Do women business owners represent an important market? You better believe it! Just take a look at the numbers.

As of 2005, there are an estimated 15.6 million privately held majority or 50% women-owned businesses in the United States.

Women business owners alone have $3 trillion in purchasing power and are the world's fastest growing market.

64% of women, with personal net worth of at least $5 million, created their wealth through professional careers.

Fully nine in ten (91%) women business enterprises, both those who are currently marketing to Fortune 1000 companies and those who are not, expect to be doing business with Fortune 1000 companies over the next three to five years.

One in 18 adult women in the U.S. is a business owner. Across the nation, 5.7% of all adult women are entrepreneurs.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of the revenues of women's business enterprises with $1 million or more in sales came from large corporations, and 40% of the revenues of companies with revenues below $1 million.

Minority owned business suppliers are growing at a rate of 30 percent while the rest are only growing at a pace of 6 to 7 percent.

Women-owned businesses employ one in seven working Americans.

Source: Center for Women's Business Research, 2004.