Researchers exploring the special challenges and achievements of business women in leadership roles will find a wealth of data in an annually enriched database being built within Florida International University.
For the third consecutive year, the College of Business Administration; the Center for Leadership; and the Metropolitan Center, all part of the university; along with The Commonwealth Institute South Florida, surveyed women-led businesses in Florida with revenues of $3 million or more. Respondents held the positions of president, chief executive officer, chair of the board, and/or primary owner of a for-profit organization based in the state.
The 2008 survey generated responses from 152 women-led businesses with a combined state economic impact of more than $2 billion and a combined payroll of more than 53,000 employees. The median revenues reported were $2.9 million with 28 percent of the businesses reporting income of more than $10 million..
“Every year, our proprietary data, including details about revenue and about leadership, will grow even more substantially,” said Joyce J. Elam, executive dean of the college and co-director of the Center for Leadership, who presented the latest findings, captured in Florida’s Women-led Businesses, 2008, at a luncheon honoring women leaders on June 4, 2008, held at the Four Seasons Hotel-Miami.
Consistency and change define the results.
According to Elam, aspects of the businesses have remained steady. For example, eight out of the top ten were in that group in 2007, and 21 of the top fifty companies appeared again this year.
However, several significant differences emerged in the 2008 survey, in particular the general economic picture.
A smaller number of companies reported revenue growth of more than five percent this year with the number of companies that expect to grow in the next two years dipping below fifty percent. In addition, 56 percent of respondents had fewer than twenty employees, up from fifty percent in 2007.
“Responding to the economy is going to be a key challenge for the businesses,” Elam said.
Each year, the survey will gather information about women leaders in Florida. Among those leaders are two college alumnae: Joyce Anderson (BBA ’84), CEO, Florida Orthopedic Institute, with revenues of $62 million, and Monique Hamaty-Simmonds (BBA ’96), president , Tortuga Imports, Inc., whose company revenues approach $5 million.
For more information about The Center for Leadership (CFL), visit http://lead.fiu.edu. The Center for Leadership (CFL), Florida International University conducts research and leadership programs to help organizations rapidly and predictably build leadership capacity. The Center’s unique approach to executive education designs and facilitates highly-customized, practical programs that weave together theory, real-world application, reflection, and feedback.
