10 Most Influential Women Entrepreneurs You Should Know About to Surprise your Loved Ones

Nowadays, more and more women want to strike out on their own. Therefore, we have made a list of the most influential women entrepreneurs who reached incredible heights in their careers and showed everyone who really rules the world.

1. Caroline Chu

Caroline Chu thought about her own business at the age of 40, when her daughter left to study in college and work ceased to bring her joy. For many years, Chu was a creative director at NVIDIA (one of the largest developers of graphics accelerators). “Most often I heard, “You’re too old for a start-up!” Or, “How will you produce cosmetics if you have worked with hi-tech all your life?” Chu encourages novice entrepreneurs not to listen to pessimistic relatives and friends.

In 2008, Chu felt like she had returned 20 years ago: she was wasting all her savings on a new project; she had to make new friends and go to meetings with people from the beauty industry who did not know anything about her past merits. At night, she packaged her products, and during the day, was engaged in the promotion and making connections. “It’s impossible to imagine how many times people from the industry advised me to find a male companion or take a pseudonym that would sound more American,” Chu recalls.

Several articles in glossy magazines helped Chu to start making money. She did not hesitate to tell her story about a successful manager who gave up a good career for the sake of the youthful dream – to produce cosmetics. In the Zappos online store, they read her publications and agreed to start test-market sales. Caroline Chu produces several lines of cosmetics for different skin types based on oriental recipes. Her business is estimated at several million dollars.

2. Shelley Prevost

On the website of her company, Psy.D. Shelley Prevost is called the “director for happiness.” She is a co-founder and partner of the Lamp Post Group. This company invests in small projects while providing the founders with a roof over their heads: in the office of the company, there is a small hostel in the style of a student dormitory and the living costs from $85 to $135. Moreover, the company leases back-offices, and not only for novice entrepreneurs but also for everyone in need. Such a development strategy allowed the Lamp Post startup to achieve revenues of $400 million just in 10 years.

Shelley Prevost keeps several blogs and writes articles for various magazines. She likes to talk about how to succeed if you are a woman. Her main tip is “Stop talking about being a woman.”

3. Joy Mangano

Joy Mangano is the American entrepreneur who was the first woman in the world to earn $1 billion at 41. The success of the housewife and divorced mother of three children came at the age of 34 when she invented and patented a mop with the wringing mechanism. This influential and incredibly strong woman definitely knows how to break up with someone and get over it. Soon, Mangano founded her own company called Ingenious Designs which specializes in unusual household appliances created by herself. To date, Mangano has over 100 inventions, and all of them are available in her online store. Nowadays, Joy Mangano is a media personality with a huge fortune.

4. Jessica Alba

In 2012, Jessica Alba launched her business by founding The Honest Company, a manufacturer of eco-friendly diapers. The online store of the actress sells non-toxic and natural products safe for children: cosmetics, diapers, toys, home cleaning products, etc.

The actress claims that she administered all startup affairs by herself and worked 24 hours a day. At work, she equipped a nursery for her children and the children of the colleagues and always took her two daughters to the office in order to spend more time with them.

Alba believes that you cannot do a successful business without getting your hands dirty. “At first, you have to do everything yourself. I answered the phone and helped pack the products, and then load them into the car trunk in the parking lot,” says the actress. The secret of her success is: to find a niche, work out the kinks of the idea, become socially active, and not allow anyone to dissuade yourself.

5. Kathy Ireland

Elite Modeling Agency spotted 16-year-old Kathy Ireland when she worked as a newspaper carrier. Four years later, her photo appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and the magazine’s issue became the best-selling ever. The model worked for the magazine 13 years in a row, and in 1993, she launched her own knee socks line together with the Kmart retail chain. Today, she is not involved in knee socks production, but actively using her name for unknown brands. In total, more than 17,000 products were released under her name over the years of such branding – these are ceiling fans, floor coverings, and mattresses, but primarily furniture: tables, side tables, beds, ottomans, bookshelves, and carpets. But the largest part of Kathy’s empire is vinyl and plastic windows named after her. Experts estimate the revenue from their sales at $2.5 billion. In addition, Ireland owns resorts in Greece, Hawaii, and Fiji.

6. Kathy Lahne

Kathy Lahne was 23 years old when she founded Sun Coast Resources – an oil trading company. Thirty years later, it turned into the largest Texas company owned by a woman. The revenue of Sun Coast Resources is $1.8 billion, and 1800 people work there, including Kathy’s husband. It is one of those companies that, after Sandy and Katrina Hurricanes, quickly supplied oil to the affected regions.

7. Oprah Winfrey

Forbes magazine called the famous American show host the most puissant celebrity, number-one influential woman, and the most powerful person in show business. Oprah possesses the Oprah Winfrey Network, the Oprah Radio, and The Oprah Magazine. The fortune of this ingenious woman has been estimated at $2.7 billion. The secret of success is simple: Oprah has dreamed of becoming a journalist since childhood, and at 17 years old, she became the youngest reporter. “You get in life only what you dare to ask. Do not be afraid to raise the bar,” advises the main person of American television Oprah Winfrey. Looking at her experience, it is worth taking this advice.

8. Tory Burch

One day, a former journalist Tory Burch appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, who called her the biggest discovery in the fashion world. At that time, Burch had only one store in the Nolita area in Manhattan and was just starting her career as a clothing designer. Over the years, Tory Burch LLC has grown into a real retail empire, valued at $3 billion.

Nowadays, Tory Burch is called the Queen of Bohemian Chic. But she became famous thanks to the Reva Ballet Flats, named after her mother. These stylish shoes worth $200 have instantly become almost the main footwear of the United States.

Also, Tory manages the Bank of America and a venture company Elizabeth Street Capital, a co-project of the Tory Burch Foundation, which supports women entrepreneurs.

9. Sara Blakely

When Sara was 29 years old, she founded her own company called “Spanx” with an office in her apartment in Atlanta. Then she could not even think that she would become a billionaire. She invented and patented the shapewear – innovative seamless tights with a completely new elastic belt – and sent a sample of the product to the Oprah Winfrey editorial team. Soon, Oprah called Spanx “revolutionary” right on the air of her show.

In 2012, Blakely became the youngest woman on the Forbes list who earned the fortune on her own. A year later, she became the first female billionaire to join the Giving Pledge movement and promised to bequeath half of her fortune to charity. In 2014, she introduced a new collection – shapewear denim clothing, including underwear and sportswear.

10. Kim Kardashian

Kardashian calls herself a serial entrepreneur and states that ambition is her middle name. Even as a teenager, Kim bought shoes on eBay and resold them a little more expensive. Nowadays, Kardashian is actively using her success for business purposes. For example, she is the founder of TV production Kimsaprincess Productions LLC, which produces video lessons with sports training, has the eponymous line of fragrances, and owns the D-A-S-H boutique and the ShoeDazzle online store. In addition, Kim created a clothing line for Bebe Stores Inc., together with her sisters Courtney and Chloe. In 2010, they also created their own collection of jewelry.

In 2014, the girl released a game for iPhone and Android called “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.” The aim of this interesting game is to become a Hollywood star. This free game quickly became a hit, earning $1.6 million in the first 5 days of the release. In July, app developer Glu Mobile announced that this game took fifth place on the App Store.

In 2014, the wealth of the star was estimated at $28 million. In 2015, Forbes said the celebrity earned “more than ever” and learned to “monetize success better than anyone else” – her income increased almost twice up to $ 53 million.

According to official data, Kim earned $350 million in 2018, ranking 54th on the list of America’s richest people. The main source of her income is the sale of KKW Beauty cosmetics.

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