AUDIO: Women-owned businesses digging out of the recession

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.
November 17, 2009 12:02am

Something's going on with women-owned small businesses. Many seem to be doing remarkably well in the Great Recession.

"There's a lot more headroom for women to grow businesses since the majority of them are so small," says Nell Merlino, founder, president and CEO of Count Me In for Women�s Economic Independence, a national not-for-profit provider of resources for women to grow their micro businesses into larger ones.

"Out of the ten and a half million women-owned businesses, the majority of them are under $50,000 in revenue," says Ms. Merlino. "Any activity around growth means something great wherever they are. We are seeing that all over the country."

(In today's CVBT Audio Interview, Nell Merlino talks about the success many women-owned businesses are finding and what sets them apart. Please left-click on the link below to listen now or right-click to download the MP3 audio file for later listening.)

Ms. Merlino is credited as the creative force behind the annual "Take Our Daughters to Work Day," which has seen more than 71 million Americans taking part in a day dedicated to giving girls the opportunity to dream bigger about their future. She is also author of "Stepping Out of Line: Lessons for Women Who Want It Their Way in Life, in Love, and at Work," from Broadway Books, which is available from Amazon.com.

Earlier, Ms. Merlino was founder and president of Strategy Communication Action Ltd. (SCA) in New York City, which specializes in the creation of public education campaigns.