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The numbers are staggering. Women-owned businesses are growing at a phenomenal rate in the U.S.

• 40% of all privately held U.S. firms are owned or controlled by women
• Women’s companies are creating jobs at twice the rate of all firms
• Women’s companies are responsible for more payroll than all the Fortune 500 companies combined
• Women’s companies are growing profits faster than all firms
• Every day, 420 new women-owned companies are formed in the U.S.

Women entrepreneurs are succeeding even though they have to take bigger financial risks to get started.

• Women’s companies only get 5% of all venture capital
• Women take on more personal debt to fund their businesses than men do

What is behind this growth? In part, it is that many companies aren’t meeting the needs of women (and mothers) as far as a flexible work schedule and the ability to work from home. It is also driven by the fact that many women get frustrated working for companies they feel don’t respect or listen to them. These factors are forcing women to find new solutions.

Margaret HeffernanA new book by Margaret Heffernan,”How She Does It”, explores what makes women-owned or controlled firms successful. Heffernan herself is a five-time CEO and a regular contributor to both Real Business and Fast Company According to Heffernan, “As long as women continue to slug it out in traditional companies that were build by men for men, much of their energy will go into fitting into those cultures. It is a big drain on resources. But once a woman runs her own company that drain evaporates. These phenomenal numbers how just how effective women can be when they work on their own terms. They also demonstrate just how much talent those traditional corporations lose when their women give up on them.”

Heffernan interviewed hundreds of women business owners,and found there were common patterns and themes that emerged. She found that women do work differently from men and that these differences can lead to great success. There is a striking congruence between the things women excel at and the demands of the new economy. Women have a tremendous need to achieve. Women don’t feel they have a safety net or can turn back. They are smart about markets and timing. They practice diversity. They place values at the heart of their business and take culture very seriously. And women work from a different concept of power than men. The result is a unique style of leadership in which “soft” skills are getting hard results."How She Does It" by Margaret Heffernan

Some of the common themes Heffernan finds among women-owned companies are as follows:

• Broad peripheral vision keeps you better informed than market research
• Intution and empathy are mission critical talents
• Business isn’t rational and companies are living organisms vs. machines
• A successful business is built on values and a sense of purpose
• Leadership is about orchestrating vs. commanding
• Besides having a market to sell to, culture is the most important thing in business
• Great cultures turn personal values into process
• Service is ennobling, not demeaning
• Mistakes are learning
• Be a good planner but a brilliant improviser
• Asking for help is a sign of strength
• Outside commitments (such as family) enhance managerial excellence
• To understand the market, you have to spend time in it
• Emotion is not a weakness
• Business doesn’t follow rules.

Heffernan challenges us to celebrate the differences and learn from them. If you’d like to learn more, I’d encourage you to pick up a copy of the book.

“I've long called the saga of American women-owned businesses our most under-reported business news story. Margaret Heffernan goes a long way to filling this empty canyon. HOW SHE DOES IT is a great piece of reporting, a great piece of writing--and, simply, one of the most important books, business or otherwise, to come along in many a year.” -- Tom Peters

”Illuminates the strengths of female-run companies. Will cause light bulbs to go off over the corporate world.” -- USA Today