The New Founders: America's Women Entrepreneurs and the Economy They're Building

Over 40% of all businesses in the United States are owned by women. Let that sink in for a second.

Not a small slice. Not a rounding error. More than 15.7 million businesses employing 12.6 million people and generating $2.8 trillion in annual revenue are led by women. And that number is growing faster than almost anyone predicted.

We’re at a turning point. The question isn’t whether women belong in entrepreneurship. They’re already there, and they’re building something extraordinary. The question is: what happens when we actually can drive up the numbers?

At Well Crafted Branding, we believe we can get to 55% women-owned businesses in the U.S. by 2028. Here’s why that matters and how we get there. This is not to say that men can’t be business owners I know that 55% is an ambitious goal. My hope is that there is a more even balance in business ownership.

Where We Are Right Now: The Real Numbers

According to the Wells Fargo 2026, Impact of Women-Owned Businesses Report and the U.S. Census Bureau Business Owner Characteristics database, the data tells a story of momentum that’s hard to ignore:

• 40.6% of all U.S. businesses are currently women-owned

• Between 2022 and 2025, women-owned businesses grew by 12.1% nearly double the rate of businesses owned by men

• The growth is being led by younger women and women of color, two of the most dynamic and underserved entrepreneurial communities in the country

This isn’t a trend. This is a shift.

But here’s where the story gets complicated.

Despite owning more than 40% of U.S. firms, women-owned businesses account for only 6–9% of total business revenue and just 9% of all employment. That gap between ownership share and economic impact isn’t a reflection of talent or ambition. It’s a reflection of systemic barriers that make it harder for women-owned businesses to scale.

Funding gaps. Limited access to networks. Underrepresentation in high-revenue industries. The weight of invisible labor that doesn’t show up on a balance sheet.

The foundation is solid. The ceiling is artificial.

Why 55% by 2028 Is Not a Fantasy

Getting from 40.6% to 55% in three years is ambitious but the growth rate we’ve already seen tells us it’s within reach if we’re intentional about it.

Women-owned businesses grew at 12.1% between 2022 and 2025. That kind of momentum doesn’t happen without infrastructure behind it, more women seeking mentorship, more communities forming online and offline, more tools (hello, AI) lowering the barrier to launch.

The foundation is already being built. What we need now is acceleration.

Here’s what that looks like:

How We Support Women in Building Bigger, Bolder Businesses

1. Close the Funding Gap For Real

Access to capital is the single biggest lever. Women-owned businesses are statistically less likely to receive venture funding, SBA loans, and business lines of credit even when their financials are comparable to male-owned counterparts.

What needs to change:

• More investment in women-focused lending programs and CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions)

• Corporations and procurement offices, prioritizing women-owned vendors through supplier diversity initiatives

• Investors actively seeking out women founders in non-traditional sectors

If money follows opportunity, we need to redirect where that money flows.

2. Build Real Access to Networks and Mentorship

So much of business growth happens through who you know. Referrals, partnerships, introductions, the casual coffee chat that turns into a six-figure contract. Women especially women of color are disproportionately locked out of the rooms where those conversations happen.

What needs to change:

• Business associations and chambers of commerce creating intentional, women-centered programming - not just a panel in March

• Established entrepreneurs making themselves available as mentors, especially to first-generation business owners

• Digital communities that go beyond inspiration and get into the how: contracts, pricing, systems, growth

Mentorship isn’t a luxury for women-owned businesses. It’s infrastructure.

3. Make Business Education Accessible and Relevant

Generic business advice was built around a specific type of entrepreneur: funded, connected, with a team behind them. That’s not for most women starting businesses today. They’re solo. They’re bootstrapped. They’re wearing every hat.

Business education needs to meet them where they are — practical, affordable, and designed for how they actually operate.

What Well Crafted Branding believes:

At WCB, our entire philosophy is rooted in making branding and business strategy accessible to the entrepreneurs that large agencies overlook. You don’t need a $50,000 retainer to build a brand that resonates. You need the right framework, the right voice, and someone in your corner who actually gets it.

That’s what we’re here for.

4. Celebrate Visibility as a Business Strategy

Representation is not just a feel-good concept it’s a business driver. When women see women leading successful companies, it shifts what feels possible.

What this looks like in practice:

• Media that spotlights women-owned businesses beyond their gender covering their strategy, their growth, their craft

• Social platforms that amplify women founders, not just as inspirational content but as authoritative voices in their industries

• Brands and consumers making deliberate choices to support women-owned businesses

Visibility creates customers. Customers create sustainability. Sustainability creates scale.

5. Address the Revenue Gap Directly

Getting to 55% ownership is one milestone. Closing the revenue gap is the real work.

Women-owned businesses representing 40% of firms but only 6–9% of revenue isn’t a coincidence, it reflects which industries women are concentrated in (often lower-revenue service sectors) and how hard it is to scale without capital, networks, and support.

Solving this requires:

• Encouraging women-owned businesses to enter higher-revenue sectors

• Reducing the administrative and operational burden that slows growth (this is where AI tools are genuinely leveling the playing field)

• Helping women-owned businesses transition from solo freelancing to scaled operations with teams

My hope is that both women and men support women-owned businesses by fostering growth and offering mentorship. This is not about women vs. men; it is about how we, as a society, support small businesses.

Why This Matters Beyond the Numbers

Here’s the thing about women-owned businesses: they tend to reinvest in their communities.

Research consistently shows that women entrepreneurs hire more women, support local suppliers, and reinvest earnings into their families and neighborhoods. Growing women’s entrepreneurship isn’t just an economic strategy, it’s a community strategy, a generational wealth strategy, a closing-the-gap strategy.

When women-owned businesses thrive, the people around them thrive too.

Getting to 55% by 2028 means 55% of U.S. businesses being led by people who, statistically, care deeply about the communities they serve. That’s not a small thing. That’s a different kind of economy.

The Role You Play

Whether you’re a consumer, a corporate buyer, a fellow entrepreneur, or someone thinking about starting a business, you have a part in this.

Buy from women-owned businesses. Make it a default, not an afterthought.

Refer women-owned businesses. Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool, and your network is a gift you can give.

Support the ecosystem. Mentor someone. Share knowledge. Invest if you can.

And if you’re a woman thinking about building something of your own, this is your sign.

The data says the moment is now. The community is here. The tools are more accessible than they’ve ever been.

Let’s Build Something Well Crafted

At Well Crafted Branding, we exist for the entrepreneur who’s building something real without a massive team, without a VC check, without the safety net of a corporate marketing department.

If you’re a woman building your brand and you want someone in your corner who gets it, we’d love to connect.

Because 55% by 2028 isn’t just a number. It’s a future we’re building together.

Sources: Wells Fargo 2026 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses Report; U.S. Census Bureau Business Owner Characteristics Database