Your Name: Natasha Clark

Business Name: Lioness Magazine, a digital magazine for female entrepreneurs

Type of Business: Publishing

Business Location: Springfield, Massachusetts, United States

Website www.lionessmagazine.com
Twitter @lionessmagazine
Facebook www.facebook.com/LionessMagazine

Reason for starting
There needed to be a place that allowed women to tell their own stories, to share their struggles and triumphs with their fellow sisters who are marching to a similar drum. As humans we tend to think our problems are unique, and then you read about another woman in a similar situation and there is a sense of relief that you are not alone. On the flip side, you read about a woman who has climbed a mountain and it inspires you to keep going.

How do you define success?
I was young when I became a mother, right out of high school, and I was ridden with fear that I would never achieve my dream of becoming a writer. I kept my head down and grinded my way through college and internships and became a news reporter. Fourteen years later and I own two growing companies. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible. Each day is a reminder that I can do whatever my heart desires. That, to me, is immeasurable success.

Biggest Success
I cannot say that there is one that trumps another. Each achievement is unique. But if I have to choose one, it would be making my dreams come true. We have becoming an award winning publication, readers are growing, the cover stars are amazing … but so far the biggest success has been hearing other women refer to themselves as Lionesses. It’s a movement.

What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
Generating enough revenue to run Lioness full-time has been the most recent issue. I have my hands in a lot of projects at once. So on any given day I am responding to emails, writing proposals, doing project planning and running to meetings. Then you have the boring necessities like going through invoices, fine-tuning contracts and returning phone calls. But I also work full-time at a non-profit to just to have the revenue to pay my rent and do the little extras – like eat!

Who is your most important role model?
Katie Couric is just bad a**. She was my news icon when I was a teen. She was smart. She was serious. And she didn’t apologize for it. It was risky for her to accept the CBS gig as the first woman to helm a network TV evening newscast. But she did it. How can you not respect a woman like that?