Black women's businesses thrive

According to a joint study by the National Women's Business Council and the U.S. Census Bureau, Wisconsin ranks among the top states in survival and employment growth of businesses owned by black women.

The study, which looked at 923,000 women-owned businesses, covered the years 1997 to 2000 and revealed that 78 percent of black women-owned businesses that were in existence in Wisconsin in 1997 were still in operation three years later, compared with 68 percent nationally and a 75 percent rate for all women-owned businesses.

In addition, Wisconsin ranked third in employment growth for black women-owned businesses with a 35 percent increase (Minnesota came in first).

—Kathy Cobb