Are you a woman who is interested business ideas and opportunities for women at home? Does the prospect of becoming an entrepreneur and buying into a proven business opportunity, franchise or other small business model appeal to you? If so, you’re in good company. Once a man’s world, business ownership is rapidly becoming a more level playing field.
Today, women entrepreneurs own close to 30% of U.S. businesses, employ approximately 7.7 million people and generate revenues of at least $1.3 trillion per year. And perhaps more surprisingly, they’re launching those businesses at twice the rate of men. Furthermore, when taking into account growth, employment and revenue increases over the last 15 years or so, women-owned businesses have outpaced the largest, publicly traded firms.
No doubt about it, when it comes to entrepreneurship, women are charging full steam ahead, and now, thanks largely to the web, they don’t have to go it alone. All of the support, encouragement, advice and exposure they could possibly want or need along the way are theirs for the asking—courtesy of a growing list of outstanding online resources designed specifically to assist women business owners and keep them connected with critical resources and each other.
While we recognize that there are many websites that provide great information and inspiration when it comes to successful business ownership, these ten in particular are garnering great reviews, have developed a notable following and, most importantly, are designed specifically with the ambitious woman entrepreneur in mind.
So ladies, let the surfing begin…
1. Ladies Who Launch—As the first new media company to provide resources and connections for women entrepreneurs, Ladies Who Launch is on a mission to make entrepreneurship accessible to all women by providing them with the tools, resources and inspiration they need…all within a trusted community of like-minded professionals.
2. Women 2.0—Women 2.0 is a media company that offers content, community and conference info for aspiring and current women innovators in technology specifically. Its ultimate goal is to increase the number of female founders of technology startups by providing them with the support and information they want most.
3. Women’s Toolbox—WomensToolbox.com provides practical advice for busy business women, enabling them to learn, grow and succeed in business as well as in other areas of their lives, including financial planning, career, home, family, health and beauty.
4. The Founding Moms—The Founding Moms is a real, live and local monthly meeting where “mompreneurs” with families can go to exchange, connect and learn from one another.
5. Make Mine A Million $ Business (M3)—An initiative of the non-profit Count Me In Women’s Economic Independence program sponsored by American Express OPEN, M3 inspires and elevates women so that they can grow their small businesses of $85,000 to $750,000 to the $1 million mark in annual revenues and beyond.
6. She Takes on the World—This award-winning website and blog offers a treasure trove of interviews, inspiration and lessons for successful women entrepreneurs the world over.
7. Chic CEO—The self-proclaimed website for entrepreneurs with style, Chic CEO is a great resource for any woman who either doesn’t know how to implement her ideas or is too afraid to take the plunge. It provides easy-to-understand and -implement business knowledge in its most basic form, as well as a forum to meet other women who are willing to share their advice and experiences simply because someone else did the same for them.
8. The BOSS Network (Bringing Out Successful Sisters)—At BOSS, the mission is simple…to promote and encourage the small business spirit and career development of women of color through conversation and online and event-based networking.
9. Startup Princess—Startup Princess is an international network committed to empowering women entrepreneurs by offering resources for women in business to support, mentor, collaborate, learn from and inspire one another.
10. Mom Invented—The mission of Mom Invented is two-fold. First, it’s to foster knowledge through books, powerful mentoring programs and inspiring feature stories. Second, it is to celebrate the creativity of Moms by launching and marketing innovative Mom Invented® and branded products around the world.
Plus, don’t miss these three exciting and informative websites brought to you by three of the biggest names in publishing:
• Women Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur magazine
• Entrepreneur Mom by Working Mother magazine
• MomVentures.com (a global network of moms in business with a local connection) by Forbes magazine
For information on business opportunities, franchises and small work-at-home or other business models that might be of particular interest to women entrepreneurs, click on BusinessOpportunity.com’s Women’s Category now!