This article is in collaboration with ValuedVoice. 

Did you know that….

• 45% of American entrepreneurs are women?
• Since 2012, overall business growth has sat at 19%, but those owned by women have grown by 26%?
• Annual revenues of women-owned businesses have grown by 23% since 2012?

Pretty neat stats! (You can catch more of them from AEO.)

Unfortunately, women-owned businesses still have a harder time accessing capital and credit, which makes getting off the ground more difficult. Today, we’ll talk about some ways you can access funding, and some strategies to lower overhead when you’re building in a cash crunch.

Accessing funding

Getting access to credit is more difficult when you’re a woman starting a business. If you’re looking for a lender who will work with you, SBA lending to women-owned businesses has increased by about 70% since 2020.

Plus the SBA runs Women’s Business Centers across the country. These centers offer advice and training resources. A lot of times these resources are free, but when there is a charge it’s usually pretty low-cost.

There are certain VCs that specifically invest in women’s businesses, like Backstage Capital and the Female Founders Fund.

Another resource to explore is grant funding. Grants are money you don’t have to pay back — either through loan payments or returns for investors. If you’re an entrepreneur working in a creative field, Danielle Desir Corbett puts together a fantastic newsletter with a plethora of grant funding opportunities.

Saving on Costs

When I interviewed women entrepreneurs for The Feminist Financial Handbook, one of the key things I heard was that keeping your overhead low early on is absolutely key to success. One of the women relayed renting a physical space for her business, as well as hiring on one employee. The employee in particular was a pricey expense, and one that almost threw her under.

That’s not to say that employing people can’t or shouldn’t be a long-term goal. But a lot of times when you’re first getting started, you may feel like you need to hit that goal off the bat. When you take it on before your business is actually ready for it, the costs might impede the very growth you need to sustain it.

Aside from avoiding over-investing too early, there are other ways to save money. For example, if you need to purchase business insurance, check with your independent agent or the company that already holds your personal lines insurance. They may be able to bundle these insurance policies together so you can score a multi-policy discount.

Similarly, if you are running out of an office, you can bundle business phone and internet together to score lower rates — just like you would at home.

Networking

When you think about money as a small business owner, networking might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But the people you network with can have big impacts on your bottom line.

They can connect you with investors. They can clue you in to vendor discounts. They can introduce you to new customers and clients.

Don’t be overly concerned with connecting with the biggest names in your industry at the get-go. Maybe that’ll work out for you, but maybe the power imbalance will result in an opportunity squandered.

Start by connecting with people who are in a similar stage as you are. As you both grow and support each other (remember — this is a two-way street!), you’ll open up doors and opportunities together along the way.