The Make Mine a Million Dollar Business program aims to elevate women businesses in our state.
Appearing at the Concourse Hotel in Wisconsin's capitol city, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton tells the crowd of professional women to "get on the entrepreneurial on-ramp into Wisconsin's economy and get ready to hit the gas." She says, "With women-owned firms growing at about twice the rate of all others, our strategies to strengthen their numbers and encourage their growth can only be solid investments for the state of Wisconsin."
Lawton says in Wisconsin, there are over 122,000 privately-held businesses majority-owned by women. (That's 28% of all firms) And they generate about $20-billion in sales and employ about 148,000 people. "We are intent on fostering lively, ambitious businesses that establish and keep their home office right here in Wisconsin; and we need imaginative, determined women in the mix in large numbers to make that happen."
To that end, the national initiative "Make Mine a Million Dollar Business" has set a goal of driving 1-million women-owned firms over the 1-million dollar mark in sales, creating at least 4-million new jobs nationwide. Lawton says Wisconsin can claim 80-90-thousands of those new jobs in our state. The program will provide women with mentoring, money, marketing resources and the technology assistance they need to elevate their business to the next level.