Intro
AP# 110511059351
Credit: © AP Images
Alt: Oprah Winfrey at microphone, Richard Daley behind her (AP Images)
Oprah Winfrey has talked many times about how she launched her own business. In this photo gallery, other successful U.S. women entrepreneurs explain how they were inspired to start their own businesses.
In the photo, Oprah speaks at a ceremony where a Chicago street was named after her. Former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is in the background.
This photo gallery is part of the eJournal USA issue “Enterprising Women, Thriving Societies.”
1.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
ALT: Maxine Clark in store (Courtesy of Maxine Clark)
Maxine Clark
The idea came to me while shopping for Beanie Baby toys with my 10-year-old friend, Katie. When we realized the store was sold out, Katie said: “These are so easy, we could make them.” She meant starting a craft project, but what I heard was much bigger. I spent almost a year writing the business plan before opening the first Build-A-Bear Workshop store at the Saint Louis Galleria in 1997.
Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop, a retail chain with more than 400 locations worldwide that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals customized on site.
2.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
ALT: Chloe Dao with dress on mannequin (Courtesy of Chloe Dao)
Chloe Dao
As a child I worked hard for my parents at their many different businesses. Entrepreneurship was in my blood, but my passion was for a business they never owned — fashion designing. As a teenager, I was redesigning vintage clothes. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, I held different jobs in the fashion and clothing industry while developing a plan for my own boutique.
Chloe Dao is a fashion designer and owner of LOT 8 design boutique in Dallas. Her creations, featured on several TV shows, are sold through LOT 8 and Staple stores.
3.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
ALT: Close-up of Theresa Alfaro Daytner (Courtesy of Theresa Alfaro Daytner)
Theresa Alfaro Daytner
I have always wanted to be a businesswoman. My father, a hairdresser, had a few hair salons. I wasn’t sure what kind of business to start, so I studied accounting in college to understand business finance. As I was always interested in being a carpenter and had built some furniture at home with my father, starting a construction company was aligned with my interests.
Theresa Alfaro Daytner is the founder and head of Daytner Construction Group, a nine-year-old construction management and consulting firm. She was named one of the Ten Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs in 2010 by Fortune magazine.
4.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
ALT: Lisa Druxman with baby in stroller (Courtesy of Lisa Druxman)
Lisa Druxman
When my son was born, to get my body back into shape, I created a workout that I could do with him. I thought it could also help other moms who just had babies. And they, I hoped, could teach me a thing or two about mothering. Having a background in the fitness industry, I started a class and then another in my neighborhood. The classes exploded and we ended up franchising the concept.
Lisa Druxman is the founder and head of Stroller Strides, an 11-year-old franchise company that offers a stroller-based workout with over 1,300 locations nationwide.
5.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
ALT: Close-up of Terry Guen (Courtesy of Terry Guen)
Terry Guen
I started my own architectural practice to realize my passion for designing highly visual, ecologically sound public landscapes. I was inspired by my teachers, my activist parents, my children, and many colleagues who share my vision. I thought that by designing with ecology, city history and innovation in mind, we can enhance local cultures and regenerate dense urban neighborhoods. I got my first project after many calls and meetings with potential clients.
In 1997, Terry Guen started Terry Guen Design Associates Inc., a landscape architecture and urban design firm that specializes in environmentally sustainable projects. Her projects include Chicago’s Lakefront Millennium Park.
6.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
ALT: Janet Rickstrew in construction vehicle cab (Courtesy of Janet Rickstrew)
Janet Rickstrew
In the late 1990s, my friend, and now my business partner, Mary Tatum and I were each doing our own home improvement projects and sharing tips about them. The idea for Tomboy Tools came when we attended a “home party” organized to sell cooking products. We thought direct selling was a perfect and fun way to teach women to feel more confident using tools and to share with each other knowledge on home improvement.
Janet Rickstrew started Tomboy Tools Inc. in 2000 to provide ergonomically designed hand and power tools and home-improvement education to do-it-yourself women. The company has more than 1,600 sales consultants throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.