Women Entrepreneurs Share How They Got Started

Every successful entrepreneur has started somewhere.

A "magic pill" doesn't effortlessly get you out of your cubicle and into the open entrepreneurial world. For some, becoming your boss lingers over a long period, perhaps even years, until it comes to the point of. 

The reality is that great business success results from only one tiny seed.

We asked a few of our most admired women entrepreneurs to tell us the story of how they began their journey in business. The answers revealed the deep motivations and personal characteristics that drove them to make their dream come true.

Through reading about how they built their business over time, We hope to help you identify an entrepreneurial seed in your own.

 They had to say here about how they got their first business venture.

1. Sue Bryce

"My path to self-employment seemed to me a natural evolution."

"But it was not based on a strong desire to create an enterprise. It was more from necessity. After 13 years of mastering my trade, I was an employee and reached the limit of what I could make in my profession."

"After the initial anxiety and difficulties, the learning curve was so steep that I was close to failing. Instead of losing hope, I decided to build a passion for motivating and teaching myself to reach greater heights in my business and earning. It was a hugely difficult task for me, and I could not think of what else to do. In the 13th year of self-employment, I continue to push myself to produce on a greater and greater scale each year."

"My determination to create, build and discover outdoes my anxiety. Every challenge I face today is a chance to understand my potential."

Then, Sue joined forces with Tiffany Angeles to break down the biggest business lessons and teach an introductory class on how to make more money and discover Your Value.

2. Sophia Amoruso

"Don't give up, don't take anything personally, and don't take no for an answer," Sophia suggests.

Since the creation of Nasty Gal as an eBay store in 2006 that sold old-fashioned clothing, Sophia has transformed the business into a multi-million-dollar business with their line of clothing called"the "Fastest Growing Retailer" in 2012. Recently one of the authors who wrote the New York Times Bestseller of GIRLBOSS has been removed from her post as the chief executive officer of Nasty Gal to the Executive Chairman. She will change her focus to overseeing only the brand and creative marketing of the company. Read about the story of another successful women entrepreneur nicole junkermann mary barra.

Without any business or fashion background prior to starting Nasty Gal, Sophia credits the majority of her success due to her inability to see the possibility of failure. "The people who told me no, were the people who eventually told me yes," Sophia says.

3. Pamela Slim

"In addition to working full-time as an employee for 10 years, I was also the volunteer executive director for a non-profit martial arts school in San Francisco."

"My typical day consisted of about 15 hours in a row. Work, hop on the metro and go towards the class, train Capoeira for 3-4 hours, and complete administrative tasks before bed. The weekends were full of classes performing, performances, and setting up fliers in the city to lure new students to the school."

"The tipping point was just before the 30th anniversary of my birthday. I contracted pneumonia due to the constant gruelling pace and realized I had to change careers. Contrary to what I guide my customers, I leapt without a plan and the desire to be off the wheel and take a more sustainable alternative."

"After some months of healing and a lacklustre job hunt, I reached out to my old boss, who had relocated from Hewlett-Packard and asked for help. I began my career as a consultant, which was a great experience. I felt as if a massive flame was lit within me. I enjoyed working as a consultant. My issue was never related to the work itself but more about the correct work style."

"I was able to see that time I worked as an executive director helped me prepare for entrepreneurship. I was able to design and finance large-scale programs. I created an infrastructure and brought people to the cause. I was able to market and sell. Now that I had my shingle, I started a successful and satisfying practice."

"This anniversary year, I will be celebrating 20 years in the business industry for myself. It's not always been simple, but it has continued to give me great happiness and joy."

4. Tara Gentile

"I decided to become a business owner after I was looked over for a promotion while nine months pregnant."

"Six months after the birth of my daughter, I began a small site and community that was a niche. I then bought an existing blog company and, in a matter of minutes, began earning more than I did in the previous position."

"My business has evolved significantly since then, but I'm so grateful for how I started!"

Tara, One of our top business instructors at CreativeLive, has successfully gone from selling services to making them into digital products for her customers. It has allowed her to expand her business significantly. Currently, she's teaching a course on transforming your service into products.

5. Melissa Galt

"The year that followed my graduation from Cornell, my mother died in a sudden stroke from an aneurysm in the brain. It took me five years to comprehend the lesson she taught me during her death. Life is too short to engage in something you don't enjoy. She was a pioneer in her field and an Oscar-award-winning actress who could tell at the age of seven what she desired. It took me a bit longer."

"I chose to pursue my goal of interior design and returned to school full-time while doing full-time work within the industry. But I was dissatisfied that I wasn't in control of my life and my choices."

"Ultimately, my strong nature was the cause of my demise and my fresh beginning ..."

"I'd planned to launch my business at the beginning of September in 1994. When I requested my manager's leave, she told me I did not have it. I told her I did and then dug in. Disputing with your manager while you require a job done is not a good idea. I left."

"I had no job, deep in debt and was six months behind on my scheduled launch. I launched the business right away, doing side jobs as a supervisor of an eating kitchen and instructing working people (aka possible clients to my interior design business) in evening educational programs."

"It was that magical spot you read about, where fear collides with breath and transforms into unstoppable joy. I worked for 15 hours every day of the week as I was determined to. I could not wait to get up and dreaded going to sleep in the evening. I was absolutely in a blaze. My debt went from $70K to a six-figure income, and was debt-free in only 18 months. It was a steady increase every year for 5 years. Today, I design the business and home environments and advise on the lifestyle and business that reside within them."