Women entrepreneurs are reshaping the business landscape.
According to the 2025 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses Report from Wells Fargo, women-owned businesses have grown at nearly twice the rate of businesses owned by men over the past several years. Today, women own more than 15.7 million businesses across the United States, representing more than 40% of all businesses.
Those numbers are extraordinary.
Women are stepping into entrepreneurship in record numbers. They are creating businesses rooted in purpose, solving important problems, strengthening communities, and bringing fresh ideas into the marketplace. Every day I meet women who are building businesses they care deeply about, and I believe we’re witnessing one of the most significant shifts in entrepreneurship in our lifetime.
At the same time, another set of numbers deserves our attention.
Nearly nine out of ten women-owned businesses generate less than $100,000 in annual revenue. Only about 12% surpass six figures. Roughly 3% grow beyond $500,000, and fewer than 2% ever reach $1 million in annual sales.
I’ve known these statistics for years, and while there has been a slight upward trend in the number of women-owned businesses surpassing six figures, the broader picture has remained remarkably consistent.
After nearly two decades of working alongside women entrepreneurs, I don’t believe these numbers reflect a lack of talent, intelligence, or ambition. In fact, my experience has been exactly the opposite. I’ve had the privilege of working with women whose ideas have changed industries, whose businesses have transformed lives, and whose leadership has created opportunities for countless others.
Over the past several months, I’ve been highlighting many of these women through my Movement Makers in Action series. They are building businesses that are changing lives while growing into multi-six figures and beyond. They are securing national partnerships, influencing industries, publishing books, launching innovative companies, advocating for meaningful change, and stepping into thought leadership in powerful ways.
Their stories reinforce something I’ve believed for years.
Women have everything it takes to build extraordinary businesses.
So why do so many remarkable women struggle to build businesses that fully reflect the value they create?
I don’t believe there’s one simple answer. I think it’s a combination of factors that often build upon one another over time. As I reflected on the women I’ve coached, the conversations I’ve hosted, and the hundreds of entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed over the years, five themes continued to rise to the surface.
None of these challenges exist in isolation. They influence one another, and together they can quietly limit the growth of even the most capable entrepreneurs. The encouraging news is that every one of them can be addressed. I’ve watched women do exactly that, and in the process, I’ve watched them transform not only their businesses but also the way they see themselves as leaders.
Here are five of the most common patterns I’ve observed.
1. We Don’t Always Fully Own Our Authority
This may be the greatest opportunity I see.
So many women wait until they feel completely ready before stepping into bigger conversations. They hesitate to share an opinion because someone else might know more. They assume another certification, another year of experience, or another client success story will finally give them permission to lead.
Authority grows every time we recognize and fully own the wisdom we’ve earned.
So many women underestimate the depth of their own experience because it has become second nature to them. The conversations they’ve facilitated, the clients they’ve served, the obstacles they’ve overcome, and the patterns they’ve recognized all become part of a wisdom that no one else possesses in quite the same way.
When women begin owning that wisdom instead of overlooking it, everything changes.
I’ve watched women completely change the trajectory of their businesses once they stopped questioning whether they had something valuable to say and started trusting the wisdom they had earned. Some finally shared the message they had been holding back for years. Others stepped onto stages they once believed were reserved for someone “more accomplished.” I’ve watched women walk into a room questioning whether they belonged there and leave six months later leading conversations they never imagined themselves having.
The expertise was already there. Their authority had been there all along. They simply began to own it.
2. We Often Undervalue the Work We Bring Into the World
Undervaluing our work shows up in more ways than pricing.
After nearly two decades of coaching women entrepreneurs, I’ve learned that our greatest gifts often become our biggest blind spots. The work that feels most natural to us is often the very work others value most. Because it comes so easily, we assume everyone else can do it too.
I’ve watched women completely rewrite the trajectory of their businesses once they recognized the value they were already creating. Sometimes that meant raising their prices. Other times it meant packaging years of experience into a signature framework, a keynote, a book, or a new offer that allowed their wisdom to reach more people.
The work hadn’t changed. Their understanding of its value had.
One of the things I admire most about women entrepreneurs is our desire to make a meaningful difference. We care deeply about the people we serve. Honoring the value of our work doesn’t diminish that generosity. It expands it.
A prosperous business gives us the resources to reach more people, create more opportunities, invest in our communities, and continue growing the work we’re here to do.
3. We Stop Investing in Our Own Growth
One lesson I’ve learned throughout my own entrepreneurial journey is that businesses rarely outgrow the leader leading them.
Every meaningful season of growth in my business has been connected to a decision to invest in myself. Sometimes that investment was a coach. Sometimes it was a mastermind, a retreat, or simply putting myself in a room where I knew my thinking would be stretched.
The same has been true for so many of the women I’ve had the privilege of working alongside. Growth accelerates when we’re willing to invest in ourselves and surround ourselves with people who challenge us, champion us, and expand our vision of what’s possible.
