Celebrating Women's History Month with Resources for Women-Owned Small Businesses

It's #WomensHistoryMonth and we're celebrating by empowering the women who make history each day by realizing their dreams and building successful small businesses. In fact, well over half of the Pace University Small Business Development Center's clients are women-owned ventures. Whether you just have an idea or you've been growing your business for years, take advantage of resources here to support and uplift women-owned small businesses.

1:1 Business Advisory Services

Advisors at the Pace SBDC and throughout the New York Small Business Development Center (NYSBDC) statewide network are here to support female entrepreneurs at any stage of the business life cycle with business planning, financing for business launch & growth, creating marketing strategies, accessing government procurement opportunities, and more! Visit our contact page to make a no-cost, one-on-one appointment with a business advisor.

Get Certified As A Women-Owned Small Business

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) manages the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program, extending certification to women-owned businesses program that provides contracting advantages and the opportunity to compete for exclusive, set-aside government procurement opportunities. Beyond federal certification, New York State and New York City also offer a Women-Owned Business Enterprise certification aimed at providing women-owned ventures a competitive edge and access to networking opportunities. Check out our certifications page to learn more. If you need assistance understanding, complying with, or taking advantage of any of these certification programs, speak to one of our Pace SBDC business advisors for no-cost, personalized assistance.

Grants for Women-Owned Small Businesses

While the Pace SBDC does not administer any grant programs of our own, we maintain a running list of grant opportunities that we are aware of as a service for our small business clients. Many of these opportunities are specifically for women-owned small businesses and other traditionally underrepresented communities.

Other Resources for Women-Owned Small Businesses

Beyond the Pace SBDC, there are a number of organizations devoted to helping female entrepreneurs build successful small businesses. The list below is only a select few and we encourage women-owned small businesses to take advantage of all the assistance available to them.

• Women's Business Centers across the nation provide resources, trainings, and mentorship to women entrepreneurs and, like the Pace SBDC, are an SBA resource partner.

• iFundWomen is a crowdfunding platform for female entrepreneurs. They also offer coaching, networking, and grant opportunities.

• NY Women In Business hosts networking events, connects entrepreneurs to mentors, and provides trainings geared especially towards women.

• WE NYC is an initiative based out of NYC’s Dept of Small Business Services (SBS) focused on providing resources to female entrepreneurs. They host trainings, facilitate networking events, and created a map of women-owned businesses throughout New York City.

• Tory Burch Foundation provides access to capital, education and digital resources for women entrepreneurs

• Women’s Enterprise Action Loan Fund offers interest-free loans of up to $10,000 for women-owned businesses in the New York Tri-State area, and does not require collateral, a guarantor or minimum level of revenues to qualify.