Women Rock the World: And Not Just on International Women’s Day!


In honor of International Women’s Day (@womensday) on March 8, 2012, we’d like to look at the women that are shaping the small business landscape and tip our hats to them (us!).

woman rocker

By the Numbers

Running a business is no longer a man’s game. From 2002 to 2007, the number of women-owned businesses increased 20.1% in the US to 7.8 million. These women in 2007 employed 7.6 million people. California had the largest number of women owned businesses (1 million), followed by Texas (around 610,000).

Women Rocking the Globe

Lauren Fisher co-founded her Dublin based social media and PR firm, Simply Zesty, when she was just 23 in 2009 with Niall Harbison. The company grew from a small business operating out of a bedroom to a 22 employee team that handles clients like Vodafone and Sony. A short three years later, she and Harbison are selling the firm to UK’s UTV Media for an initial consideration of  £1.7 million.

Sarah Prevette (@SarahPrevette) is the founder of Canadian Sprouter, a resource for startup founders. She was on Inc. Magazine’s 2010 30 under 30 list for her work as an entrepreneur, and has been featured in media such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Wired Magazine.

Laura Fitton (@Pistachio) is the founder of social media marketing company Oneforty. In 2011, her company was acquired by inbound marketing software company HubSpot. She also is co-author of Twitter for Dummies.

Rhea Drysdale (@Rhea) and Lisa Barone (@LisaBarone) are co-founders of the Internet marketing company Outspoken Media. In addition to being experts in SEO and social media, both Drysdale and Barone write and speak on their industry for well-respected media.

Over at MyPRGenie, Miranda Tan serves as CEO. The PR platform has been named 100 OnDemand Software Company, as well as other honors. Tan lends her years of expertise in PR and marketing to the company.

These are just a few examples of the myriad of women in small business around the globe. There are many more who deserve to be recognized.

Resources for Women

A rising trend — especially in industries where women have been absent until recently — is the incubator for women. Women Innovate Mobile is one such startup accelerator and mentorship driven program geared toward the mobile industry. The 3 month program, which takes place in New York City, provides marketing and technical resources for female entrepreneurs, as well as $18,000 in funding. The NewME Accelerator supports not only women, but also ethnic minorities with its 12 week program.

There are also support groups, like Women in Wireless, that provide support for specific industries. This increase in women based resources signifies that there’s only more good to come out of businesses run by women. Websites like Entrepreneur’s Women’s Center and SBA’s Women-Owned Business portal provide content and resources geared toward the specific needs of female business owners.

Celebrate International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is about supporting and respecting women everywhere — in every corner of the globe, and in boardrooms and the home alike. The holiday is now celebrated in dozens of countries around the world, and with thousands of events. For more information, visit the International Women’s Day website.

Rocker Concept Photo via Shutterstock

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Susan Payton Susan Payton is the Communications Manager for the Small Business Trends Awards programs. She is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, an Internet marketing firm specializing in content marketing, social media management and press releases. She is also the Founder of How to Create a Press Release, a free resource for business owners who want to generate their own PR.

6 Reactions
  1. Thanks for including us on the list and love the picture. We’re in good company with the other women you mentioned, so honored. Happy International Women’s Day!

  2. Thank you so much for including me in your roundup! I am delighted to feature among such amazing company. This is a great day and I’ve noticed so much positive conversation…