According to the U.S. Census and a study by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, women today own 40 percent of small businesses. That number is projected to grow to half of all small businesses by the year 2010. Yet women don’t have nearly as much access to credit or money from venture capitalists, according to those involved in the industry.

“Women are only accessing 2 percent of all the venture capital – billions of dollars – in the country. So that would certainly speak to the fact that they’re not being served,” said Teresa L. Cavanagh, director of the Women Entrepreneurs’ Connection at FleetBoston Financial.

The connection was established three years ago to serve the nation’s 9.1 million women-owned businesses, which generate $3.6 trillion in annual sales.

“That statistical data says you’re no longer looking at a small segment of the market, you’re looking at almost half of the market. So there’s a lot of business opportunity to work with women business owners,” she said.

The connection recently announced a $2 billion initiative to carry out its mission on behalf of women business owners. That mission includes providing access to information, debt and equity capital and resources, whether through Fleet or other corporations, agencies and organizations that focus on women business owners, said Cavanagh.

“Our goal is to be the bank of choice for women business owners throughout the Northeast. That would be to provide a connection to resources, whether that be money, information or advocacy at all stages of a lifecycle of a business from start-up to establishment,” said Cavanagh of the program. The connection was recently named a best practice among governmental and financial institutions by the Milken Institute and The National Women’s Business Council.

To kick off the initiative, the connection last week held a breakfast at the Boston Harbor Hotel during which women entrepreneurs listened to and spoke with Cavanagh; Gloria Steinem, co-founder and editor of “Ms.” magazine; Judy George, founder and chief executive officer of Domain Home Fashions; and Marcia Gillespie, editor in chief of “Ms.” magazine.

Although women have come a long way since demanding their rights in Seneca Falls, N.Y., considered the birthplace of the women’s rights movement, said Steinem, there is still a more subtle inequality.

“There’s still great pride [among] office boys that work their way up to be president of the company. Where are the secretaries?” she asked.

The differences are more apparent when men and women go before bank boards to request funding, she said.

“Oftentimes women have to have more paperwork [while] a man can work his way up,” she said. That paperwork, she said, comes in the form of required M.B.A.’s and other advanced degrees or by boards requiring her to hire a male CFO before qualifying for a loan, she said.

But giving women access to the same opportunities as a man isn’t all there is to the connection. There are differences between how men and women seek capital, said Cavanagh. Through Fleet’s research and additional research done by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, she cited two key distinctions.

“With women, the fact is that with their banking institutions, they’re really looking for a relationship. They’re looking for a financial partnership, not to say that men do not but women value it much more strongly. Secondly, women making their business decisions require more information and also take longer. They check out a lot more referrals, resources … and value those people that give them those connections and those resources,” she said.

Thinking Big
One mistake made by many business owners, whether a man or a woman, also was discussed. When a business is just getting started, the owner may put equipment or borrow cash against a personal credit line. If that account becomes delinquent, the owner is essentially undermining his or her own chances of future success. That personal credit report is the first thing bankers look at when deciding whether to grant a small business loan, said Cavanagh.

Gillespie said women business owners max out their own credit cards to fund their businesses because “we’re too polite.” Women need to ask for help, to ask where they need to go to find the answers, she said.

“You can never fall off the ground, but you can get caught in the crack,” she said.

One place business owners can turn to is Fleet’s new Business Credit Express program, which offers loans to owners of businesses that have been up and running for six months. Owners may apply for a $100,000 credit line with about a one-day turnaround time, she said. The program is among several that will distribute $2 billion specifically to fund loans to women-owned businesses.

“This is a very good way for someone with a good credit history and no bankruptcies … to really access some available capital that has not been traditionally in the market,” Gillespie said.

Another pitfall women business owners may fall into, said Gillespie, is not envisioning success on a grand level.

“We often get caught in the cracks because we don’t think big enough, not just money but bringing value to what we’re doing,” she said.

Women business owners need to learn about leverage, said Cavanagh, and how to use it to further the growth of the business.

“It’s not uncommon for women who’ve owned a business for five to seven years to tell my team that they’re very proud that they’ve gotten to that point without ever having to have a loan or had debt. That may be just fine except if you’re looking to really grow your business. The whole concept of leverage is how to use other people’s money to help you to grow … It’s really a concept that women have not really gotten behind as much as men,” she said.

But the initiative isn’t about getting what men have, said Gillespie.

“This isn’t about being better men. It’s about being the best women we can be,” she said.