There has never been a more powerful moment to be a woman building a business. In 2024, women founded 49% of all new businesses in the United States — a 69% increase from 2019 and the highest share recorded in five years, according to Gusto’s 2025 New Business Formation Report. That’s not a blip. It’s a movement.
And the numbers behind this entrepreneurial surge tell a story that goes far beyond startup counts. Women-owned businesses now generate $3.3 trillion in annual revenue, employing nearly 13 million workers nationwide, according to Synovus’s 2025 Women Entrepreneurs Growth Trends. Black, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI), and Latina women are leading much of that growth — with Black women-owned businesses seeing average revenue increases of 32.7% between 2019 and 2023.
Why now?
Several forces have collided to make this moment possible. The pandemic accelerated digital infrastructure, remote work normalized independent income streams, and a generation of Millennial and Gen Z women entered the workforce with higher educational attainment and, crucially, higher entrepreneurial ambitions than any generation before them. As reported by Empower, new business applications were up 20% year-over-year as of June 2025 — showing no signs of slowing.
“They’re not just chasing revenue; they’re building a lifestyle aligned with their values,” says Flo Akinyeye, a business banker at BOK Financial who has worked with women-owned companies for nearly two decades.
The Funding Gap That Refuses to Close
Despite the momentum, the capital access gap remains real. Only 42% of SBA-backed loans in 2024 went to women-owned businesses, and women-founded startups consistently receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, according to Capstone Partners’ Women Entrepreneurs Report. Women are also more likely to use personal loans or family financing rather than equity-backed capital — increasing their personal financial exposure.
The good news? 56% of women entrepreneurs surveyed by Capstone reported more revenue growth in 2025 than in 2024, and two-thirds expect continued growth into 2026. Women are not waiting for the system to change — they are working around it, with it, and often despite it.
Building Your Business in the Digital Era
If you’re among the women considering the leap, the tools have never been more accessible. Platforms like Shopify, Substack, and Teachable have democratized the ability to build product-based, content-based, and education-based businesses with minimal overhead. AI adoption is accelerating this further — nearly half of new business owners in 2024 used generative AI, with 81% reporting meaningful productivity gains.
For women in the early stages of business planning, here’s where to start:
Research your market, not just your idea. There’s a difference between a concept you’re passionate about and a problem people will pay to solve. Find the overlap.
Start before you’re ready. Analysis paralysis is the enemy of momentum. Launch a minimum viable version, gather real feedback, and refine from there.
Monetize multiple streams. The most resilient women-owned businesses don’t rely on a single revenue stream. Consider how services, digital products, subscriptions, or affiliate partnerships can layer income.
Build your financial foundation in parallel. Your business is an asset — but it should not be your only one. At WMN Magazine, we’ve written extensively about how to build personal wealth alongside your business, because the two must grow together.
The rise of the women entrepreneur is not a trend. It is the future of the American economy. And it belongs, in no small part, to you.
