Research Summary
Technology Boosts Growth in Home-Based Businesses
Washington, DC -- Women are just as likely to use communications and computer technologies in their home-based businesses as are men, according to a new study published by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO). The report, based on a survey of 500 women- and men-owned home-based businesses in five Midwest states, also demonstrates that the Internet is an increasingly important business tool for home-based firms.
Midwest survey shows 40% of women and men owners use Internet
The NFWBO survey, sponsored by Ameritech, also revealed that the use of computers and communications technology has increased the ability of small home-based businesses to work together as “virtual corporations.” Over one-third of the home-based firms surveyed operate as a virtual corporation on at least an occasional basis.
“Making Connections: The Use of Communications and Computer Technology by Home-Based Businesses in the Midwest,” reports that time and money are the most frequently cited barriers in obtaining technology tools.
“It is a myth to believe that home-based businesses are small cottage industries,” noted Lois Haber, CLU, ChFC, NFWBO Chair and President & CEO of Delaware Valley Financial Services, Inc. in Berwyn, Pa. “Home-based firms owned by women are as likely as those owned by men to buy the latest communications and computer technology equipment and use it to grow their businesses.” In the five states surveyed by NFWBO Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin nearly four in ten (37%) home-based business owners say that technology is one of the most important (22%) or the most important (15%) issue facing their businesses. Both women and men home-based business owners consider technology to be an important issue for their businesses. “The NFWBO survey found that almost six in ten (59%) firms surveyed are planning for increased growth, and that almost half (47%) say they will be increasing their investment in technology this year over last year,” said Ron Blake, President, Ameritech Small Business Services. “Ameritech recognizes the importance of investing in communications technology and the challenges that go along with it for small businesses. That’s why Ameritech has committed itself to helping businesses figure out exactly which technologies are best for them.”
Women home-based business owners are as likely as their male counterparts to use a wide range of computer and communications tools, according to the NFWBO report:
Most home-based businesses surveyed are currently using a computer in their business (73% use a desktop computer, 20% use a laptop), most have a fax machine (62%) or a computer modem (57%), and a majority (53%) have CD-ROM capability.
The communications equipment home-based business owners are currently using in their business includes an answering machine (86%), cellular phone (57%), and a pager (31%).
The communications services women and men home-based business owners are using include call waiting (53%), multiple phone lines (48%), dedicated line for their fax or modem (46%), voice mail (41%), conference calling feature on their phone (30%), caller ID or call forwarding (26%), and 800 or 900 phone service (19%).
“Basing a business at home is not limited to start-ups. The NFWBO study found that most home-based businesses whether owned by a woman or a man have been located at home since their businesses’ inception, and plan to remain home-based indefinitely,” noted Haber, NFWBO Chair. “Home-based businesses owned by women are providing employment and fostering economic development in their communities, and they owe a lot of their businesses’ growth to technology,” noted Phyllis Hill Slater, president of the National Association of Women Business Owners and president of Hill Slater, Inc., a Long Island, NY-based engineering and architectural company.
“This study concludes that women and men are similar in their use of technology in their home-based businesses, and our other research shows that women-owned enterprises are beginning to resemble the profile of all U.S. businesses in size, age, creditworthiness, and industry distribution,” observed Haber, NFWBO Chair. “However our research documents that these women business owners differ from their male counterparts in many ways, including how they manage, make decisions, select vendors, and use credit,” Haber explained. “As women-owned firms continue to become more prominent in our economy, it is increasingly valuable for all businesses and policy makers to understand, and benefit from these differences.”
Charts
Women-Owned Home-Based Firms Are As Likely to Operate “Virtual Corporations” As Men-Owned Firms
Women and Men Home-Based Business Owners Plan to Increase Their Technology InvestmentMost Home-Based Businesses Use a Variety of Information Technology ToolsWomen- and Men-Owned Home-Based Firms Use a Wide Variety of Communications Services
The NFWBO report,“Making Connections: The Use of Communications and Computer Technology by Home-Based Businesses in the Midwest,” includes 8 statistical tables and 11 charts. The report is available for $40.00. (Discounts are available for NAWBO members and NFWBO corporate partners.)
The National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO) is a non-profit research and leadership development foundation. It is recognized as the premier source of information and intelligence on women business owners and their enterprises worldwide by corporations, policy makers, financial institutions and the media. The mission of the NFWBO is to strengthen women business owners and their enterprises through conducting research, sharing information, and increasing knowledge. The Foundation is affiliated with the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).
The sponsor of “Making Connections: The Use of Communications and Computer Technology by Home-Based Businesses in the Midwest” is Ameritech, serving millions of customers in 50 states and 40 countries by providing a full range of communications services, including local and long distance telephone, cellular, paging, security monitoring, cable TV, electronic commerce, on-line services and more. Ameritech has a strong tradition of giving back to the communities it serves. Last year, the company contributed more than $25 million to 2,000 nonprofit organizations, and Ameritech Pioneers 25,000 employees and retirees throughout the Midwest volunteered 332,500 hours of community service by supporting health and human services, civic and community projects, and educational and arts programs.
The National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO) publishes a wide range of research studies, reporting on statistical trends among women-owned firms (nationally, state-by-state, in the 50 top metropolitan areas, and among minority women-owned firms) and documenting ways in which women business owners define success, finance their businesses, seek purchasing information and financial advice, meet the challenges of business ownership, provide benefits for their employees, use technology in the workplace, engage in volunteer activities, and take their firms global.
Methodology Note: In October 1996, a random sampling of 500 businesses in the 5-state Ameritech service region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin) were surveyed by telephone. Two databases provided the sample for the survey, both supplied by Ameritech. A “Work at Home” database, containing 600,000 residential phone line records, accounted for 301 of the 500 completed interviews. Approximately one-third of the records in this database were marked with a field indicating the household as either a home-based business, a telecommuter, or a briefcase home worker. Approximately 40% of the flagged Work At Home database records were identified as home-based firms. A random sample of those households was drawn for this study. Secondly, a random sampling of a “Small Business Services” database, containing 10,000 home-based business phone line customers, was used for the remaining 199 interviews. This database was utilized to ensure that there were a sufficient number of home-based firms using business line service for analysis. All respondents were queried by the interviewers in order to screen out telecommuters or wage and salary home-based workers. Thus, the population interviewed were indeed home-based business owners.
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Citation
Center for Women’s Business Research. “Technology Boosts Growth in Home-Based Businesses.” Research Summary. December 19, 1997. Washington, DC.