Black Women Are Starting Businesses in Droves

Black women are becoming entrepreneurs at a faster clip than any other demographic – and a chillier corporate world has a lot to do with it.

Take Erin Giddens.  She had long dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur—but not while she earned a steady paycheck in the corporate world.

Then came the layoff from her communications-associate role and a months long job search that went nowhere. By the time she decided to focus full time on her own video-production company last fall, she says, the move came down to this:

“Do I want to get back working in corporate, where they’re still going to have my career in their hands, or am I going to bet on myself?” she says. 

Guess what she did?  Read on about how she and many others like her are tired of the anxiety in corporate America and are creating their own destiny.

After all, that is why we started Escape From Corporate America July 7, 2004!  Check out that post. 

SHE is the Pulse of the Holidays

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

SHE (meaning you dear woman entrepreneur) is the pulse of the holidays – the heartbeat of giving made real.  Happy Holidays from Escape From Corporate America!" – Laurel J. Delaney, founder

Female Entrepreneurs Are a Major Driver of Business Startup Growth

Americans have started more new businesses last year than ever since data collection started and female entrepreneurs are a major driver of that growth.

New data from my company, Gusto, shows that women started half of all new businesses in 2023. This is compared to a mere 29% in 2019. Women-led businesses have proven uniquely resilient to tough economic conditions like persistently high inflation and interest rates, and they generated $2.7 trillion in revenue last year. 

For women, flexibility is the No. 1 reason for starting a business.  They want to have the freedom to decide how they work.

At Escape From Corporate America (EFCA), we have known this to be true since 2003 on the flexibility and freedom parts of Gusto's findings.  Here's what I said in 2003 when EFCA was launched:

"They [women] want freedom, flexibility, recognition, more money, and opportunities to leave a legacy -- all the things they once thought they would find within corporations."

Read the full article to learn how female entrepreneurs are a major driver of business startup growth.

Peace and Joy to Our Escape From Corporate America Friends

©2020 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year to all our Escape From Corporate America friends.  Peace and Joy.

Wishing You a Happy and Prosperous 2020 from Escape From Corporate America!

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Happy 15-Year Anniversary to the Escape From Corporate America Blog!

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

For all of you who have been following our Escape From Corporate America (EFCA) adventures, you know it's been quite some time since we have been blogging -- some 15 years!  For the newcomers, can you believe it?  We can't because time flies when you are having fun, living your dream, and helping others live their dream too with starting a business.

We launched Escape From Corporate America officially on July 2, 2004 and since then, we have had more than 806,000 readers (not quite a million but we'll get there thanks to you).  We average about 10,000-15,000 readers a month now!  Take a look at our second post in 2004 talking about why EFCA was established.  It reads as follows:

This blog has been set up for businesswomen to voice their experiences working in Corporate America. Many women have expressed concern that Corporate America is actively pushing out its most talented women. Have you encountered something similar? What have you done about it?

Has the glass ceiling issue been a major reason for leaving your position? Are you thinking of striking out on your own to start your own business -- as a result of job dissatisfaction?

These are some of the kinds of issues that need to be openly discussed. If we do not challenge the system, no improvements will ever be made. Feel free to weigh-in with your comments. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks!

So grab your tall glass filled with your favorite beverage and toast to the Escape From Corporate America blog:  "To many more blog posts about helping female entrepreneurs go from corporate America to starting their own business!"  And to you dear reader, I thank you for your readership and for starting a business.  Read on!

Happy New Year Escape From Corporate America Friends!

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Be strong, fierce and independent in 2019!  Hugs and Happy New Year from your Escape From Corporate America team.

Joy to Your World from Escape From Corporate America

©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!” -- D.M. Dellinger

Network with Everyone

Nicole Wipp, guest writer for Entrepreneur magazine (online) says, "Women are escaping from their corporate jobs to go out on their own, stay-at-home moms are looking for ways to make money and in general, women seem to be very attracted to the entrepreneur path. Indeed, there are 114 percent more women-owned businesses in the U.S. than there were 20 years ago."

We know a thing or two about escaping from corporate America because due to the massive female entrepreneurial movement we launched this blog in 2004.

When it comes to the topic at hand, networking, I've always worked a room no matter who it is filled with -- men or women.

The question asked in the article below is:

But should we, as women, solely focus on these [women] gender-specific groups to take our career and entrepreneurial journey to the next level?

Find out here.

Merry Christmas From the Official Escape From Corporate America Blog!

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

100 Best Sites for Women

Forbes has published its fourth annual list:

The 100 Best Websites for Women, 2013

From Forbes:  As is always the method to our madness, the above list is the culmination of a year’s worth of Internetting, asking around and getting lost down the rabbit hole of the best (and sometimes weirdest) of the Web ...

Oh, maybe we'll make the list next year! 

How to Spare Yourself Sleepless NIghts As a New Business Owner

To spare yourself sleepless nights as a new business owner, get some training first via Corporate America to work out the kinks.  That what Pam Wallace did.

Read her story here.

Best News I've Heard This Month: CNN Dumps Spitzer

I just want everyone inside and outside of Corporate America to know how happy I am about this.  CNN dumps Eliot Spitzer from its lineup.  Ever since Spitzer's involvement as a client in a high-priced prostitution ring (2008) and CNN's subsequent hiring of him, I stopped watching CNN.  What were they thinking?

Applause to the folks at CNN for finally getting their act together.  Now I can continue to watch one of my favorites -- Anderson Cooper -- without guilt.

There's my two cents for the week!  What's yours?

Photo credit:  New York Times, "Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring."

