{"id":3678,"date":"2016-03-18T14:02:09","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T19:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/?p=3678"},"modified":"2016-03-18T14:02:09","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T19:02:09","slug":"women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/","title":{"rendered":"Women Entrepreneurs Drive Economic Growth in the Bronx"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written By Kyra Gurney<\/a><\/p>\n

The number of women opening businesses in the borough has shot up 53% in recent years, outpacing the rest of the city.<\/p>\n

When Betty Maurice and Elsie Juarez first opened their South Bronx speech therapy business in 2011, they were operating out of a one-bedroom apartment. Parents had to squeeze into the kitchen during their children\u2019s appointments, but Maurice and Juarez could not afford a bigger space. Uncertain of how successful their fledgling venture would be, both women initially kept their day jobs at a Manhattan-based non-profit and worked at the business in the evenings.<\/p>\n

Within a year, Maurice and Juarez were able to recover the money they had invested and dedicate themselves to the business full time.<\/p>\n

Now, four years later, Chat A Lot Kiddies has 150 clients, seven employees and an expansive office with a colorful consulting space and a proper waiting room. The one thing that hasn\u2019t changed is the South Bronx location. In fact, Maurice and Juarez plan to open a second office on the other end of the Bronx by next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a stigma in the South Bronx, that it\u2019s dangerous, so a lot of clinicians don\u2019t want to come here,\u201d said Maurice. \u201cWhen we were thinking about opening our business, we said \u2018Where can we open it where there\u2019s a big need for it\u2019 and we decided on the South Bronx.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maurice and Juarez are among a growing group of women of all education levels and backgrounds opening businesses in the Bronx. The number of women-owned businesses in the borough shot up by 53 percent during a recent five-year period, far outpacing the other boroughs, according to a study released in March<\/a> by the Center for an Urban Future. The New York-based think tank, which analyzed the U.S. Census Survey of Businesses Owners data from 2007 to 2012, the most recent period for which it is available, also found that female entrepreneurship in the Bronx had increased faster than its male counterpart, which rose 11 percent during the same period.<\/p>\n

Women-owned businesses overall, not just in the Bronx, have become an important economic driver in New York City, generating around $50 billion in sales each year, according to a city government report<\/a>. The number of women entrepreneurs has been on the rise citywide and there are now an estimated 359,000 women with their own businesses in the metropolitan area.<\/p>\n

While Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens have a greater number of women-owned businesses, the growth rate in the Bronx is an encouraging sign, say non-profits and government programs that support small businesses in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, it\u2019s really impressive and exciting to see this growth in the Bronx,\u201d said Amy Parker, a Communications and Operations Associate with the Center for an Urban Future. \u201cIt shows a certain amount of investment and opportunity that\u2019s developing there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parker said that the support provided by micro-lending organizations, start-up incubators and other small business initiatives is one factor that has likely contributed to the increase in the Bronx. She also cited \u201cgeneral neighborhood improvements\u201d in the borough, like increased safety, and the Bronx\u2019s affordability compared to other areas.<\/p>\n

Small businesses, especially home-based businesses, also provide an attractive opportunity for women without a college education who might otherwise end up in a minimum-wage job, Parker said.<\/p>\n

Awilda Velez, the director of the federally funded Bronx Women\u2019s Business Resource Center, cited the Bronx\u2019s large immigrant population as another reason for the increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cEntrepreneurship is not something you learn on the soil; it\u2019s something you come [to the U.S.] with,\u201d Velez said. \u201cFor a lot of immigrants, it\u2019s a survival skill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following a recent small business workshop hosted by Accion, one of several microfinance organizations that provide support to small business owners in the Bronx, female entrepreneurs told NY City Lens that financial independence and flexible schedules were two of the main reasons they went into business for themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s something about just being individual and having some sort of financial independence that only you claim and you control,\u201d said Ese Ofurhie, 33, a Bronx native who created her own digital publication, Enspire Magazine, in 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written By Kyra Gurney The number of women opening businesses in the borough has shot up 53% in recent years, outpacing the rest of the city. When Betty Maurice and Elsie Juarez first opened their South Bronx speech therapy business in 2011, they were operating out of a one-bedroom apartment. Parents had to squeeze into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-from-the-best"],"yoast_head":"\nWomen Entrepreneurs Drive Economic Growth in the Bronx<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Women Entrepreneurs Drive Economic Growth in the Bronx\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Written By Kyra Gurney The number of women opening businesses in the borough has shot up 53% in recent years, outpacing the rest of the city. When Betty Maurice and Elsie Juarez first opened their South Bronx speech therapy business in 2011, they were operating out of a one-bedroom apartment. Parents had to squeeze into […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Biz Women Rock!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-18T19:02:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Maurice_and_Juarez-e1458327680699.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"231\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"209\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Krimitsos\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Krimitsos\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/\",\"name\":\"Women Entrepreneurs Drive Economic Growth in the Bronx\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Maurice_and_Juarez-e1458327680699.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-18T19:02:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-18T19:02:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#\/schema\/person\/6722c978698b3cbf05df315a70908de5\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Maurice_and_Juarez-e1458327680699.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Maurice_and_Juarez-e1458327680699.jpg\",\"width\":231,\"height\":209},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/\",\"name\":\"Biz Women Rock!\",\"description\":\"Inspiring Interviews With The World's Most Incredible Business Women\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#\/schema\/person\/6722c978698b3cbf05df315a70908de5\",\"name\":\"Katie Krimitsos\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87e983f91bd300b5572a2f6035b7580329bbd8c73506496f6be300a26cf12b00?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87e983f91bd300b5572a2f6035b7580329bbd8c73506496f6be300a26cf12b00?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Katie Krimitsos\"},\"url\":\"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/author\/katie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Women Entrepreneurs Drive Economic Growth in the Bronx","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Women Entrepreneurs Drive Economic Growth in the Bronx","og_description":"Written By Kyra Gurney The number of women opening businesses in the borough has shot up 53% in recent years, outpacing the rest of the city. When Betty Maurice and Elsie Juarez first opened their South Bronx speech therapy business in 2011, they were operating out of a one-bedroom apartment. Parents had to squeeze into […]","og_url":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/","og_site_name":"Biz Women Rock!","article_published_time":"2016-03-18T19:02:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":231,"height":209,"url":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Maurice_and_Juarez-e1458327680699.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Krimitsos","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Krimitsos","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/","url":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/","name":"Women Entrepreneurs Drive Economic Growth in the Bronx","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Maurice_and_Juarez-e1458327680699.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-18T19:02:09+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-18T19:02:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#\/schema\/person\/6722c978698b3cbf05df315a70908de5"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/women-entrepreneurs-drive-economic-growth-in-the-bronx\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Maurice_and_Juarez-e1458327680699.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Maurice_and_Juarez-e1458327680699.jpg","width":231,"height":209},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#website","url":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/","name":"Biz Women Rock!","description":"Inspiring Interviews With The World's Most Incredible Business Women","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#\/schema\/person\/6722c978698b3cbf05df315a70908de5","name":"Katie Krimitsos","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87e983f91bd300b5572a2f6035b7580329bbd8c73506496f6be300a26cf12b00?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87e983f91bd300b5572a2f6035b7580329bbd8c73506496f6be300a26cf12b00?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katie Krimitsos"},"url":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/author\/katie\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3680,"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678\/revisions\/3680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bizwomenrock.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}