“Success is when you are able to do what you always wanted to do.”
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!
Becky Sturm of StormSister: Spa Products Get an Eco Twist
“I spent 25 years in the salon and spa industry and developing my own beauty and grooming products was the next step.”
Marina Nani: A Home Away From Home
“I do not teach anything new, as I believe each one of us knows too much already, but I inspire people to be more in this lifetime.”
Laurin Hodge: Helping the Formerly Incarcerated Re-Enter the Workforce
“Often social enterprise feels like a trade off — do the most good or make the most money. When getting a business off the ground, I have found it hard to balance the two, which has increased my admiration for women who seemingly get it right.”
Karen Taylor Bass of Taylor Made Media LLC: The PR Expert
“Success to me is having the means to do what I want, when I want.”
Saira Hussain: A Young Entrepreneur Builds Her Own Door
“I feel both the image and culture of construction is slowly changing, and as a woman I will continue to work towards fighting for better conditions and more flexible working policies that allow both men and women with other responsibilities to work within the industry.”
Julie Watling: Technology Made for Communications
“I was employed by a global electronics company when I became a mother. Once I had a baby it appeared that I was no longer taken seriously. Being ambitious and good at what I did, I was not satisfied with this attitude and decided to ‘go it alone.'”
Natalie Chan: Coworking and Events Grow in Brooklyn
“In general, communication is always the challenge. It is not because making it happen is hard. It is because the people I need to communicate with are surrealistically diverse, on the individual level as well as the cultural/social level.”
Kaare Long: ‘Community Over Competition’
“It takes a lot of courage, determination and passion to lead the Entrepreneur life and the stories I hear from other women inspire me so much.”
Sangeeta Taluja: Finding Purpose in Company Creations
“My next big challenge was that the industry is male-dominated. But this business was an addiction and a passion for me.”
Holly Twining: Exploratory Adventures for Mind and Body
“I . . . realized that I could take that piece of my job — connecting people of all ages to nature and bring it together with my yoga practice — and build community on my own.”
Gwendolen Noronha: Fostering Education & Learning in India
“When I am propelled to motivate the many lives around me with my mentoring services and I see those thousands of students smile at me, I believe that is success.”
Amanda Avutu: Storytelling for the Socially Responsible
“There are people out there who want to make a difference, not just a profit, and I want to make a difference with them.”
Danielle Wilson Naqvi: Bringing Newborn Screening to Pakistan
“The ZB Foundation was born and we are now the pioneers for new born screening in Pakistan.”
Dani Collins of Oliver + Kit: A Mom and Daughter Business Duo
“My mother and I are best friends, and we always love to do creative things together. We knew we wanted to start a business that would allow us to grow something together and also use our creativity.”