Women are opening businesses at a rate five times faster than the national average, and the Small Business Development Center at Fort Lewis College is looking to encourage that trend.
To help bolster women-, minority- and veteran-owned businesses, the first grant that Liz Ross applied for when she took over as the executive director of the SBDC in September was for $5,000 to focus on these groups.
The state grant helps support one-on-one consulting and legal guidance the center provides for these business owners.
It makes sense to pursue these kinds of grants because more than 60 percent of small businesses nationally are owned by women, Ross said.
Women are also opening businesses faster, according to a report funded by American Express. Between 2007 and 2016, the number of women-owned firms increased by 45 percent, while the number of all businesses increased by 9 percent.
Heather Freeman, founder of the Gutsy Girl Club, recently took advantage of the free hour of legal guidance to help with questions about trademarking the name of her organization
She is facing competition from an author who is using the Gutsy Girl Club name online.
“That brand recognition is really important for the work that I do and to set it apart from what other organizations may be doing,” she said.
Freeman moved to Durango in August and brought her group that focuses on empowering women and girls with her. She founded it as a benefit corporation, which is legal hybrid between a for-profit business and a nonprofit.
Freeman started the group in 2013 in Connecticut, and 100 percent of her proceeds are re-invested in the organization. So, she appreciated the support from the SBDC.
“I don’t have the funds to put forth on those things as easily as a more established organization,” she said.
Ross also believes that veterans and minorities in the area have entrepreneurial potential that is going untapped.
“I’m looking for more opportunities for women, minorities and veterans,” she said. She wants to develop businesses on the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute reservations as well.
mshinn@durangoherald.com