7 Reasons Why Tampa Bay is the Best Place in the U.S. for Women Entrepreneurs

Nov 13

Hey, babe! Did you know that Tampa Bay was named the #1 place in the country for women entrepreneurs in 2018?! I had launched Babe Crafted 7 months prior to seeing this feature by business.org and I felt excited, validated, and like it was fate. The feature talked a lot about statistics related to unemployment rate and the rate that woman-owned businesses are getting started, which was great to get a bird’s eye view of what makes our cities amazing, but one year later, I wanted to really dive into ‘why’ from a boots on the ground standpoint. What are actual women entrepreneurs here feeling about their city and do they feel supported & celebrated in their journey?

Here are their responses! Enjoy their words and let us know your thoughts in the comments & on social media. Can’t wait to continue the convo and keep slaying alongside you. Stay boss. xx -Gina

Tona Bell | The Paper Seahorse // IG

“The reason Tampa is the #1 place in the country for women entrepreneurs is simple: Community over competition. The culture makes us special. We support one another and have fantastic organizations like Babe Crafted to help each other grow and flourish.”

Tampa, FL

Melissa Meredith | Content Creative // IG

“I follow a girl that’s in PR that lives in Sarasota. She had went out on her own and started her own company and recently went back into an in house full time PR job.

She shared on IG stories her reasoning was that essentially she felt alone an isolated in her city. There was no coworking spaces, no networking or meetup groups, no entrepreneurial support infrastructure, basically nothing that helped her be successful on her own much less MORE successful.

I started thinking about Tampa in comparison and how many resources, groups, spaces, places, people, etc. that are here to support entrepreneurs and startups much less just business in general. We have something special here!”

Tampa, FL

Jessy Furniel | Adélie // IG

“Tampa has really made it so much easier to network, collaborate, support, grow and best of all easily get out of comfort zone and self-doubt to start a woman owned business. The sense of community over competition is palpable. The drive and heart of the women I’ve met here are extra special. I’m grateful to be here in this moment, and love the community I’ve crossed paths and continue to connect while in my journey as a woman owned business.”

Tampa, FL

Jessica Santander | Project Moment Designs // IG

“Tampa is a gem in and of itself with a growing wave of female leaders stepping out of their comfort zone and following their passion. Many networking groups and organizations are within reach for a helping hand to be offered for all women of all ages.

It’s particularly exciting to see recent grads going for the path of being an entrepreneur and the universities around Tampa offer wonderful entrepreneurial centers with mentors and funding opportunities. I just live off the lively energy from this big little city where the vibe mirrors the dream chasing mindset.”

Tampa, FL

Jamie Van Cuyk | Jamie VC // IG

“One of the reasons Tampa Bay is the #1 place for women entrepreneurs is the numerous women-specific or women-led networking and business building groups. With so many groups available, each entrepreneur has the opportunity to find the like-minded individuals who are going to help their companies thrive.

I network with a lot of business owners nationwide, and very few places have the women entrepreneurship support and networking opportunities like we do.”

St. Petersburg, FL

Danielle Bayard Jackson | Stride Media Group // IG

“Tampa is so uniquely diverse. There are both young and seasoned professionals, varying ethnic groups, and people who've been transplanted from all over the world. This makes for a strong network that female entrepreneurs can thrive off of, being connected to a community that gives us both a strong client base and pool of resources.”

Tampa, FL

Amanda Evans | Tight Ship Bookkeeping // IG

“Tampa Bay is such a small-big town, that all of our women entrepreneurs have easy access to some of the most fabulous female mentors. It’s almost like we all run in the same circle and support each other.”

St. Petersburg, FL