10 Inspirational Women in Business
Running your own business is no easy task. Motivation, creativity, versatility, drive, and vision are just a few of the many characteristics that successful entrepreneurs all around the world need to embody. However, being your own boss can be an exciting endeavor! If you are looking for some inspiration to guide you on your way to being your own boss and following your dreams, take a look at a few of the most successful women entrepreneurs out there.
1. Sheryl Sandberg – Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Facebook and the founder of LeanIn.org, an organization that encourages women to support each other. She is a true role model for women in business that strive to reach the top of the ranks while still raising a loving and supportive family.
“Taking initiative pays off. It is hard to visualize someone as a leader if she is always waiting to be told what to do.”
2. Indra Nooyi – The CEO and chair of PepsiCo is one of the most powerful women in business in the world. She has made it her mission to increase the diversity of the team, including women and women of color, and believes that it is imperative to business success.
“Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.”
3. Ursula Burns – Former CEO and current Chairwoman of Xerox, Ursula Burns was the first African American woman to head a Fortune 500 company.
“I realized I was more convincing to myself and to the people who were listening when I actually said what I thought, versus what I thought people wanted to hear me say.”
4. Sara Blakely – This American billionaire and founder of Spanx paved the way for a new, successful company and product line. To help women achieve similar successes, she launched the Sara Blakely Foundation to help women through education and entrepreneurial training.
“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”
5. Mellody Hobson – An American businesswoman, President of Ariel Investments and Chair of the Board of Directors of DreamWorks Animation, Mellody Hobson is a leader in the financial sector. In fact, Ariel Investments is one of the largest African American owned money management and mutual fund companies in the United States.
“Invite people into your life who don’t look or act like you. You might find they challenge your assumptions and make you grow.”
6. Barbara Corcoran – Investor, speaker, consultant, syndicated columnist, author, and television personality, Barbara Corcoran turned from a D student to a real estate business expert.
“I built the business exactly the way my mother built and ran her family. I wanted a replication of the big, happy family I grew up in. I wanted happy people having fun.”
7. Sophia Amoruso – Sophia turned her online eBay store into a multi-million dollar empire— and although she recently stepped out of her role and declared bankruptcy earlier this year, her passion for success still makes her an inspiring leader to many women in business.
“Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back. Learn to create your own opportunities. Know that there is no finish line; fortune favors action.”
8. Martha Stewart – Martha Stewart went from a model to a stock broker to an owner of a successful, publicly traded media and merchandising company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Her international brand includes books, magazines and even T.V. shows. She is a self-made business tycoon, and you would be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t familiar with her brand.
“Getting over those unexpected hurdles may not be exactly enjoyable, but ultimately I believe that such challenges and the solutions we find give us more confidence. They teach us that with common sense and determination we can turn what looks like a disaster into a triumph.”
9. Arianna Huffington – Arianna Huffington is the founder of Thrive Global and the Huffington Post has been long admired for her success as a pundit. After co-founding and building the Huffington Post into a profitable business, she later sold the brand to AOL — making her one of the first digital-media entrepreneurs to cash in on such a large scale.
“We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes — understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”
10. J.K. Rowling – Joanne Kathleen Rowling published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone under the initials, J.K. Rowling because her published was worried that it wouldn’t achieve as much success if people knew it was written by a woman. Now, she is no longer a struggling single mother on welfare — in fact, she is one of the most successful women in the world. Her passion and persistence have made her a successful entrepreneur.
“ It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.”