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Writer's pictureCalla Norman

Why You Should Invest in Women-Owned Businesses, and How to Get Started

Updated: Aug 10, 2021


Keyla, owner of Casa Brazil in Pittsburgh, reaches for something in her restaurant's kitchen

At Honeycomb, we’ve seen first-hand how investing in women-owned businesses can make communities and the world more vibrant (but more on that later).


Female entrepreneurs are one of the quickest-growing sectors of the economy, and as we’ll show you soon, they’re already making an incredible impact, creating jobs, innovative projects, and lots of revenue.


1) Why should you invest in women-owned businesses?


Women make up almost 40% of the nation’s business owners and own 11.6 million firms. Even with that, however, the gender pay gap is still a very real thing, with women making about 80 cents on a man’s dollar, and that gap is even larger for Black and Latina women.


Yet, women-owned businesses actually perform twice as better as those run by men, and generate more than twice as much revenue!


Why is this? Women generally face more challenges and pushback against their ideas, leading to more grit and better-developed products. They also tend to be more conservative in their dealings and have a deeper understanding of how to market and sell to other women for certain products.


Although they may be creating for-profit businesses, women generally are motivated by making change and impacting the world.


Also, by investing in women-owned businesses, you’re investing in diversity in business, in opinions, and in representation. These all lead to better work environments and more innovation.


If more women were invested in, they could create 4 million new jobs and generate $1.2 trillion dollars of revenue across the country. Obviously, there needs to be more money and opportunities given to female business owners, so is there?


2) So I know why we should invest in them— but are women-owned businesses being funded?


Despite the statistics showing that female entrepreneurs are clearly killing it, only 2.5% of venture capital funding ends up going to women!


On top of that, minority- and women-owned businesses are less likely to be granted small business loans, which comes at a cost not only to these business owners but also to the community at large!


It’s pretty apparent that this is an issue. So, how can we support female entrepreneurs by investing in them?


3) How do I invest in a women-owned business?


So, now that you know that investing in women-owned businesses is really important, how do you go about doing that? Enter Honeycomb!


Honeycomb’s crowdfunding campaigns allow you to directly invest in the ideas and growth of small business owners, including female entrepreneurs. In fact, 50% of last year’s campaigns were run by women-owned businesses!


Also, due to the fact that women generally have greater emotional intelligence in storytelling and have an easy time connecting with audiences, they typically do very well when crowdfunding.


Here are a few examples of some of our favorite women-owned businesses that have run campaigns through our platform:



Naomi Homison of Pittsburgh Juice Company has been bringing artisanal, organic, cold-pressed juice to Pittsburgh since 2013. In this time, they’ve formed partnerships with several other local businesses and grown their product listings from 7 products to 70.


Her Honeycomb campaign allowed her to purchase a delivery truck so she could expand her distribution across the city. Pittsburgh Juice Company raised $38,850 from 67 investors, and has been spreading their healthy products across the city ever since!






Kay, owner of Sister Sunflower in Philadelphia, takes a selfie in front of some of her plants

Sister Sunflower owner Kay Henderson is another valuable part of our network. Kay is making Philadelphia and the world a bit brighter and a whole lot greener with her indoor houseplant business and “foster plant parent” service.


With the $12,650 she raised on Honeycomb, Kay was able to use her Honeycomb campaign to hire new staff, acquire necessary PPE, and refurbish her new retail space! This is just another example of how female business owners are resilient, community-oriented, and beneficial to their neighborhood.




Invest in the women-owned businesses in your community to make a huge impact!


As you can see, investing in women-owned businesses has the potential for a worldwide impact just as it does in our own communities. Now, time to go out there and think globally and act locally!


Whether a female entrepreneur is trying to make it in Silicon Valley or on Main Street, they deserve recognition and investment in their dreams as much as anyone.


Check out the live campaigns on Honeycomb now and invest in a women-owned business today at www.honeycombcredit.com/explore


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