Illinois Rocks When It Comes to Supporting Women-Owned Businesses

In Illinois there are nearly 561,000 women-owned businesses employing more than 661,000 workers and bringing in $165 billion in revenue each year. During this monthlong celebration, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has been elevating resources and events to help bolster Illinois’ women-owned businesses and aspiring female entrepreneurs.

During October DCEO is celebrating National Women's Business Month throughout October by recognizing the significant contributions of women-owned businesses across the state.

“I’m proud to celebrate the wealth of women-owned businesses across our state – and the thousands of talented women who’ve helped establish Illinois’ vibrant business community as the best in the nation,” said Gov. JB Pritzker.

Read on to learn of additional resources that are available to women-owned IL businesses.

How to Create Trustworthy Brands

Creating a brand that resonates with the world is a tough job.  Yet Jeff Raider, co-founder of Warby Parker and now co-founder and co-CEO of Mammoth Brands, which includes Harry’s Razors, Lume, and Flamingo has built some of the most recognizable consumer companies of the last decade, with a track record of creating trustworthy brands that positively impact people’s lives. 

How has he done it?  

Before jumping into reading the entire article, I'll give you a spoiler alert:  Raider’s advice to aspiring [women] entrepreneurs is to, “Create a product that is unique, different, and better in some way, and make it easy to explain.”

Read on to see what else he has to say.  

Black Women Shoulder Additional Burdens On Their Path to Success

Black women shoulder additional burdens beyond men on their path to success, especially in accessing venture capital funding, including networking gaps and less access to personal investment due to racial wealth gaps.

Alicia Sheares’ research on Black tech entrepreneurship in Atlanta and Silicon Valley identifies additional barriers faced by Black women in the field due to negative assumptions about their abilities, signals that they do not belong, sexual advances, and distractions relating to their appearance and attractiveness.

These challenges for Black women are distinct from those reported by Black men and by white women. 

For her presentation to the Clayman Institute, Sheares dug into her research on Black women.

Celebrate 10 Years of Success with Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global on 11/6/25 in Chicago!

©2025 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global.  All rights reserved.

Anyone can join Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® in Chicago on November 6, 2025 to celebrate 10 years of success! 

Enjoy exceptional food, signature cocktails, lively conversation, and a soundtrack curated entirely by women artists—plus gift bags filled with products made by women. And to top it all off, the evening will be emceed by the sensational Whitney Reynolds!

To learn more and to buy your tickets, visit: https://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/about/10yr-anniversary/