My top challenge has so far been staying committed to being a business owner while a majority of people around me tell me to go back and get a job and say why are you working this hard.
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!
Dr. Leslie Grace: Elements of the Community–Success Through Helping Others
Success is learning how to make sure that HUMAN CAPITAL + SOCIAL CAPITAL = FINANCIAL WEALTH.
Barbara Alink: The Alinker Inventions Ltd.–Walking Made Easy And In-Style
Success ultimately is when people ‘get it’ that I am doing the business because I deeply believe that thousands of people can benefit from using the Alinker.
Michelle Densmore: Lucky13Fitness– A Holistic Health Training Center
I created Lucky13Fitness in 2010 as a way to combine my education in the mental health field with my passion for fitness.
Olusola Bankole: Bankys Private School– A School For The Children In Nigeria
To offer a cutting-edge, top of the range, quality education to the Nigerian child even at a time when standards are falling.
Surekha Waldia: ELNA– A New Model For Learning
Deep inside me I had always wanted to be independent and be free of restrictions, but at the same time do such work that would help change the lives of the people I worked with.
Michelle Tennen: iluvfabrix.com– The Fabric Of Life
After graduating as a designer from The Academy of Interior Design instead of making a career the conventional way for interior designers I decided at the age of 22 that I wanted to somehow specialize in High end design fabrics.
Sandhya Valecha: Contentorial–Entrepreneurship Offers ‘Freedom, Passion and Money’
I wanted to have the freedom to pursue my passion and work to advance my dreams, make more money than I was making and still do things I wanted to do.
Molly DeCrow, Sara Buntrock and Amy Mannes: What’s Your Virtue? Positive Messages on Women’s Cosmetics
We had an idea that we thought we could bring a different viewpoint to women’s cosmetics.
Fharzana: I Heart Curry–Cooking Indian Cuisine From Scratch
I decided to teach Indian cooking classes, where people will learn how to prepare Indian dishes from scratch using fresh, safe, and non-toxic ingredients.
Anne Day: Company of Women–Building A Network to Help Women Succeed
I was passionate about seeing women succeed, and so I packed up my consulting practice and focused my energies on Company of Women.
Lisa Mann: Light Affection– Entrepreneur & Innovator
I also started playing around with a product I developped and since I have always had dreams of having my own business I decided it was time to take the leap.
Laurie Schwarzrock: Livelonglivestrong–Freedom To Be Her Own Boss
Being able to enjoy your life whatever that looks like. To be able and help others out when needed. To be able and travel without thinking about money and ties.
Andrea Paltzer: The Earth Education Project– Empowering Women in Nicaragua
I believe that small businesses and social enterprise charities can offer communities a lasting solution to problems they have come across such as, lack of education and a lack of employment opportunities.
Tina Pang Mayer: PenPalGirls, Inc.–Educating Kids Through Multi-Cultural Dolls
The concept for PenPalGirls, Inc. came from my experience as a mother of two who realized my daughters were not fully aware of their cultural heritage and could not appreciate their uniqueness.