Posted by:  The official Escape From Corporate America blog

The Pied Piper of the Blogging World

That's what I have been called by my savvy sister Te-Erika over at My Savvy Sisters -- an online magazine dedicated to providing resources, inspiration and guidance to women that will empower them to survive and thrive in life.

Te-Erika asks me:

"What are the top 3 reasons women won’t plan their Escape From Corporate America?"

Read the interview here to find out why many women don't leave Corporate America:

Savvy Blogger We Love - Laurel Delaney (Escape From Corporate America)

What a thrill to be featured. A big thank you to Te-Erika Patterson, inspirational journalist and author, for making this interview happen.

Happy Holidays From Escape From Corporate America: Indulge and Enjoy

Wishing you all the happiest of holidays and joy (success) throughout the new year.

Photo credit:  Laurel Delaney, downtown Chicago, retail window dressing

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, Escape From Corporate America

Women Need Higher Levels of Capital at Startup

Women own more than 7.8 million businesses, or nearly 29 percent of the total in the U.S. But their firms generate only 3.95 percent of all revenue. This disparity in number of firms versus revenue speaks to a profound opportunity loss and unrewarded risk.

Further, newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that, even though the number of women-owned businesses grew 44 percent between 1997 and 2007, our already small market share, as measured by revenue, declined more than 10 percent, dropping from 4.41 percent in 1997 to 3.95 percent in 2007.

What's the solution?

One key to improved performance by women-owned firms is starting with higher levels of capital. A Kauffman Foundation study this year found that women-owned firms typically start with less capital and therefore underperform in terms of revenue, assets, and profitability. The banking community can be particularly helpful in overcoming this shortfall. By providing greater energy and engagement with current and potential women business owners, and assisting them to establish better business models, plans, and resources so as to secure larger pools of capital and credit, bankers can help push the growth, market position, opportunities, and revenue of women-owned firms more quickly. Business revenue will rise, and everyone will win.

Read the entire article here.

Get Unstuck

Stuck in a rut? Hate your boss? Hate your job? Hate your life? Every moment of being stuck is a lost opportunity.

Pursue what you are born for.

This blog serves as a resource to women who want to Escape From Corporate America and we always encourage you to move forward even when everything seems to be headed in reverse.

Need help? I am setting up a conference call for one-hour on Friday, August 28 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) CDT for the first 20 women who are interested in chatting about steps to take toward starting a business. We will discuss some of the challenges you face and how to overcome those obstacles in order to get unstuck.

If you are interested in participating (no cost to you other than the call), email me at ldelaney(at)laureldelaney.com and I will send you the call-in information. Look forward to hearing from you!

Playboy CEO Escapes Corporate America

In case you have been living in a cave, Christie Hefner (pictured) is ending her 20-year tenure as chief executive of Chicago’s (my home town) Playboy Enterprises to pursue work in public-service and non-profit ventures.

I waited this long to announce because I wanted to see if Christie will start her own business. It sure looks like she is finally pursuing her dream; I found out by email last week:

Greetings! As of today (4/8/09), my new contact information is as follows:

Christie Hefner
C.A.H., LLC (Laurel here ... no web site as yet)
628 N. State Street
2nd floor
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: 312 624 9645
Fax: 312 624 9654
Assistant: Deb Parry
Phone: 312 624 9646

Sincerely,
Christie

Read more about her departure from Playboy at:

Christie Hefner talks to the Tribune about leaving Playboy

Christie Hefner to Depart Playboy

Edgar Online: Playboy Enterprises Inc (PLA) - 10-K - 3/13/2009

I checked Network Solutions and noticed that she has not reserved the domain names CAH.com or CAHllc.com.

Glass Ceiling Sends More Women Into Business Ownership

Small business is in for a big change and it involves women who are saying "yes" to entrepreneurship. As a group, the people who go into entrepreneurship are different from those who did so a generation ago.

A new breed of entrepreneurs will emerge. Entrepreneurs will no longer come predominantly from the middle of the age spectrum, but instead from the edges. People nearing retirement and their children just entering the job market will become the most entrepreneurial generation ever.

Entrepreneurship will reflect an upswing in the number of women. The glass ceiling that still limits the career paths of women in larger companies will send more women to the small business sector. Locally, some of our most dynamic and noteworthy businesses are run by women, founded by women, owned or co-owned by women, or some mix of the above.

The Intuit Corporation and the Institute for the Future recently released a very interesting study (which includes above findings) on small business designed to identify, analyze, and forecast the significant trends and forces impacting small business over the next decade. Read more about it here.

And if you are a female entrepreneur, check out the Women's Entrepreneurship Institute conference at the Wharfinger on April 24.

An Educational Program of Our Own

Whether you run a business or head up a multi-million dollar division of a Fortune 500 company, lifelong learning is vital to ensure personal and professional growth. And business schools are here to help by offering programs specifically tailored to women.

The programs deal with everything from attaining leadership positions to entrepreneurship to issues of work-life balance. Here's a sample of programs that came out of the article, "A Female Face on Executive M.B.A.s," published in the WSJ on January 21, 2009:

Executive Program for Women Leaders
Where: Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Cost $9,200

Moving From Managing to Leading: The Women's Program at Babson
Where: Babson Executive Education
Cost: $5,950

Women's Director Development Program
Where: Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management
Cost: $5,500

Strategic Leadership for Women
Where: IMD in Switzerland
Cost: $8,972

Global Leaders Program for Women
Where: Smith College/Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business
Cost: $8,200

A New Path
Where: Harvard Business School
Cost: $5,000