SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KUTV) — Starting a business isn’t easy, and in Utah the share of women-owned businesses is lower than in many other states.
Courtney Smith has traveled all around the world and is now a business owner of her store called Wanderlust in Holladay.
“These are from Germany, they are definitely one of my favorites,” she said, describing the large variety of treats displayed on her store’s shelves. “This is one of our most popular items, it’s a chopstick bowl, it has a place where you can rest your chopsticks,” she adds, showing her Japan-inspired section.
She created Wanderlust as a space for people to share gifts from all around the world.
“When the pandemic happened, I couldn’t travel, so I was like, ‘I’m going to bring the world to people’ because nobody could travel at that time,” Courtney said.
A lifelong dream now being fulfilled, she is grateful for an influential mentor in this journey.
“My mom owns a store,” said Smith, “So that planted a seed of ‘this is something you could do.’”
Courtney and her mom are part of a low percentage of women business owners in Utah.
According to a WalletHub report, Utah has one of the lowest percentages of women-owned businesses, something that doesn’t surprise Susan Madsen, a professor of leadership at Utah State University Extension.
“We are by far the worst state for women’s equality in most of the 17 metrics,” said Madsen.
Eye On Your Money. (Graphic: KUTV)
She said there has been an increase in women starting businesses, but not an increase in those that grow and hire more employees.
“We have increased the number of women who are starting businesses,” Madsen said. “We want them to expand those businesses, to hire other people. We have some of the best resources here in Utah that so many women don’t know about.”
Madsen said the Women’s Business Center of Utah is a great place to start.
“We actually have a lot of women in Utah who start business and have them themselves,” said Madsen. “And low revenue.”
She said that providing resources and support to women creates a healthy community.
“There is no other option but to have hope and to move forward,” Madsen said.
Smith agreed that resources are needed for business owners.
“No matter where you are,” said Smith. “Owning a business is not an easy thing to do.”
But she added that running a business is worth the leap.
“I think the best things in life are just on the other side of your comfort zone, even though it’s scary, you should just go for it. Life is too short to not do what you want to do,” said Smith.
Just last week, the legislature voted to cut $650,000 dollars in funding for the Women and Leadership Project on the last night of the legislative session.
Madsen is the director of that research organization, and said this was a surprise she and others didn’t see coming.
“It’s hard news, it was a hit, it came out of no place, and it was honestly quite sneaky to get a few people to shut down an entity like ours that has been bringing almost 500 organizations, government groups together to really strengthen our impact together to make sure we can get these violence rates down, our gaps narrowed and opportunities up for girls and women,” Madsen added.
Madsen said she is working with the university to get funding to move forward for the next year.
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