After I was let go from my PR job in the 8th month of my first pregnancy, I knew I needed to take ownership of my professional life.
1,000 Stories
More than 1,000 women entrepreneurs from around the world have told us about their personal business journeys. Here are their stories, in their own words. Tell us yours!
Dawn Butterfield: West Cocoa Pharmacy and Compounding
I enjoy working with patients and caregivers on helping people best manage their own best health and also make “customized medications.”
Deborah Sweeney: MyCorporation.com
MyCorporation started with the goal of helping small business owners and entrepreneurs protect their personal and save on taxes by helping them incorporate and form LLCs.
Donna Haghighat: Shoptimize.org
I take inspiration from the many women and girls who have faced adversity and many challenges and managed to bounce forward.
Fatima Omar Khamissa: International Network for Spiritual Biz Moms
I left an abusive marriage of 21 years with five children – one of whom has cerebral palsy. I wanted to be the voice for the voiceless and show women through my example what was possible for them.
Corrina Jacobs: Investours
I have always been an avid traveler, but before Investours I did not realize tourism’s potential to affect positive change in the world.
Alyce Howard: Studio Zumba Fitness and Dance
In business I’m inspired by Beto Perez who created the Zumba Fitness program. He came to the U.S. with no money and not speaking the language and is now a worldwide sensation.
Erin Maynes: FoodiePages.ca
Job duties are often not clearly defined when you’re first starting out and owners must wear many hats. When you find yourself spread too thin, hire help.
Bea Arthur: Pretty Padded Room
I believe in the benefits of counseling and see it as a necessity not a privilege, so I wanted to make it available and affordable for women everywhere.
Dana B. Myers: Booty Parlor
I created Booty Parlor out of a lifelong obsession with beauty and sex. I always saw my feminine sexual spark as a powerful source of creativity and satisfaction, but many women struggle with self-doubt and body insecurities.
Judith Moore: Charleston Cookie Company, LLC
In 2001 I went on a quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I couldn’t find any recipes I liked so I made up my own and started feeding them to people.
AnnMarie Quintaglie McIlwain: CareerFuel
My role model isn’t any one person, per se, but rather a collection of women who achieve greatness as mothers, professionals, friends, sisters, and partners every day despite the impossible list of challenges.
Ana Redmond: Infinut
I wanted to share my love of math and logic with my daughters, but, could only find apps that treat math as a problem, instead of the solution.
LaVon Dennistoun: The Women’s Excelerator
Our most important roles models are the countless women entrepreneurs who have a dream fullfilled by owning their own successful business. They inspire us to do what we do each and every day.
Lisa Sorrell: Sorrell Custom Boots
I started my own business for the satisfaction of providing quality footwear that fits, and the joy that comes from learning a craft that’s been handed down through generations of other craftsmen.