American Express OPEN, the small-business services unit of American Express, has put out a report based on Census Bureau Statistics called the State of Women-Owned Businesses Report.

The report heralds some great news for Colorado small business. Metro Denver is ranked 13th among the nation’s top 25 metro areas in growth in the number of women-owned firms since 1997, and eighth in growth of firm revenue.

I’ll let some of the stats speak for themselves

• 85,600 women-owned firms in Denver today, compared with 69,053 in 2002. Those firms employ about 73,400 people, up from 69,053 in 2002.
• Women-owned firms in Denver will have an estimated $15.4 billion in sales in 2012, up 53.8 percent from $10.01 billion in 2002
• In Colorado, there was a 51.5 percent increase in the number of women-owned firms in the last 15 years — from 114,807 in 1997 to an estimated 173,900 in 2012
• Women-owned firms statewide will have an estimated $25.3 billion in sales in 2012, up 84 percent from $13.7 billion in 1997.

Across the U.S., estimates are that women-owned firms will account for $1.2 trillion in sales in 2012. This is a huge leap from the $818 million in sales in just 15 years ago. That is a really telling statistic, and I’m proud to be a Colorado small business attorney in a state that both welcomes and nurtures the considerable business talent seen from out state’s savvy entrepreneurial women.

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“Portrait of a Businesswoman” under CC license by Victor1558