The Rise of Women-Owned Businesses

According to the National Women's Business Council, more than 7.8 million businesses in the U.S. are owned by women. This constitutes more than one-fourth of all nonagricultural businesses and accounts for approximately $1.2 trillion in revenues each year. Women dominate the healthcare field with 52 percent ownership in this sector of the economy. While Washington, D.C., continues to boast the largest percentage of women business owners, other states are in hot competition for the title:

• Washington, D.C.: 34.5 percent
• Maryland: 32.6 percent
• New Mexico: 31.7 percent
• Hawaii: 31.0 percent

As women ascend to leadership roles in the corporate world, they are increasingly involved in fields more commonly associated with men, including waste management services, communications, IT consulting, energy, and retail marketing. In many cases, women-owned IT firms specialize in a particular field. For example, four of the top 10 fastest growing women-owned companies in a list compiled by Entrepreneur Magazine were IT-related; of those, two catered specifically to government clients, one offered services designed for healthcare providers, and the last delivered general IT consultancy solutions.

As women continue to take the lead in the business world, more companies are likely to enjoy the added flexibility and fresh perspective of these leaders. This can potentially lead to increased innovation and openness to change, allowing greater expansion and growth across the entire U.S. economy.

Atkinson-Baker: The power of women-owned businesses

When Sheila Atkinson-Baker founded Atkinson-Baker in 1987, she sought to fill a gap in the court reporting field and to serve a community of attorneys and legal professionals in need of faster response times for deposition reporting. Over time, the company's services have expanded to include the following:

• Elite interpreting services for your depositions and court proceedings when witnesses speak a foreign language
• Reminder services to alert attorneys to upcoming depositions and scheduled court reporting appointments
• Online document storage and viewing
• Process server contracting services
• Case management services
• Legal videographer services

Thanks to Sheila Atkinson-Baker's in-depth experience as a court reporter, her firm quickly rose to the top of the industry and was honored by Inc. Magazine on two separate occasions as one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. Sheila's unique business model is built on the core values of accuracy, dependability, and customer service. One of an elite group of women-owned businesses in the legal field, Atkinson-Baker delivers the most comprehensive and well-rounded services for an expansive list of clients in the U.S.

At Atkinson-Baker, the emphasis is on responsive customer service and fast turnaround times to ensure client satisfaction. As the needs of the legal community change, Atkinson-Baker changes with them to ensure that clients receive the services they need. This flexibility and tolerance for change allows the firm to flourish even in difficult economic times.