Launch Lab for Women Entrepreneurs

The Women's Business Center at Canisius University is launching a new program – a 15-week boot camp course built to support both product- and service-based businesses – this fall designed to help women entrepreneurs turn their business ideas into reality.  Enrollment deadline is Sept. 29.

Entrepreneurship: Identifying a Gap in the Market

Founders of companies often start by identifying a gap in the market, but personal experience can be the inspiration for some of the strongest ideas. Laura M. Mackay (her Instagram), founder and CEO of Mina™ swimwear, spent years in competitive open-water swimming and had trouble finding swimwear that had both a luxury look and the functionality for serious movement in the water.  Hence, she combined all her talents to create a swimsuit that would allow women to move freely in the water while also being elegant. 

Mackay has joined other women entrepreneurs in building businesses that now account for 39.2% of all enterprises in the United States. Since 2019, women-owned businesses have increased by 69%. Last year, women launched 49% of all new businesses, according to the New Business Formation report from Gusto. These women-owned businesses employ 12.9 million workers and have an annual revenue of $3.3 trillion.

Entrepreneurship can have many different paths.  Choose yours and get going!

Tory Burch Says Women Are the Answer – And They're The Best Investment Possible

Fellows of the Tory Burch Foundation exceed $1 million in annual revenue at 10 times the national average for women-owned businesses – and together, they’ve added $470 million to the economy. 

“One of our goals is impact and scale,” Tory Burch tells Oprah Daily. “How do we reach as many women entrepreneurs as we possibly can? Because the work we’re doing is now proven.”

Women are launching businesses at record rates, yet funding remains scarce. Tory Burch says removing barriers could unlock billions in economic growth.

Founder startups founded or cofounded by women generate 78 cents in revenue for every dollar invested, compared with 31 cents for those started by men.

“If we can be advocates for women in business to show what an incredible investment they are, we would be doing a great job,” she [Burch] says. “Women are the answer – and they’re the best investment possible.”

Successful Women CEOs

In recent years, we have seen an increase in the number of women entrepreneurs and CEOs, breaking through the glass ceiling and paving the way for others to follow. 

In this article, we celebrate the achievements of women in business – those who have shattered gender stereotypes in business – highlighting some of the most successful female entrepreneurs and CEOs.

One In Four Women Plan to Launch a New Business in 2026

According to QuickBooks, one in four women plan to launch a new business this year (2026). Another 58 percent say they would consider it. 

What's driving this momentum?  

The author of the article, More Women Are Starting Businesses Than Ever, but Many Are Doing It Alone, says "If I had to distill the most important things the data says women founders need to understand before they start, it would come down to the following principles."

Find out what those principles are. 

A Less-Explored Dimension of the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship

New research suggests women entrepreneurs may have a harder time getting that second chance.

A working paper by researchers at the University of Delaware and Rutgers University found women-owned businesses were significantly more likely than comparable male-owned firms to liquidate through Chapter 7 bankruptcy rather than attempt to reorganize under Chapter 11. And when women-owned companies did pursue reorganization, they were less likely to emerge successfully from the process.

I've always felt that failure is not an option but that's one reason bankruptcy laws exist, not simply to close struggling businesses but to determine which companies can restructure, recover and keep operating.

The findings point to a less-explored dimension of the gender gap in entrepreneurship.

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. 

Happy 250th America: To Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness!

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney (7/4/26).  All rights reserved.

The history of The Declaration of Independence (transcription). Sign the declaration.

Whatever Your Pride Plans Are, enJOY!

To All Dads

"To all Dads, thank you for everything." – Laurel J. Delaney

America's Self-Made Women Billionaires

Rocket ships. AI chips. Chinese food. Clothing. Construction. Chatbots. America's self-made women billionaires are rewriting the rules of wealth. Forbes counts 43 of them now – women who built 10-figure fortunes from scratch – up from 38 just a year ago.

AI is accelerating everything. Record numbers. Soaring net worths. An all-time high in total wealth held by women who earned every dollar of it.

