- According to a new Groupon survey of more than 500 women small
business owners, nearly 75% said that their business has been
negatively impacted by the pandemic
- Fifty-four percent said they feared they’d have to permanently
close their businesses and one-quarter believe that it will take
more than a year for their businesses to get back to normal
- The survey ranked Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, Ohio and
North Carolina as the top five states most supportive of small
businesses during the pandemic
- Fifty-five percent of respondents said they believe men have an
easier time starting their own businesses and just over half said
that they’re held to a higher standard than their male
counterparts
Groupon––where customers discover fun things to do and local
businesses thrive––is encouraging everyone to celebrate October’s
National Women’s Small Business Month by supporting women-owned
small businesses in their community. To make it easy for people,
Groupon has created a special campaign (gr.pn/wsbm) focused on
driving customers to women-owned businesses in its marketplace. The
company is also building on the momentum it created during August’s
National Black Business Month and Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept.15
- Oct. 15) by continuing a dialogue with national, state and local
business leaders to find ways to better support women- and
minority-owned businesses, particularly those hurt economically by
the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a new Groupon survey, a
staggering 75 percent of women small business owners said their
businesses were negatively impacted by the pandemic.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005849/en/
A new survey finds 3 out 4 women-owned
small businesses have been hit hard by COVID-19 and more than half
feared they’d have to close permanently. (Graphic: Business
Wire)
The survey, commissioned by Groupon, polled more than 500 women
small business owners from around the United States to understand
how they’re meeting the challenges that COVID-19 presents, the
unique obstacles they face as women entrepreneurs, the secret to
their success, and important issues women want to see addressed by
the 2020 presidential candidates. The survey also revealed which
states have been the most supportive towards women-owned small
businesses during the pandemic.
“Every one of us has a role to play when it comes to investing
in the success of small businesses. It’s certainly great to have an
entire month and campaign dedicated to the promotion and growth of
women-owned businesses, but it’s also very important that we
continue to support them all year long,” said Groupon CFO Melissa
Thomas. “This year, Women’s Small Business Month comes at a time
when many women-owned businesses are facing even greater challenges
than usual due to the pandemic and they need our help now more than
ever.”
Disproportionate COVID Impact
Women small business owners who took the survey were twice as
likely to say that lockdown restrictions implemented to stop the
spread of the virus disproportionately affected women- and
minority-owned businesses as opposed to saying they impacted all
businesses equally. Fifty-four percent said they feared they’d have
to permanently close their businesses and one-quarter believe that
it will take more than a year for their businesses to get back to
normal. Four in 10 of those surveyed who applied for a Paycheck
Protection Program loan said they were rejected. And 20% said they
either plan to or already had to lay off employees and less than
10% said they plan to hire more people in the next year.
Most Supportive States During the Pandemic
Of the states surveyed, the results revealed that Massachusetts
ranked the highest for doing the most to help women-owned small
businesses recover from the negative economic impact of COVID-19.
The Bay State recently announced an initiative that enables small
businesses to defer paying regular sales, meals and room occupancy
taxes until May 2021. New York, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina
rounded out the top five states identified by survey participants
as being the most supportive.
Unique Challenges
Fifty-five percent of respondents said that they believe men
have an easier time starting their own businesses and just over
half said they’re held to a higher standard than their male
counterparts. Fifty-four percent of women surveyed said they
sometimes find it difficult to balance running a business with
family life. Given these unique challenges, it should come as no
surprise that more than 60% of women small business owners surveyed
said they go out of their way to help other women entrepreneurs
succeed.
Becoming a Successful Boss
Women small business owners said the top five keys to their
success were putting in hard work, taking pride in the quality of
their product or service, building a personal network, having an
innovative business idea and interestingly enough––since it was
identified as an obstacle––being a woman. Women small business
owners said it took an average of 2.5 years for their businesses to
become successful.
Making Their Voices Heard in the 2020 Election
Sixty-seven percent of women business owners surveyed said
they’re paying close attention to the upcoming 2020 presidential
election. When asked to identify their preferred candidate, former
Vice President Joe Biden had the support of 47 percent of
respondents compared to 34 percent who indicated support for
President Donald Trump. The top five issues that women small
business owners identified from a list that they want to see
addressed by the presidential candidates were the economy (chosen
by 75 percent of respondents), healthcare (54 percent), gender
equality (43 percent), tax credits and/or cuts (42 percent) and
social justice (36 percent).
Taking Action
Groupon is urging consumers to celebrate National Women’s Small
Business Month by supporting women-owned businesses in their local
communities as well as by making a donation to help provide new
women entrepreneurs with much needed access to capital. To find a
woman-owned business to support near you, Groupon is highlighting
approximately 2,000 women-owned businesses across the United
States. These merchants will be featured across Groupon’s mobile,
online and social channels throughout the month of October.
In addition, the company has partnered with Kiva.org––a renowned
crowdfunding platform––to provide consumers with an opportunity to
contribute to a fund that supports women-owned businesses across
the U.S. The goal of the fund is to help create opportunity and
unlock access to investment capital for women looking to start or
grow their businesses.
Finally, to help bring more attention to the challenges women
entrepreneurs face and resources available to help their businesses
succeed, Groupon is partnering with the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to host two virtual panel
discussions for merchants during the month of October. The panels
are designed to bring together government officials and business
leaders at the federal, state and local level to discuss the unique
challenges women business owners face and the programs and
resources available to help them succeed. For more information,
visit gr.pn/wsbmmerchant.
Panel discussion topics and dates:
- The Brand of U & How to Work It: How women
entrepreneurs can brand and leverage technology to pivot their
businesses to help them get through during COVID-19, and how to
capitalize using innovative approaches to position their business
for success. This event will also serve as a crossover with
Hispanic Heritage Month featuring Sol Flores, Deputy Governor of
Illinois; Erin Guthrie, Director of the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO); Anita Padilla, Fox 32
Chicago Anchor; and Letty Vélez, Vélez Global Enterprises & IC
Genius CEO. (October 1)
- Empowering Her with Resources During COVID-19 & Civil
Unrest: How women business owners can utilize available
government and private sector resources in order to succeed amidst
a pandemic. Featuring MK Pritzker, State of Illinois First Lady;
Andrea Zopp, World Business Chicago President and CEO; and Melissa
Thomas, Groupon CFO. (October 8)
National Women’s Small Business Month was created by the Small
Business Administration to celebrate the contributions of
women-owned businesses. According to the American Express 2019
annual State of Women-owned Businesses Report, there are nearly 13
million women-owned businesses in the United States––supporting
over 9 million jobs and generating $1.9 trillion in revenue.*
To find a women-owned business that you can support in your
community, please visit gr.pn/wsbm.
*Survey included women business owners from the most populous
states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York. North
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.
**https://about.americanexpress.com/sites/americanexpress.newshq.businesswire.com/files/doc_library/file/2019-state-of-women-owned-businesses-report.pdf
About Groupon
Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) is an experiences marketplace that brings
people more ways to get the most out of their city or wherever they
may be. By enabling real-time mobile commerce across local
businesses, live events and travel destinations, Groupon helps
people find and discover experiences––big and small, new and
familiar––that make for a full, fun and rewarding life. Groupon
helps local businesses grow and strengthen customer
relationships––resulting in strong, vibrant communities. To learn
more about Groupon’s community-building efforts, please visit
community.groupon.com.
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Groupon Dana Van Duerm dvanduerm@groupon.com
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