Entrepreneurship is an area long dominated by men, but women entrepreneurs have pushed into the field to make their presence known. The women below have made their business in entertainment, news and fashion. All of them are still pushing, creating more, expanding their reach and becoming role models for future female entrepreneurs. Here are five of the most successful women entrepreneurs out there.
Oprah Winfrey
A well-known name for women entrepreneurs, Oprah Winfrey first appeared on national TV in 1983, rising to fame quickly as a tough and loveable talk show host. In addition, she also raised the Chicago talk show’s ratings from last to first. She founded The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). She also co-founded the women’s cable network, Oxygen, while supporting Africa’s Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. Winfrey has a net worth of three billion right now, easily making her one of the top women entrepreneurs out there.
Tory Burch
Tory Burch began her journey as one of the most successful women entrepreneurs when she launched her Tory Burch fashion label in 2004. In 2005, she gained the attention of another of these women entrepreneurs. Oprah Winfrey featured Tory Burch on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005. That support led to over eight million website hits the next day. As of 2014, there are Tory Burch shops in countries worldwide. Burch has followed in Winfrey’s footsteps helping women with the Elizabeth Street Capital initiative, a low-cost capital solution with Bank of America for women entrepreneurs.
Sofia Vergara
Vergara was the only one of Latin American women entrepreneurs to appear in Forbes 2013 list of women entrepreneurs. She became known after she began her acting career at age 17. In 1994, she co-founded the still-successful LatinWE company with Luis Balaguer. LatinWE is a firm for entertainment marketing and talent management for Spanish performers and markets. She also has her own fashion line, Sofia by Sofia Vergara, and a furniture collection. Vergara remains a successful actress while still being one of the most notable women entrepreneurs.
Arianna Huffington
Co-founder of Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington easily makes the list of must-know women entrepreneurs. Huffington Post was originally created as a blog for left-leaning politics. It was sold to AOL in 2011, but the online news and opinion site was only one of her creations. She is also a successful author, radio host, and columnist who is also on a number of company boards related to news and journalism. As far as female entrepreneurs go, Huffington will obviously continue to distinguish herself.
Beyonce Knowles
Already famous as a singer and dancer, Beyonce Knowles is another example of powerful and successful women entrepreneurs. Knowles entered the music industry in 1996 as a member of Destiny’s Child. Her music gained her international fame. She used that fame and influence to create The House of Dereon fashion label and her own online shop. At this point, Beyonce’s approach to networking, social image management, and her audience has turned this member of the women entrepreneurs club into her own brand.
The five entrepreneurs above have built well-known businesses and labels with their innovative ideas and business-oriented thinking. They’ve controlled and magnified their public image. Future women entrepreneurs can learn a lot from these successful businesswomen.