JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A recent study found Jacksonville is one of the top cities for women business owners. Lindsey Sheridan launched her company “Social My Media” in August of 2020, helping small- to mid-size businesses amplify their social media and online presence.
Sheridan said, “I’ve always been a hustler. I have a lot of drive, and I think that the reward that comes out of having something that is my own and getting the opportunity to build it has been so rewarding.” Sheridan’s story speaks to a larger trend of women starting their own ventures and thriving. A 2026 report from “CoworkingCafe” ranked Jacksonville number seven in the top ten best places for women-owned businesses. Researchers looked at more than 200 metro areas and focused on women’s entrepreneurship, economic conditions, and talent availability.
Annamaria Contreras is the executive director of the Jax Chamber Foundation. Contreras said, “I often say this, but I think Jacksonville is one of the cities in the country with the most resources for small businesses.”One of those resources is the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center. It serves more than 600 women a year through group and one-on-one sessions, counseling, and programming. Contreras says artificial intelligence is also enhancing what they offer. “We have an internal tool that allows us to use AI in our counseling. So now we can do what it would take us hours and days and months to work on something with a small business we can do in a matter of minutes.”
Contreras added, “We’ve also created a program, an Agentic AI apprentice program that focuses on helping small business owners and people in the workforce to upskill themselves and gap fill.”
Both women say entrepreneurs supporting each other is the greatest resource. Sheridan said, “I do have a ton of women colleagues in the space and I think that we really champion each other, you know, even in the same industries. Contreras said, “The content is great, the tools we provide are really, great. But it is that community that you build.”
Orlando, Miami and Tampa also ranked in the CoworkingCafe study’s top ten cities for women business owners. Austin, Texas was ranked number one.
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