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Famous Women Entrepreneurs
Breaking The Glass Ceiling

Are famous women entrepreneurs smarter than men? It is not surprising that so many men and women say...yes!

Women know a lot about business that's for sure.

It is believed that more businesses started by women remain in business after 5 years compared to men who start businesses.

Many women have discovered they can be Moms and work from home. too. In fact, most small businesses owned by women are work at home Moms.

There must be some qualities that women have, that tend to bring advantages to them, from a management perspective.

There are numerous characteristics and traits that enhance women's ability to start and/or run businesses.

Characteristics of
Famous Women Entrepreneurs

1. Balance: Seem to have that knack to manage well through being attentive, kind and demanding of employees.
2. Focused: Tend to have the intensity necessary to capture a broad view while working on details or immediate problems. Famous entrepreneurs fit this profile well.
3. Out-going: Like to be involved with employees telling stories, laughing and having fun building team effectiveness.
4. Have excellent listening skills: Have a keen ability to listen to others with a good understanding of their problems and needs, therefore, making the time to do so.
5. Motivated by inter-self: Women entrepreneurs have demonstrated time and again the need to be fulfilled and happy, to bring out the best in others and, as a result, to improve their life and the lives of others.
6. Personal adaptability: Demonstrating ability to adapt to and meet their various roles as a housewife, mother, wife and businesswomen.
7. Analytical ability: No one can deny they become famous entrepreneurs because of their sharp ability to size up where their company needs to go and how to get there. They process a great overview ability knowing how to fit the parts together.
8. Learning: Knowing when to ask for help, rather than plowing through an effort while not having all the necessary knowledge has been a key element of any famous entrepreneur.
9. A good negotiator: By taking a wide view of what is to be accomplished, women have skills to gently, but firmly lead the situation to a good outcome for all.
10. Embrace Responsibility: Famous women entrepreneurs actually seek out authority and responsibility to reach identified outcomes or goals. They do not shirk that the buck stops here.
11. Confidence: The most important characteristic famous women entrepreneurs show their peers and employees is confidence, even when they do not feel confident on the inside.

Even as recently the late 1970s women were relegated to only a few real opportunities. They were usually teachers, nurses, childcare, hair care and secretaries/administrative assistants.

Profiles of Famous Women Entrepreneurs

Carol Bartz: Her mother died when she was eight years old. Then lived with her grandmother. Five years after college, she went to work for 3M in 1976. She left after she applied for a transfer to HQ, but was told, Women don’t do these jobs.

She became CEO of AutoDesk in 1992 and turned the company around into a leader of computer-aided design software for architects and builders.

In January, she was named CEO of Yahoo.

She is a breast cancer survivor.

Ruth Handler: An American businesswoman is remembered for developing the Barbie Doll. Her pre-teen daughter Barbara liked to play with dolls, but giving them adult roles to follow. Mattel management thought it would not sell…what do men know about playing with dolls?

While on a European trip in Germany, she bought a doll, which was marketed as a gag-gift for adults. Back home, she reworked the doll’s design; named it after her daughter, convinced Matell management to give it a try and, well, the rest is history.

Of the doll, Handlers believed that it was important to a girl’s esteem that she plays with a doll with breasts.

She became a member of the Jr. Achievement U.S. Hall Of Fame in 1997.

Kathy Ireland: Born in 1963 and during high school became a successful model. She was featured in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for 13 consecutive years, ending in 1996.

In 1993, she put her name on a line of socks for Kmart. She then developed her own clothing line for Kmart and founded Kathy Ireland Worldwide.

After her Kmart contract ended in 2003, she grew the company by placing her clothing line in over 50,000 stores in 15 countries.

She generated $1.4 billion in retail sales. That’s when she was considered one of the famous women entrepreneurs.

Since 1994, she has published several books and videos about fitness.

Suze Orman:

Born in 1951, she is best known for her Suze Orman Show on TV. Although, she is a sought after motivational speaker and the author of many books, six of which appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

She did not grow up with money (her parents operated a deli). She holds a B.S. degree in Social Work.

She wanted to open her own restaurant, but circumstance prevented her from doing it. Instead, she entered the training program of Merrill Lynch to become a broker. She opened her own financial firm in 1987.

Patsy O’Connell Sherman: Ever hear of Scotchgard? She is the co-inventor. As a rare female chemist in the 1950s, an accidental spill of a chemical compound she was working on led to her invention. The spill couldn’t be removed from a pair of tennis shoes.

As her new compound was being tested in a textile mill, she had to await the results outside the building because women were not allowed inside the mill. The test was positive and Patsy joined the list of famous women entrepreneurs.

She has been a member of the American Chemical Society for over 50 years.

This is interesting. In 1974 the aptitude test given high school girls showed her best suited to be a housewife.

She lobbied to take the boys aptitude test. She did.

It showed she was best suited to pursue a career in science and listed dentistry or chemistry as her best potential career path.

Ruth Graves Wakefield: In her early career she was a dietitian and lecturer. At the age of 27, she and her husband purchased an old toll house in New England.

Historically, it was a stop on the stage line where passengers were taxed a toll, lodged over night and fed well.

The Wakefield’s named the lodge Toll House.

Ruth became famous for her deserts; one in particular. She invented the first chocolate chip cookie and called it the Toll House Cookie.

To this day, the recipe of Ruth Graves Wakefield appears on the back of each package of Toll House chocolate. Ruth died in 1977.

All these persons were famous women entrepreneurs. Some made more money than others.

A few will never make the history books of the next generation. But they all worked hard, had a vision and achieved greatness in their own right. They are indeed, famous women entrepreneurs!

Thank you for visiting Famous Women Entrepreneurs.

Professional
Women Entrepreneurial Organizations

National Association of Women Business Owners

National Association of Entrepreneurs

American Business Women's Association

National Organization for Women

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