Expanding Women-owned small businesses
By Senator Susan M. Collins

As we celebrated Women's History Month this March, we honor the countless contributions that American women have made throughout our nation's history. These contributions have enriched our culture, strengthened our nation, and increasingly, these contributions are powering our economy. Did you know that one-third of all small business owners are women? According to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), America's 9.1 million women-owned businesses employ 27.5 million people and contribute $3.6 trillion to the economy. Women are starting their own businesses at record rates, in some cases in response to the glass ceiling that prevents women in too many large corporations from becoming the CEO.

Advocating for small business has been a centerpiece of my career, both prior to and during my time in the United States Senate. From my many years as an advisor to former Maine Senator Bill Cohen on small business issues, to my time as New England Administrator for the Small Business Administration, to my tenure as founding director of the Husson College Center for Family Business, and now with my work in the Senate, I have fought for the concerns of the small businesses. I have had a special interest in promoting women entrepreneurs.

To help celebrate and promote women entrepreneurship, I will participate in a satellite conference broadcast from Washington, D.C., that will join groups at the Husson College Center for Family Business in Bangor, and in Orlando, Florida and Little Rock, Arkansas. Together with President Bush, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and three of my Senate colleagues, we will discuss ways in which the federal government can promote women's entrepreneurship.

I believe this is a worthwhile endeavor, for I've always held that small businesses are the true engine of our nation's economy. In Maine, they provide so many good jobs to our citizens and are vital to the health of our state's economy. Government policies must promote and not undermine their continued existence. And I am committed to doing all I can in the Senate to support legislation and policies that encourage the growth of small businesses. In fact, I recently introduced a bill to increase the amount that small business owners can "expense" on their taxes from $24,000 to $40,000, to encourage them to expand their businesses.

There are a number of resources available to entrepreneurs attempting to start a small businesses. The Small Business Administration, for instance, has an Office of Women's Business Ownership which is rich in resources. Its Women's Business Centers provide women with long-term training and counseling in all aspects of owning or managing a business. Getting started isn't easy and it's important to recognize that it can't be done alone. That is why it is so important that women seize the tremendous resources that exist in our own communities, too.

Small businesses play critical roles in our communities and our economies. They bring us diversity and freedom from the sameness of giant chains. They are threads that bind a community. And they are sources of local opportunity and good jobs for a great many more women.