10 most entrepreneurial women in the world who have achieved success on their own

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Not only men, but also women can be successful entrepreneurs, creators of multi-million dollar businesses and world-famous companies. History knows many examples when women created something new and incredible, ranging from talk shows to products and famous goods that we use to this day. So here are ten women entrepreneurs who have turned the world upside down.

1. Oprah Winfrey

Looking at Oprah and her activities now, which includes helping the poor and needy, it is difficult to imagine that her childhood was quite difficult and unhappy. They first talked about her when the girl was seventeen years old. At that time, she became the winner of a small beauty pageant and was awarded the title of Miss Black Tennessee in 1972. This gave her the opportunity to soon start a career in radio, receive a scholarship from the state of Tennessee, and also gain a foothold as a presenter on the TV channel. She started her first talk show in 1976. Ten years later, she became the founder of Harpo Communications and got the rights to her own show that we know and love. Thanks to him, Oprah became the richest woman in the country, who made herself.

2. Martha Stewart

This woman is a real phenomenon in the world of entrepreneurship. Being not only a stockbroker, pharmacist and owner of her own empire, Martha is also a successful mother adored by children. Martha showed that even such an event in a woman's life as a divorce can bring many benefits. When this happened to her in 1989, she, with her housekeeping skills and a good understanding of how to run a restaurant business, soon founded her own empire. She published books, magazines, hosted television shows, and then became the owner of the so-called media conglomerate, thanks to which she positions herself as an expert on the wonderful life and which helped to become one of the most influential women in America. And even a prison sentence in 2004-2005. years was not a reason for her to quit her business, which she successfully restored and continues to this day.

3. Mary Catherine Goddard

This woman became known back in the days of colonial America. When other women were involved in raising children and running a house, Mary chose to organize her own business and worked as a female postmaster, thereby becoming one of the active figures in the American Revolution. In 1777, when other publishers were afraid to publish the Declaration of Independence, Goddard did so, where she did not forget to indicate the names of the authors of the Declaration. With the help of this, she introduced herself into the ranks of the participants in the revolution, and, despite the fact that she was not rich and did not aspire to excessive power, Mary really used her small business for incredibly important things, thanks to which she forever remained in history.

4. Ruth Handler

But Ruth became the woman who was accused of creating the most implausible female image that is still on the shelves of our stores to this day. Of course, we are talking about all the famous Barbie dolls, which became a real breakthrough in the world of toys, and the idea to invent which belonged to this woman. In the mid-40s, Handler becomes part of the American toy company Mattel, and in 1959 she invents the Barbie. Named after Ruth's daughter, this doll was the first doll with a bust, and it was probably exactly what girls all over the world have been waiting for. In addition, Ruth also came up with such a famous doll as Chatty Cathy. Mattel soon went through a serious crisis, and therefore, in the 70s, Ruth was forced to retire. However, she did not despair and started a completely new business selling realistic breast implants for women who have undergone breast removal surgery.

5. Mary Kay Ash

A talented salesperson and senior executive at a direct selling firm in Texas, Mary Kay, at forty-five, decided to leave a workplace that did not recognize her success because she was a woman. And she made the right decision, soon making a revolution not only in the world of business, but also in cosmetics. In 1963, Mary invests five thousand dollars in investments and turns them into a small cosmetics business, which soon became a global giant. Mary Kay decided to provide women with a unique opportunity, namely - she became the author of the revolutionary structure of wholesale and retail sales at that time, as well as a program to stimulate them, thanks to which the income of women was not limited. Of course, she managed to succeed with this, and not only create a company that is valued at 2.2 billion dollars, but also create a space where women could do sales, avoiding sexism from men. Today Mary Cay Cosmetics has nearly two million sales managers worldwide, and Fortune magazine has awarded the company for Best Places to Work for Women.

6. Debbie Fields

The 1970s were too hard to be a simple housewife. Twenty-year-old Debbie Fields was tired of the constant pressure and the need to host dinner parties, so, joining the women's movement that was in full swing, she decided to go into her own business and use her cooking skills by opening a small cookie store. In 1977, Debbie's Chocolate Crumb store in Palo Alto, California, held its first day of sales, giving away items for free on the sidewalk in front of the store to attract early shoppers. Soon, her business flourished, baking made Debbie a fortune and allowed her to build a franchise network. However, she not only succeeded in business, but, as many say, brought her own unique techniques to it. Debbie ran the company until 1993, after which she retired into a well-deserved retirement.

7. Este Lauder

She was born under the name Josephine Esther Mentzer to a Hungarian immigrant family after spending her best years in a small room above her parents' store. She left this world as Este Lauder - a cosmetic mega-mogul, a sales innovator and, of course, a billionaire. Este sold skincare products created by her uncle, a chemist, after which, thanks to her husband Joseph Lauder, in 1948 she decided to try something more global. With her signature charm, Este secured a spot in the Saks beauty store by selling family cosmetics under the Estée Lauder brand. Revolutionary marketing and sales techniques, including through a large number of her wealthy and influential friends, have helped Este transform her small business into a multi-million dollar company that now includes lines such as Clinique, Aramis and even Prescriptives. Lauder also became the woman to be ranked as Time Magazine's Most Influential and Brilliant Businessmen of the 20th Century.

8. Coco Chanel

There is no person who does not know the name of Coco Chanel. Established in the early 1900s as a hat shop, her Parisian fashion house is known all over the world today and does not leave the fashion catwalks with its products. Gabrielle Chanel was born into a poor family, was raised as an orphan and had a vivid sense of style. During the creation of hats for women from the upper strata of society, her name became so popular and was on everyone's lips that it allowed her to get a new status and enter a new life. During the Second World War, Chanel stopped making clothes and re-established it in 1954, finding herself in the middle of the fashion world in which men have the most power. However, this did not prevent her from gaining popularity again, and at the end of the century, and even becoming the only representative of the fashion world in the list of “One Hundred Important People of the Century” according to Time magazine.

9. Sarah Blackley

Sarah Blackley worked for some time in copier sales and at some point became very deeply disappointed in lingerie. With a little savings, she eventually forms Spanx, an Atlanta-based company worth $ 150 million today. Her idea for hosiery came about in 1998 when Sarah couldn't figure out a way to hide the thong under her white pants. The seamless underwear sets were too bulky, and the stockings made it impossible to put on the sandals she wanted. Therefore, she decided to cut off the toe of the tights and did not pay attention to the constantly rolling edges that interfered with walking. A little later, she spent more than two years developing a working prototype of such clothing. In 2000, Spanx brand products hit the shelves of the most elite department stores. Today, you can find underwear and other products from the brand, the number of names of which exceeds several hundred.

10. Anita Roddick

In 1976, Anita and her two daughters started a small cosmetics business that provided them with little to no need for while the head of the family was traveling for work. They called their creation The Body Shop, and its main principles were environmental friendliness, fair price and mandatory testing. She started out with a small shop in Brighton, England. Today, there are about two thousand stores around the world, which boast more than 80 million satisfied customers. Lady Anita, who was knighted in 2003, together with her husband sold the company in 2006 to the L'Oreal brand.