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With approximately 11.6 million women-owned businesses in the United States today, large financial corporations like American Express and Bank of America are taking notice. In a recent report titled Women’s Entrepreneurial Journeys, the stories of eight women in various stages of business ownership were collected. These stories paint a picture of some of the most important values women entrepreneurs bring to their companies, employees, and industries.

 

1.  Happy Employees Come Before High Profit

If there’s one major thing the interviewees all talked about, it was the importance of keeping their employees happy above all else. The women featured in the report would rather see their employees get the benefits, pay, and time-off that they need over a slight boost in profitability. Even if this means taking a personal salary cut themselves, women business owners would rather have their employees’ needs met instead.

2. Positive, Welcoming Work Environment

“People [should] feel comfortable coming to work every day,” said Karen Reynolds Sharkey, an executive at the U.S. Trust. Women in business want to make everyone under their management feel welcomed, included, and – perhaps most of all – supported in their workplace.

Women-founded businesses tend to emphasize personal and professional growth in their employees. Female entrepreneurs want to see their employees become successful in their own way, even if that means potentially outgrowing their current role in the company. Access to ongoing training and higher-education is often provided as well.

3. Contributing to a Higher Purpose

Many of the women referenced the importance of philanthropy in their work. For women entrepreneurs, success is not the goal in and of itself – success is a means to give back to the community. “[Philanthropy is] kind of your responsibility if you’re successful,” said Megan Driscoll, CEO of EvolveMKD and one of the eight women interviewed for the report.

4. Networking and Social Support

“Sometimes [entrepreneurship] can be really lonely. It’s nice to know there are women out there who have been through or are going through the same thing,” Driscoll says, referencing the support and dialogue that has come from the Women’s Entrepreneurial Journeys report.

During the report, she said that it was helpful to learn about the women who have done this before her, such as those who began their careers when women couldn’t even apply for credit without a husband or other man to co-sign. Seeing the hardships these women faced, and ultimately overcame, makes it easier to take on the obstacles in today’s business world.

You can read the full report here.