The signal is clear: more self-made women billionaires exist today, with more influence and more opportunity, than at any point in American history.

Access the list.

Flowers Explode

©2026 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes, and every sunset is different." – John Steinbeck

Crowdfunding for Women-Owned Companies

Although the number of women-owned businesses keeps growing, startups led by women continue to fall behind their male counterparts when it comes to raising venture funding.

Women-led startups consistently receive less than 2% of U.S. venture capital, per Crunchbase data. That’s despite delivering 2.5x better returns than male-founded startups, research shows.

What's the deal and what's the solution?  

Former PayPal executive Molly Huyck teamed up with Amie Konwinski, a U.S. Navy veteran and marketing executive, to found Aequitas Invest, an SEC-registered, funding portal.

Aequitas Invest is a space where women founders share their journeys – and investors learn how Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) works to expand access to capital for women-led startups.

Veterans Honorably Serve Our Country and Can Transition From Military Service to Entrepreneurship

Veterans honorably serve our country and often play a valuable economic role. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), veterans in the United States own over 1.6 million businesses and employ nearly 3.3 million Americans. For vets transitioning from military service to entrepreneurship, a wealth of resources exists, including free training, education, funding and networking opportunities to help ensure their new venture succeeds.

Here's a walk through the essential steps veterans can take when starting a business and resources that can help every step of the way.

Women Entrepreneurs Are Building What's Next

Growing a business takes vision, strategy, and the right support. If you are a woman business owner based in Hawaii (lucky you on numerous fronts), applications are open for WE by CPB Rising Tide, a 10-week program offering mentorship, education, and a community of support for women business owners in Hawaii.

Take your next step for growth.

Tips From Tory Burch For Women In Business

The History of Female Entrepreneurship Brought to You By Wikipedia

Sometimes you just have to take a look at what others are writing or saying about the history of female entrepreneurship.  In this case, Wikipedia gives us their perspective.

"The history of female entrepreneurship stretches back centuries, from Eliza Lucas Pinckney's plantation management in colonial South Carolina to Rebecca Lukens's 19th-century ironworks, Madame C. J. Walker's early 20th-century beauty empire, and later pioneers such as Estée Lauder and Martha Stewart. Across time, women entrepreneurs have often faced skepticism, discriminatory property and inheritance laws, and limited access to capital and networks."

Read more here – from defining female entrepreneurship, to breaking barriers, to its rise as a global phenomenon.

The Women Presidents Organization Will Host Its 2026 Entrepreneurial Excellence Forum (EEF) 5/7/26

The Women Presidents Organization (WPO), the premier global peer advisory community for women entrepreneurs leading multi-million-dollar businesses, will host its 2026 Entrepreneurial Excellence Forum (EEF) on May 7–8, 2026, at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida.

You won't want to miss it.  I'll [Laurel Delaney] be there and hope to see you, too!

Why 2026 is the Best Year for Women to Start Businesses

The landscape for women entrepreneurs in 2026 is fundamentally different from what it was two years ago. AI tools have democratized capabilities that once required entire teams. Funding gaps are narrowing—slowly, but measurably. The market rewards businesses built around authenticity, community and values-driven commerce, all areas where women founders can consistently outperform.

But back to why 2026 is the best year for women to start businesses. The data tells a compelling story. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, women-owned businesses now have access to targeted funding opportunities, federal contracting programs, and an expanding network of Women’s Business Centers that provide free training and counseling. These are all resources that significantly improve success rates in female-founded businesses.

Before diving into what you think will be a viable business, ask yourself these three questions:

1. What does success look like for you? 
2. What skills do you already have that the market will pay for? 
3. How much risk can you tolerate right now? 

Now, let's take a look at some profitable business ideas.

Funding Opportunities for Women Business Owners Curated by the WBDC Chicago

Below is a list of current Funding Opportunities curated by Women Business Development Center's (WBDC’s) Access to Capital team in Chicago.  If interested in any of these opportunities, please reach out to the organization via the links or emails provided.

Funding opportunities.