geography also plays a key role in job satisfaction and happiness, according to a new study by SelectSoftware Reviews that “measured performance in key metrics across all 50 states, and awarded each a happiness score out of 100 to reveal where is best and worst for job satisfaction.”

Alaska wins as home to the most satisfied employees. “The index evaluates each state based on wages, quit rates, commute times, working hours, injuries, paid time off, and state positivity levels. Other high performers include North Dakota, Nebraska, Rhode Island. The state with the unhappiest employees is Georgia, while Florida and Texas also have some of the least satisfied workforces.

Completing the top 10 for highest employee satisfaction is Nebraska earning a solid 54.91, Maine with a score of 53.98, Ohio at 52.02, Arizona with 51.69 and Indiana accumulating a total of 48.84.

Whether you stay put as a small business owner and entrepreneur or venture into a new space, know that this is a good climate for women to plant the seeds for success.

“Whether you stay put as a #smallbusiness owner and #entrepreneur or venture into a new space, know that this is a good climate for women to plant the seeds for success.”

Apply here for 50 Women in Entrepreneurship

Leadership Takeaway of The Week:

“We made products for our people.We can provide a platform of connection.”

Selena Gomez, Founder, Rare Beauty

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About the Author

Michele Weldon is editorial director of Take The Lead, an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty in journalism at Northwestern University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. @micheleweldon www.micheleweldon.com