Danielle Mahoney and Jean Colarusso are two women starting their families. While this may seem typical, especially here in Utah Valley, the two are also doing something not so typical. They recently purchased a Dream Dinners franchise in Orem, becoming two of many female business owners in Utah.

"I wanted to help women in the community have more time with their families," Colarusso said. "I was a customer about a year before. I saw the benefits, and when they [the previous owners] were going to sell it, I knew it was something I wanted to do with Danielle."

Mahoney also stressed that food brings people together and makes them happy, and she thought Dream Dinners was a good way to do this.

Mahoney and Colarusso are part of a nationwide trend of more women owning businesses.

In 2002, more than 6 million women owned businesses in the United States, a 20 percent increase since 1997. More than 48,000 of these women were in Utah.

Utah is about on the national average with a 15 percent increase in businesses owned by women. In 2002, almost 8,000 firms were owned by women in Utah. More recent reports have shown Utah to continue to follow the national trend of more women owning businesses.

Of the female business owners in Utah, only about 900 had paid employees, meaning that the vast majority of female business owners in Utah are self-employed.

Audrey Roach, a young mother who started a small Web-based company that makes bags, purses and backpacks doesn't have any paid employees. She said she enjoyed sewing and making the bags and decided to start selling them online to help make a little money.

"I started doing it [making and selling the bags] when we were still in college," Roach said. "Any bit of extra income helped out a lot then, and I enjoyed it so much that I have just kept making them."

Roach also said she liked that she could work from home and still be around her children.

Only 2 percent of the female business owners in Utah have paid employees, well below the national trend.

Dream Dinners is part of this minority. Colarusso and Mahoney employ five other women.

"Our store is a very family oriented environment," said Mahoney. "Women talk really well to each other, so having women employees makes it easier for them to talk to our women guests, adding to the family environment."

Both Mahoney and Colarusso said they couldn't handle working and being a mom without support from their husbands and families in the area.

California, New York and Texas led the nation in number of businesses owned by women in 2002. Georgia, Florida and Nevada have the largest percent of businesses owned by women. Utah ranked 26th in the nation, in percent change in number of businesses owned by women.

Copyright Brigham Young University 3 Jun 2008