Empowering EntreprenHERs: How Technology Fuels Women-Owned Small Businesses

Nationally, women own 12.3 million small businesses, making up 40% of all businesses in the country. However, the barrier to successfully scale and drive sales still exists with most (88%) women-owned small businesses producing below $100,000 revenue yearly. How can women entrepreneurs and SMB (small to medium-sized business) owners continue to create impact, influence change, and ensure their businesses are set up for long-term success? As the world becomes more tech-savvy, 71% of small business owners have digitally optimized their business and operations in the last year. So how can we encourage the 29% of small businesses who have not? Global technology companies have a responsibility to their customers to make technology accessible, user-friendly and intuitive.

As we celebrate women-owned businesses in honor of national Women’s Small Business Month it’s important to consider the impact of technology on a small business and why innovative tools and solutions can unlock the true potential of women entrepreneurs when launching and scaling their businesses.

At Lenovo we’re helping bring technology to more small businesses through the Evolve Small campaign initiative which recently awarded numerous women-owned businesses with funding, support and technology, to increase efficiency and expand market reach.

In this piece, I will uncover how the power of advanced technology can streamline operations, unlock new opportunities for growth and drive more impact than ever before.

Here are three common challenges SMB owners face and how the right technology can help unlock growth:

Improving Communication

According to Zebra, approximately two thirds of small businesses are completely online. However, when businesses make the transition to a hybrid model, one of the hurdles they face is identifying the right technology that will help maintain clear communication between cross-functional teams. The lack of real-time updates across multiple channels, without the right technology, can lead to delays in important decision-making. With the right technology, small businesses can transform their hybrid model into a well-oiled machine, where real-time communication bridges gaps and accelerates decision-making, turning potential delays into opportunities for rapid growth and innovation.

For example, NutmegSpiced, recently went from being an online-only bakery to adopting a hybrid model featuring a walk-up window for consumers to place their orders in person. With this transition, they were faced with the task of ensuring seamless communication between the front-of-house point-of-sale (POS) system and the back-of-house operations. By implementing a new dual-screen POS system, laptops, tablets and mobile phones as a bundled solution, they were able to efficiently improve their communication and resolve their communication challenges with the support of technology. In fact, studies show that businesses using integrated technology solutions experience up to a 25% improvement in communication efficiency, proving that the right tech is essential for seamless operations and growth.

Increasing Team Productivity & Driving Creative Innovation

Small businesses are only half as productive as larger companies, according to McKinsey Global Institute. Without updated technology, businesses can struggle with inefficiencies and limit their productivity. Old systems lead to slow operations and efficiency problems. Employees might be stuck doing repetitive tasks, which limits their creativity and ability to innovate. Poor tools also make teamwork harder and can slow down growth and progress. Fortunately, by embracing modern technology, small businesses can overcome these challenges, boost productivity, and unlock their full potential, empowering employees to focus priority work and collaborate more effectively.

Like many small businesses, The Pretty Spirit Palace, faced the challenge of identifying new ways to streamline operations that could potentially free up employees’ time so they can focus on different business areas. They achieved this by leveraging new technology that freed up time for higher-level tasks, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

Expanding Market Research

Poor record-keeping systems can lead to inaccurate data and missed opportunities for sales insights. Inefficient tools that do not meet the unique needs of the individual business can also make it difficult to implement modern marketing approaches, resulting in less effective audience targeting. Overall, a lack of appropriate technology can hinder a business’s ability to make informed decisions, track performance accurately, and stay competitive in the market. By upgrading to technology that fits their specific needs, businesses can turn record-keeping challenges into opportunities for better sales insights and dynamic marketing, making decision-making easier and giving them a leg up on the competition.

Royale Cheesecake & Varieties faced difficulties with updating their sales record-keeping and marketing strategies. To address these issues, they incorporated AI-powered devices and a suite of technologies, which helped improve their sales tracking and marketing efforts, leading to better audience targeting and enhanced overall performance. A McKinsey study shows that businesses using AI for market research can achieve up to a 60% improvement in data accuracy and targeting precision, highlighting how AI is a transformative tool for staying ahead in the market. Ultimately, AI represents the future of business innovation—leveraging it can give small business owners the tools they need to elevate themselves in the marketplace.

Conclusion

As we celebrate women business leaders during National Women’s Small Business Month, it’s evident that technology plays a crucial role in shaping the success of women-owned small businesses. While women entrepreneurs drive significant contributions to the economy and are the voices of creativity, overcoming barriers to growth remains a challenge. Embracing advanced technology offers a transformative path toward success, addressing common inefficiencies, productivity gaps and market research hurdles.

Lenovo’s Evolve Small campaign exemplifies the impact of providing tailored technological support that targets specific small business needs. By integrating innovative solutions, empowering women-owned businesses becomes easier as they gain the tools needed to scale their businesses and stay competitive. Most importantly, women entrepreneurs can unlock their full potential and set the stage for long-term success. As we move forward, let’s continue to champion technology’s role in empowering women entrepreneurs and driving impactful change in the small business landscape.

Author: Melanie Jin is Executive Director of SMB Product and Portfolio, with Lenovo Intelligent Devices Group.