Las Vegas is a top-five city for growth in the number of women entrepreneurs, according to a recent report by the National Women’s Business Council.
The city increased its women-owned businesses by 101 percent from 2002 to 2012, tying with San Antonio as the fourth-fastest growing city in the U.S., according to an analysis of trends by the NWBC of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners in 2012.
Las Vegas was behind leading metropolitan area Memphis, Tennessee, with a 160 percent increase, followed by Charlotte, North Carolina, at 138 percent growth and Orlando, Florida, with 127 percent growth in women-owned businesses in 2012.
NWBC’s data set from the survey included firms where women owned 51 percent or more of a business’ equity, interest or stock, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The data didn’t include publicly held, foreign-owned or nonprofit organizations.
NWBC is a nonpartisan federal advisory council that serves as an independent source for the president, Congress and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues affecting women business owners.
On a state level, NWBC’s report also showed high growth in the number of women business owners, with the state surpassing prerecession numbers.
In 2012, there were 82,508 women-owned businesses in the state. This is an increase of 19,223 or 30.4 percent in the number of women-owned businesses in Nevada over 2007.
Statewide, the number of privately held women-owned businesses accounted for 37.4 percent of that firm type in existence in 2012. That number was up from 30.1 percent in 2007.
Women-owned firms collected nearly $14 billion in revenue in Nevada, which accounted for 13.6 percent of business revenue collected in the state in 2012.
Nationally, the number of women-owned firms increased by 52 percent, 2.5 times faster than the national average of 20 percent. As a whole, the nearly 10 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. generated 1.4 trillion in revenues in 2012.
onroe comes to life on the Strip
Las Vegas-based Pop Experience, an experiential entertainment company, has united with New York-based Authentic Brands Group — a brand development, marketing and entertainment company — to create an interactive, multimedia touring exhibition featuring the late actress/celebrity Marilyn Monroe.
“Marilyn Monroe is globally recognized as one of the most famous female celebrities of all time,” said Katie Jones, vice president of celebrity and entertainment at ABG. “Her unique blend of beauty, talent and humor has an enormous influence on pop culture, resonating with millennials who make up nearly 85 percent of her fan base. We are thrilled to partner with Pop Experience to connect Marilyn with global audiences.”
The exhibit, which will offer experiential content and interactivity, will launch in Las Vegas in 2017, with exact locations and times being announced later this year.
The experience will showcase rare and unpublicized large-format photos, along with films, excerpts and clips from Monroe’s live appearances. The display will also showcase original work by famed artists, annotated scripts, movie props and much more.
“This will not be just another passive museum experience but, instead, a highly personal one, where visitors will be transported into another world,” said Jordan Fiksenbaum, co-founder and CEO of Pop Experience. “We want people to live the moments of Marilyn’s life — to see, touch and feel. Get ready for something revolutionary.”
Learning to tell time
A collaboration between the Boys &Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada and DiscountWatchStore.com, an online watch retailer, recently sprouted to teach children to tell time after a recent study showed many youngsters had trouble reading an analog clock.
“It is alarming how many children only know what a digital clock reads, and, despite an era of digital technology, there will undoubtedly come a time when today’s youth will need to read the time on an analog clock,” said DiscountWatchStore.com owner Zai Zhu. “It is a basic skill every individual should possess.”
The collaboration is part of a nationwide effort to highlight issues surrounding youth in the digital age. In Las Vegas, a study revealed that only 18 percent of children were able to read an analog-style clock.
In an interactive workshop in April, put on by the Boys &Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, this issue was faced head on. Children were instructed on how to tell time on an analog watch at the event. More than 100 watches were donated by DiscountWatchStore.com for the affair.