達雷爾·扎霍爾斯基

Women-owned businesses continue to be the shining light in the current market. According to the Center for Womens Business Research， female entrepreneurs generate $2.3 trillion to the American economy and employ more than 18 million people.

There are many examples of women in business success stories but we did not have to dig deep to find the truly inspirational female business leaders. The following women in business have overcome great odds and serve as a beacon for all those to follow.

Each of these examples provides varying degrees of hardship and success. Some， like former Washington Post CEO， Katharine Graham， had no idea of the ability in her until tragedy struck. Others， like Oprah Winfrey， have the spark of greatness within them. As William Shakespeare stated， “Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great， some achieve greatness， and others have greatness thrust upon them.”

Katharine Graham， CEO Washington Post

Grahams rise to publishing leadership was something “thrust upon” her. Following her husbands death from suicide depression， Katherine had chosen to fill her husbands shoes as the Posts publisher.

Katherine had no idea of the greatness ahead of her but as stated in her autobiography “Personal History”， “What I essentially did was to put one foot in front of the other， shut my eyes， and step off the edge”. That courage led her to become the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Katherines success can be summed up by her words， “To love what you do and feel that it matters—how could anything be more fun？”

Ruth Handler， Founder of Mattel & Barbie Creator

California female entrepreneur， Ruth Handler transformed her belief of girls playing with paper dolls， to dolls with breasts being vital to the childs self-esteem. That belief led to the icon everyone knows as Barbie. From a garage in 1945， Mattel grew to become a Fortune 500 company. Ruths understanding of self-image continued later in life when she developed the “Nearly Me” breast prosthesis1 following a mastectomy2. Disliked by feminists， Handlers ability to stick to her vision shows the trait required by all small business owners.

Mary Kay Ash， Founder Mary Kay Cosmetics

Probably one of the most significant impressions left upon womens opportunities to succeed in business was from the positive and giving attitude of Mary Kay Ash. Mary Kay entered the world of selling for a company called Stanley Home Products.

Throughout her career， she won numerous awards and upon retirement decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge and build her “dream business”. And what a business it was， Mary Kay Cosmetics has gone on to change the lives of millions. Success did not come easy to Mary Kay， her husband died one month before the company launch but her philosophy endured， “If you think you can， you can. And if you think you cant， youre right.”

Oprah Winfrey， Chairman Harpo， Inc.

The first African-American woman to become a billionaire， Oprah overcame her own trials and tribulations stemming from child abuse. Oprah began her television career at seventeen and her star was lit when she turned around the failing “AM Chicago” show. Oprahs business and career success can be attributed to her passion for helping others.

Oprah clearly states her corporate mission for The Oprah Winfrey Show “... is to use television to transform peoples lives， to make viewers see themselves differently and to bring happiness and a sense of fulfillment into every home.”

These women represent a small sampling of many great women in business influentials. The one common thread among the stories of success is that success does not come easy. Success goes hand in hand with hardship and challenges. Never lose sight of your small business struggles， they are a requirement for great things.

女性創(chuàng)辦的企業(yè)仍舊是當(dāng)下市場的亮點。女性商業(yè)研究中心數(shù)據(jù)顯示，女企業(yè)家為美國經(jīng)濟貢獻2.3萬億美元，手下員工超過1800萬人。

女性管理企業(yè)的成功案例比比皆是，無須深挖即可發(fā)現(xiàn)其中真正勵志的領(lǐng)軍人物。以下幾位女性劈波斬浪，猶如燈塔給所有后來者引路前行。

這幾位女企業(yè)家都經(jīng)歷過不同程度的苦辣酸甜。像《華盛頓郵報》前首席執(zhí)行官凱瑟琳·格雷厄姆那樣的人，厄運降臨前根本不曉得自己有多大本事。還有像奧普拉·溫弗瑞那樣的人，內(nèi)心本就強大。誠如莎士比亞所言：“莫要懼怕偉大;有人生來偉大，有人造就偉大，有人就要擔(dān)當(dāng)偉大?！?/p>

《華盛頓郵報》首席執(zhí)行官凱瑟琳·格雷厄姆

格雷厄姆領(lǐng)軍出版界，算是她“擔(dān)當(dāng)”而為。丈夫因抑郁癥自殺后，凱瑟琳決定接替他繼續(xù)出版《華盛頓郵報》。

凱瑟琳對日后的偉大成就始料未及，但正如她在自傳《個人歷史》中所說：“我無非就是摸著石頭過河，不管不顧，如走鋼絲?！闭菓{借這種勇氣，她成為了《財富》世界500強中首位女性首席執(zhí)行官。凱瑟琳的成功可以用她自己的話來概括：“干一行愛一行，感悟它的價值——還有什么比這快樂呢?！?/p>

美泰玩具創(chuàng)始人、芭比娃娃發(fā)明者露絲·漢德勒

加州女企業(yè)家露絲·漢德勒一改自己對女孩玩紙娃娃的看法，認為娃娃應(yīng)該有關(guān)乎女孩自信心的胸部，由此創(chuàng)造出無人不知的芭比娃娃。美泰公司1945年從一間車庫起家，如今已躋身世界500強。露絲對女性自我形象的理解直到晚年也沒有改變。在因病切除乳房后，她研發(fā)出品牌義乳Nearly Me。女權(quán)主義者并不喜歡漢德勒，但她能夠堅持己見，這正是所有小企業(yè)主需要擁有的特質(zhì)。

玫琳凱化妝品公司創(chuàng)始人玫琳·凱·艾施

玫琳·凱·艾施積極向上，樂于奉獻——人們覺得，這樣的心態(tài)可能是讓女性有機會在商界取得成功的重要因素。玫琳·凱由在斯坦利家居用品公司做銷售而入行。

職業(yè)生涯中她獲獎無數(shù)，退休后決定一展身手，創(chuàng)建自己的“夢想事業(yè)”——玫琳凱化妝品公司。這是一個多么成功的企業(yè)啊，改變了千百萬人的生活。對玫琳凱來說，成功實屬不易。就在公司成立前一個月，丈夫離世，但她堅守自己的人生信條：“覺得自己行，你就行;覺得自己不行，趁早別干?！?/p>

哈普公司董事長奧普拉·溫弗瑞

奧普拉戰(zhàn)勝兒時受虐待帶來的磨難和痛苦，成為美國首位非裔女性億萬富翁。她17歲就投身電視行業(yè)，后因扭轉(zhuǎn)《早安芝加哥》節(jié)目的慘淡而一舉成名。奧普拉在公司經(jīng)營和電視事業(yè)上的成功可以說是得益于她樂于助人。

奧普拉明確表示，《奧普拉脫口秀》的使命“……就是用電視改變大眾生活，幫觀眾發(fā)現(xiàn)不同的自我，給家家戶戶帶來幸福滿足。”

具有影響力的杰出女企業(yè)家還有很多，以上幾位只是一小部分代表。這些成功故事有一個共性，那就是成功不易。成功與困難、挑戰(zhàn)相生相隨。絕不要輕視小企業(yè)的發(fā)展奮斗，那是成就大事業(yè)的必由之路。□

（譯者單位：廣西民族大學(xué)）