Let’s Go, Girls.
March 8th snuck up on me this year. It’s International Women’s Day; a day to celebrate ourselves and the rest of the lovely ladies in our lives. Whether our roles are as mothers, wives, entrepreneurs, friends, daughters or sisters, it is the day to celebrate us; the tears, the smiles, all of it.
I’ve lately been thinking of the resiliency of women and the things we are constantly overcoming.
Obstacles like: being heard (and taken seriously) in the workplace, deconstructing societal expectations of what women are capable of and what our role should be and the many (and varying) expectations of how we as women should look, sound, behave…
It’s because of this resiliency (and admittedly a Spotify playlist of Shania Twain) that I’ve been feeling pretty empowered to be a woman lately.
Since beginning this business, I’ve realized how strong and determined I can be and I can only imagine that both of these traits will be tested in the future.
For International Women’s Day, I wanted to find other women entrepreneurs who have had great success from never giving up.
So, without further ado, here is a list of successful female entrepreneurs who are here to kick ass and chew bubblegum…and they are all out of bubblegum.
Women Entrepreneurs
Oprah Winfrey
The first among our women entrepreneurs is Oprah. Success is the whole world knowing you by your first name only. The head of an empire, Oprah overcame much adversity to be where she is today.
According to Forbes magazine, she is in the top 10 list of the richest self-made women with an estimated net worth of 2.6 billion dollars as of March 20th, 2020. Forbes magazine also lists her accomplishments noting that she’s become a brand ambassador for Weight Watchers, has her own television channel, OWN, and her Oprah Winfrey book club.
Sophia Amoruso
Sophia is the founder and CEO of the site Girlboss, a site that aims to “create a new reality where women can make progress personally, professionally, and in service of others.”
The success in Girlboss came after her first company, the once successful Nastygal, went bankrupt. According to Amoruso, to overcome adversity, she reminded herself that “you wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t taken a risk, and that’s what you do if you’re an entrepreneur”. Thus, Girlboss was born. As of 2016, Forbes estimates Amoruso’s net worth as $280 million, ranking her #53 in America’s Most Self-Made Women.
Shahrzad Rafati
Rafati is the founder of BroadbandTV, a Vancouver based digital entertainment company ranking third in the world after Google and Facebook.
According to MacLean’s magazine, she was accepted to the University of British Columbia for computer science because of how highly it was ranked by the United Nations.
From Iran, she realized her opportunities would be greater if she were to pursue her education out of the country.
It was after the beginning of Youtube in 2005 when she noticed the issues in video pirating happening throughout the Youtube community.
Her company “developed technology that locates, claims and monetizes fan-uploaded content to which a company owns the copyright“. Forbes considers Rafati an “online peacemaker“. She told Forbes her advice to others for success is to:
- Understand the market
- Have a positive attitude
- Challenge yourself
- Surround yourself with great advisors
J.K Rowling
J.K Rowling has become a household name since the success of the Harry Potter series. Her franchise spans seven books, eight films, a screenplay as well as the Harry Potter amusement parks, and Rowling’s creation of Pottermore, the online wizarding world for Harry Potter fans.
It’s because of Rowling that you could walk up to a stranger, say “I’m a Ravenclaw” and they’d know exactly what you are talking about without thinking you’re crazy (for the most part).
As of 2018, Rowling’s estimated net worth is $92 million and she was the highest-paid author in 2019.
Arianna Huffington
Another woman entrepreneur is Arianna Huffington. You may recognize her last name if you’ve read the Huffington Post. Yep, that’s her.
Huffington has quoted her mother saying: “failure is not the opposite of success, it’s a stepping stone to success“.
Huffington has had her fair share of failures before becoming the founder of one of the largest online news outlets in the world.
According to Forbes magazine, her book was rejected by 36 publishers. She also failed to get more than 0.55% of the vote when she ran for the governor of California.
In hindsight though, neither of those things really matters now when she’s published multiple books. Did I mention that she’s the founder of Huffington Post?
Vera Wang
This world-famous fashion designer got her start in the business right out of college when she became the youngest editor for Vogue magazine.
It wasn’t until she was 40-years old that she started her own brand, Vera Wang. She is known for her sought-after wedding dress collections and has dressed celebrities from Ariana Grande to Michelle Obama.
Her net worth is expected to be $460 million according to Forbes as of June 3rd, 2019.
So, what is in store for women entrepreneurs?
It’s still not the easiest place when you are a woman in this world. It’s even harder when you are trying to navigate the business world. I’m confident that day by day it is starting to get easier.
It’s women like the ones listed above that are pushing the barriers to make room for more women entrepreneurs.
Did you like this post? Check out more by clicking here. If you have an outstanding woman entrepreneur that isn’t listed, please mention her in the comments!
You go girl! Great read about some incredible women.
Thanks, girl! Definitely a lot of inspiration here!