Making Success Possible For Women Entrepreneurs

Black women are entering entrepreneurship at rates that have not been seen before. Corporate America as well as government and philanthropic entities have taken note of this trend, and there is more support available for women founders than before. In general, women-owned businesses are on the rise, and much of America’s current startup boom is due to women starting businesses.

How can we collectively make even more women entrepreneurs successful?  

Maija Renko, professor and Coleman Chair of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at DePaul University's Richard H. Driehaus College of Business, says "Appreciation for women entrepreneurs starts by talking about the very things their businesses provide—not focusing on old systems and structures that exclude them. Chicago can be the city that leads this conversation and innovates solutions that make success possible for even more women entrepreneurs."

Read the entire Opinion piece in Crain's Chicago Business:  How to Support Women Entrepreneurs

Related to women entrepreneurs, support and Chicago, next week we unveil a game changing new app invented and launched by two Chicago women entrepreneurs.  Stay tuned because we are about to make your shopping experience a breeze via the #cartdropmethod.

More Working Moms Push to Work For Themselves

As COVID upended domestic life, women's rate of self-employment rose faster than the share of men in the sector.

According to Crain's Chicago Business, the share of women who work for themselves has been trending upwards for the last decade, and experts say the pandemic accelerated the shift for working parents who were disproportionately shouldering child care and home responsibilities. The percentage of women who reported being self-employed rose faster during the pandemic than the rate for men.

“In the absence of a really supportive private sector for work-family balance, I think women are finally realizing that self-employment is that alternative,” says Milli, who founded Research 2 Impact, a consulting firm specializing in economic and social policy issues disproportionately impacting women and people of color.

Read on to learn how more working moms, to find balance amid a pandemic, are pushing to work for themselves.  It's an escape from the regular 9-5 job and allowing women to control their destiny.