Women in Business Today

In the best of times, women entrepreneurs are hard-pressed to find start-up capital. The number of venture-backed, women-led companies stands at only 6 percent, and in the third quarter venture capital funding to all start-ups fell by 23 percent.

Some $4 billion was invested in companies led by a woman chief executive officer last year, and in the last three years the percentage of venture-backed, women-led companies has increased from 2 percent to 6 percent, according to VentureOne, a research firm specializing in venture capital research.

The outlook this year is uncertain, given the struggling economy. During the year’s third quarter, venture capital investing in all start-up businesses fell 23 percent, according to an October PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTree Survey with VentureOne.

Women will need to due their due diligence and pursue other creative financing measures. Doing their research on unconventional ways of funding their companies will lead with hard work to the financing they need.