5 Amazing Stories of Successful Businesswomen

Despite the fact that there are more men in business than women, it does not mean that ladies have fewer chances to become a leader. Bright personalities like J.K. Rowling and Oprah Winfrey prove that success does not depend on a gender. Thinking about life changes, women may wonder how exactly it can be done. The fascinating career paths of famous women may seem rare exceptions. In fact, there are much more business ladies who achieved great results. Here are five amazing success stories of women entrepreneurs that may inspire you to make a change in life and open your own business.

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Jean Brownhill Lauer, Founder of Sweeten

Jean Brownhill Lauer is a founder of Sweeten, a company that matches homeowners with renovation experts in Brooklyn. Jean’s home-design passion made her create a startup in 2011. Although now the company brings millions, Jean was not born rich.

Jean grew up in New London, Connecticut. There were actual crack houses in a neighborhood when she lived with her mom. Jean did not have money for college but had high grades and passion for architecture that lead her to the Cooper Union that offered free education. After graduation, Jean worked in the industry gaining experience and improving skills. Jean also spent the bonus money she got from her hard work on a small house in Brooklyn that needed renovation. She put all the efforts to find great contractors and learned a lot from this project.

It was Loeb Fellowship that changed Jean’s life completely. That brought her all the resources that Harvard can offer. She used all this to bring to life her renovation ideas and focused on her business. The company had small projects for the first year. Later Sweeten was noticed by New York Magazine and it became a turning point that helped the company become successful.

Sharon Mickel, a Pastry Chef at Chattanooga Bakery

Sharon Mickel has her own bakery in Chattanooga, the US that specializes in cinnamon rolls and bread puddings. Her business has a lot of clients now and brings wealth to its owner. Observing its success, it is hard to believe how everything started.

Sharon worked hard from 9 to 5 and raised four kids. Despite spending a lot of time at work, she barely managed to make the ends meet. Her divorce became a push for making things change. She decided to go to Culinary School to make her dreams come true.

A 6-week course in Pastry Arts changed Sharon’s life completely. School instructors advised Sharon agencies that helped her to open her own business. Apart from making delicious sweets, Sharon also put a lot of effort into advertising. Clients’ feedbacks, business cards, ads on TV, radio and newspapers made the bakery successful and let Sharon feel like a free independent woman.

Kat Cole, the Executive of Cinnabon

Cinnabon is a well-known brand and a successful enterprise.Kat Cole, the executive of its parent company took the business into her hands during the years of recession and helped it to succeed. She had a lot of challenges on her way to becoming a leader.

Despite being a kind man, Kat’s father was an alcoholic. Kat and her mother left when she was nine. Life was not that easy and Kat had to rely on herself. She started to work when she was 15. Until she became a Hooters girl in 18, she combined three different jobs. Kat sold clothes, cleaned gym equipment, and work as a Hooters hostess.

Her experience in Hooters gave Kat a lot. She was very hard working and took many shifts. Kat knew how to handle any job in a restaurant as she helped bartender and a cook when it was needed. Her devotion was noticed and Kat helped to train the employees in different countries. She learned how to solve different decision-making problems. This experience made her a leader and lead to the executive position in Cinnabon.

Eli Trier, Illustrator and Designer at Eli Trier Art

Eli Trier is an illustrator from England that makes money on what she loves. Eli also specializes in marketing and advertises illustrations for entrepreneurs.

Eli is a creative person, an introvert and it was hard for her to have an ordinary job. After reading a book by Barbara Winter with an inspiring title Making a Living Without A Job, Eli decided to quit her job and try something new. First, she started as a copywriter, but then she realized that illustrating should be her primal work.

Networking is what really led Eli to success. She visited every event that could promote her business. She tried to meet new people every month. Word of mouth turned out to be a great marketing and Eli started to earn enough for a living in three months. Now her business continues to grow. Certainly, this doesn't mean that quick success is required element.  With the help of services like Personal Money Service, every woman has a chance to start her business even without the initial capital.

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Elle Kaplan, the Money Manager

Elle Kaplan runs a firm that provides services in money-management. The company brings millions of dollars and helps dozens of families. It is hard to believe this business was created by a girl who came to New York with only 200 dollars in her pocket.

After Elle’s father fell into a coma, she and mother had to overcome a lot of financial difficulties. That is when Elle started to learn everything about money management and investing. After graduation, she came to New York but did not manage to get a job due to lack of experience. She had to sleep on the floor on her mom’s friend’s place and keep trying to get a job.

Things changed when Elle got an interview in The Beacon Group. She got that job and worked hard almost living in the office. While working full-time, Elle was learning in Columbia to get her MBA. She did not have time for anything else but it brought great results. After finishing studies, Elle left her job and started LexION. Elle e-mailed all the people she knew and got first clients. The company grew eventually and Elle’s hard work paid off.