WASHINGTON, DC - Women are demonstrating their business savvy and financial sophistication by building substantial and growing businesses that generate one million dollars or more in annual revenues. According to a new study, The Leading Edge: Women-Owned Million Dollar Firms, conducted by the Center for Women's Business Research and underwritten by AT&T and KeyBank, women-owned businesses that generate a million dollars or more in revenue distinguish themselves through their use of multiple funding sources, sophisticated financial management practices, and utilization of technology.

The study specifically explores the characteristics, experiences and business practices of women-owned firms with $1 million or more in revenues and compares them to women-owned businesses that have not reached the million-dollar revenue mark.

"This study confirms that women can and do play in the big leagues. The vast majority (73.0%) of these $1 million firms are owned and operated by the founder and many (14.5%) achieved that level of success in five years or less," said Myra M. Hart, Chair, Center for Women's Business Research and Professor, Harvard Business School. "These businesses contribute significantly to our economy in terms of revenues and employment. Most are on their way to becoming even bigger with more than half (55.3%) reporting sales growth over the past three years, in spite of the economic downturn."

"Women-owned businesses with $1 million plus in revenues make greater use of sophisticated financial strategies than do smaller women-owned firms," said Maria Coyne, senior vice president, Women-Owned Business Initiatives, KeyBank. "These leading edge businesses typically are different from other women-owned businesses in that they use a greater number of funding sources (4 sources vs. 3 sources) and vendor credit (59.9% vs. 33.6%). In addition, they are more likely to utilize a greater array of financial products available to them, including commercial business loans or lines of credit (56.3% vs. 30.9%), and business credit cards (75.3% vs. 53.3%). At KeyBank, we are committed to helping women business owners make the most effective use of these funding sources, and the financial tools and products that support business growth."

Women owners of million dollar firms are also more likely than owners of smaller women-owned firms to use a variety of "bootstrapping" strategies to reduce the need for outside capital including negotiating better terms for their accounts payable (49.7% vs. 30.3%), speeding up customer payments (48.7% vs. 26.3%), and leasing equipment (32.7% vs. 17.1%).

Their financial sophistication extends to financial reporting. They are more likely than the smaller women-owned businesses to produce financial reports such as balance sheets, income statements, cash statements, sales forecasts, and break-even analyses. They also produce many of these documents more frequently.

The sophistication women owners of million dollar firms exhibit when they address financial issues is also evident when they address technology issues. "In technology, these leading edge women business owners are setting the pace for all other businesses," said Don Herring, who leads the AT&T mid-sized markets division. "They are more likely than the women owners of smaller businesses to say that the Internet and e-commerce play an important role in their businesses growth strategy (57.7% of women owners of $1 million firms vs. 31.2% of other women owners.) Furthermore, more than half (56.0%) of the women-owned $1 million firms use their Web site for e-commerce."

"AT&T is dedicated to helping all firms realize the benefits of these vital business resources."

Other factors which distinguish the $1 million women-owned businesses from smaller women-owned businesses:

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