by Daniel Finnegan – Managing Editor, Triad Business Journal

Greensboro: North Carolina has been named the best state for business several times in the past few years by a handful of different organizations, including by CNBC, Forbes and Site Selection magazine.

Now, the Tar Heel state has been recognized as the second-best state for women business owners in the 2024 Wells Fargo Impact of Women-Owned Business Report.

“North Carolina provides various services, including access to financing, training, and marketing support,” the report states. “The state shows a solid upward trend in the growth of firms. Its employment and revenue share rank it in the top 10 women-owned businesses, significantly contributing to North Carolina’s economy.”

The largest woman-owned business in North Carolina is Sunstates Security in Raleigh, according to Business Journal research. The company, owned by Kathryn Burrell, employs about 1,150 and had revenue of more than $186 million in 2022.

The largest woman-owned business in the Triad is Simply Southern, which is owned by Ginger Aydogdu and employs just more than 200. Other large women-owned businesses in the region include Thomas Tire with 175 employees, Beco Inc. (143), Darran Furniture (140) and Packrite (125).

According to the report, women-owned businesses “have an outsized impact and undeniable growing influence on the economy” and are vital to fueling our economy, representing 39.1% of all businesses – over 14 million businesses – employing 12.2 million workers, and generating $2.7 trillion revenue.

“The report findings show that we’re growing women own businesses, so we’re close to 40%, and that’s a great sign,” said Val Jones, the women’s segment lead for small business for Wells Fargo. “We’ve seen a lot of growth over the past ten years, but especially during COVID, which was surprising.

“They absolutely have a bigger role in driving the economy. So as we see women owned businesses, not only grow in number, but in their ability to employ and as well as growing in their revenue, it’s a great sign for not only women owned businesses but the small business community overall.”

Read the entire article at the Triad Business Journal.