One in four female small business owners has taken a pay cut in the past year, according to new research. The survey of 1,000 female small business owners examined how their experience has shifted in the past year and found that the down economy has forced a quarter of these business owners to cut their own pay to keep their businesses afloat. For those small businesses that have been open for at least a year, many have also raised the price of their product or service (37%), and more than a quarter are actively seeking less expensive resources (27%). Conducted by Talker Research for Office Depot, the survey found that 53% of female business owners said the past year has been the hardest for their business.