I’ve seen women leave Ignite and launch global movements. Others have led advocacy efforts that changed laws in our state. Still others have formed business partnerships through a single conversation, allowing them to better serve their clients while growing together.
That’s one of the reasons I believe so deeply in community. Strategy matters, but so do the people who help us think bigger, ask better questions, and recognize opportunities we might not have seen on our own.
Looking back, I can draw a direct line between the investments I’ve made in my own growth and the opportunities that followed. The investment wasn’t simply in learning something new. It was in becoming the leader my next season of business required.
4. We Leave Too Little Room for Our Own Growth
One of the reasons I love entrepreneurship is that it gives us the freedom to build a business around our lives instead of the other way around. That flexibility matters, especially for women.
Many of us are part of the sandwich generation. We’re caring for aging parents while supporting adult children or helping with grandchildren. We’re showing up for spouses, friends, and our communities. There are seasons when life quite rightly asks more of us, and one of the greatest gifts of owning our own businesses is having the flexibility to respond. We can pause when the people we love need us most, and I would never want to lose sight of how meaningful that is.
The challenge is that those seasons can quietly become our default. Before we realize it, weeks have turned into months, and the business has become almost entirely about serving today’s clients while the work that creates tomorrow’s opportunities continues to wait. The article doesn’t get written. The keynote stays in outline form. The strategic partnership never gets the conversation it deserves. We know those things matter, but they rarely feel as urgent as the people who need us today.
I’ve come to believe that making space for our own growth isn’t selfish. A healthy, thriving business creates choices. It gives us the flexibility to care for the people we love without carrying the constant weight of financial stress. It allows us to contribute more generously, create opportunities for others, and continue doing work that brings us purpose and joy.
One of the greatest gifts we can give the people who depend on us is a business that is strong enough to support both our lives and our calling. That requires us to protect time not only for the people we love, but also for the business that makes so much of that care possible.
5. Women Continue to Face Structural Barriers
Not every challenge women entrepreneurs face is one we can solve on our own.
Despite owning more than 40% of businesses in the United States, women continue to receive only a small fraction of available venture capital funding. In 2024, companies founded solely by women received approximately 2% of all U.S. venture capital investment. Even when women build profitable businesses with strong growth potential, access to capital remains one of the greatest barriers to scaling.
I’ve seen firsthand what happens when women don’t have access to the financial resources they need. Growth slows. Hiring gets delayed. New products remain ideas instead of becoming reality. Opportunities are postponed, not because the vision isn’t there, but because the capital isn’t.
This isn’t simply about building bigger businesses. When women-owned businesses grow, they create jobs, strengthen local economies, invest back into their communities, and open doors for other women. Supporting women entrepreneurs isn’t just good for women. It’s good for all of us.
While we continue advocating for greater access to capital and investment, I also believe we have an opportunity to strengthen the things within our control. When women own their authority, recognize the value of their work, continue investing in their own growth, and build businesses that create space for both purpose and prosperity, they are better positioned to seize the opportunities that do come their way.
The encouraging news is that none of these barriers are fixed.
Authority can be developed. We can learn to recognize and own the wisdom we’ve earned. Businesses can be repriced to reflect the true value we bring into the world. Leadership grows when we continue investing in ourselves. Community expands what’s possible as we collaborate, champion one another, and open doors together. Together, we can continue advocating for greater access to capital so more women have the resources to scale their vision.
This is why I do the work I do.
For nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of walking alongside women as they found their voice, expanded their visibility, and built businesses with greater purpose, prosperity, and joy. Time and again, I’ve watched them discover that their ideas matter, that their experiences hold tremendous value, and that their businesses can become vehicles for creating meaningful change.
I believe the next decade belongs to women entrepreneurs, not simply because more women are starting businesses, but because more women are redefining what business can be.
The businesses I see flourishing aren’t driven solely by profit. They’re creating good for the whole. They’re built by women who understand the power of collaboration, who see relationships as one of the greatest forms of capital they can build, and who instinctively lift one another as they rise. That spirit of generosity doesn’t diminish success. It expands what’s possible for all of us.
I’ve long believed that women’s wisdom is the medicine our earth needs.
When that wisdom is shared boldly, when women’s voices influence important conversations, and when more women build businesses strong enough to amplify those ideas, we won’t simply change the statistics. We’ll change the way business is done.
That is the future I believe we’re building together.
My hope is that you see yourself in that future. That you continue bringing your ideas forward, trusting the wisdom you’ve earned, and building a business that reflects both your purpose and your ambition. The world needs what only you can bring.
Continuing the Conversation
If this article resonates with you, I hope you’ll continue the conversation with us.
Extraordinary Women Ignite was created for women who are building businesses with both purpose and prosperity. It’s a place to explore new ideas, challenge your thinking, build meaningful relationships, and remember that you were never meant to build your business alone.
I’d love to welcome you into the room this November.
