Program Tries to Help Female Executives Gain Loan Literacy

NEW YORK — Women own more than a quarter of all small U.S. companies, but a women’s economic development group maintains that many of these entrepreneurs still don’t have the financial savvy to write a credible loan application.

Beatrice Fitzpatrick, president and founder of American Woman’s Economic Development Corp., said women’s uneasiness with the financial end of business is cultural.

“Most women who come here are wonderful at the creative end but haven’t learned the business end,” she said. “They’ve been given the message one way or another . . . that this is not something they should be concerned with.”

The trend is especially disturbing because almost 50% of all small companies will be run by women by the turn of the century, according to Fitzpatrick.

“This is the first time in the country’s history that more women than men are going into business for themselves,” she said. “It’s such a wonderful avenue for people to advance and improve their lives.”

In view of these statistics, American Woman’s Economic Development Corp. has developed a new program designed to raise the standard of loan literacy among female entrepreneurs in New York state.

The program is designed for the female executive whose business has been growing steadily or the woman who is just preparing to set up a company.

The course consists of 10 to 13 two-hour, private counseling sessions that give executives tips on how to write a business history, project the financial performance of their companies and assemble data that will build credibility with a lending institution.