Q. Is there a way to color-code cells based on their cell content? For example, if cells state “Woman-Owned,” could those cells automatically become red and the cells that state “Large Company” ...

Learn how to highlight cells with negative values in Excel. Make negative numbers stand out in Red using Conditional or Custom Formatting.

TL:dr; How do I format cells with a color based upon absolute value without changing the actual values in the cells to absolute values?

To change Gridline color in Excel, use Excel Options, apply a custom-colored border to the cells, or apply a custom line color. Full details here.