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The Small Business Management pathway at Pickens Technical College sets the stage for anyone to become a successful business owner. By learning from instructor Jennifer Cronk-Cross, you can create an opportunity for yourself as soon as you find that great idea that lights your fire. Finding something you’re passionate about enough to build a business around is difficult for most people, but with Cronk-Cross’s help, you’ll be able to delve into that passion to find success in whatever sector you enter.

One of the great things about Cronk-Cross’s class at Pickens is that it celebrates diversity. Everyone with the right prerequisites and passion can come to class and expect to be successful after they graduate. There are still many problems in the US with discrimination, representation, and equality when it comes to small business owners and the community, but Pickens can give anyone the tools to be successful as a small business owner, and that’s a powerful thing. 

Our state of Colorado has long been known to offer opportunities to the disenfranchised, the underrepresented. It goes back to the origin of the state as a place where anyone could go, start over, and be successful. 

Women in Colorado Business

According to a report by Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, 5.6 million small business employers existed in the US in 2016. Would it surprise you that 86% of those had fewer than 20 employees? Small business has always been the lifeblood of the US economy, and never before have more people run more small businesses than now. The report also estimated that there were another 24.8 million non-employer businesses, or those owned and operated by one person with no employees.

Research also indicated that women- and minority-owned businesses are on the rise across the country. A bit of digging uncovered which states were particularly welcoming to female entrepreneurs and Colorado was highlighted.

Colorado ranked behind only Alaska and Missouri as the states with the highest portion of small businesses owned by women. Women own 22.5% of all small businesses in the state, just behind Missouri at 23%. Colorado women-owned businesses had an average of six employees on staff. 

What This Means for You

People of all genders should be celebrating how diverse the small business community is in Colorado. It means that more products are being offered to all people, and more perspectives are being represented for the benefit of consumers. 

No matter who you are, you have to be encouraged by the number of people who set forth and did it themselves, the way they want. Small businesses form the foundation of the economy, not only in the state but in the country. Pickens’ Small Business Management pathway will prepare you for a successful business career no matter your background or how you identify. In spite of ongoing struggles for more diversity in the small business realm, Colorado has shown that with some hard work and determination, anyone can be successful in this small business environment.