Over the past year, I had the opportunity of a lifetime: my team and I traveled the country, meeting small business leaders through our Salesforce Growth Camp conference series. Part of this included inviting female executives and entrepreneurs to special TrailblazeHER dinners.
And through our casual conversations with them, we came to the bold conclusion that women today are stronger and more determined than ever.
Ten inspirational women in small business
Although every day is a good day to celebrate women or small businesses, we honor National Women’s Small Business Month, and we’d like to shine a spotlight on some of these amazing women who continue to inspire us daily, in hopes that they’ll inspire you too.
Take your inspiration to the starting line
No matter where you are on your journey to opening a small business, quickly organize data, manage customer relationships, and gain valuable insights.
Olivia Omega, Senior Director of MarComm
Olivia Omega, Senior Director at MarComm and Denver Scholarship Foundation, helps female entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses to build stable, prosperous companies. She is a brand strategist, diversity and inclusion advocate, speaker, and entrepreneur.
Looking to create your own personal brand? Olivia wrote the book on that, too! And if helping women — including her teenage daughter — and running a company, the Wallace Marketing Group, doesn’t sound like enough to keep her busy, she’s also the Founder Track Chair for Denver Startup Week, the largest free entrepreneurial event of its kind.
Connect with Olivia on LinkedIn.
April Anderson, Founder of Good Cakes and Bakes
I met April Anderson in Detroit last September and was immediately drawn to her magnetic personality. As a part of Metro Detroit’s revitalization efforts, Anderson opened organic bakery Good Cakes and Bakes with her wife in 2013.
Since then she’s baked for Oprah Winfrey, appeared on a panel with President Bill Clinton, and joined the James Beard Foundation’s Boot Camp for Policy and Change. Mover, shaker, baker, change maker — that’s April.
Connect with April on LinkedIn.
Kristina Tsipouras, Founder of Boston Business Women
In addition to being a serial entrepreneur, Kristina Tsipouras has a passion for helping other women succeed. Never sitting still for long, Kristina has several successful brands under her belt and has cultivated one of the largest female entrepreneurship groups in Boston, Boston Business Women, and Coachspace, home to more than 17,000 active members.
And on top of all that, she’s also the creator of what has become my favorite organic lip balm line.
Connect with Kristina on LinkedIn.
Kristen Womack, Co-Founder of Hack the Gap
Kristen Womack is an outspoken advocate for inclusion in the Twin Cities as the co-founder of Hack the Gap, a startup that aims to close the diversity gap in technology “one hackathon at a time.”
Kristen is passionate about helping others and connecting people, evident by the two other companies she founded: Hello Mom and Night Sky Web Co. She’s a can’t-stop-won’t-stop dynamo who also does an enviable job of juggling her vast work and family commitments.
Connect with Kristen on LinkedIn.
Karen Houghton, Founder of Infinite Giving
After working at Pardot through its acquisition by Salesforce, Karen Houghton helped found Atlanta Tech Village, a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. She is now the Founder and CEO of Infinite Giving, the award-winning investment platform for nonprofits.
Need a few pointers on building a great company culture? Karen’s your gal. She’s also big into values, incorporating transparency and trust into everything she does. (Just ask her about the Village’s WiFi password!)
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn.
Tiffanie Stanard, CEO of Stimulus
An entrepreneur, media personality, and technologist, Tiffanie Stanard is everywhere. There isn’t a channel she doesn’t leverage — Twitter, Instagram, TV, and more. Tiffanie founded Stimulus, a platform designed to create economic equality by connecting businesses to communities in need.
Credited with changing the face of technology in Philadelphia, she also uses her skills to help others achieve success through open-access tech. Ready to get inspired? Sign up for the #StanardReport or work directly with Tiffanie.
Connect with Tiffanie on LinkedIn.
Angela Parsons, Partner at Xelerate
Angela Parsons is part of an all-female executive team at Xelerate, a company that does data-driven recruiting for companies looking for their next great hires. Parsons is a former Division I soccer player who recovered from a life-threatening accident and eventually became Miss Pennsylvania. Her perseverance is legendary.
Today, she’s a leader who uses her fiery personality to help others succeed in sales — and in life. In her spare time, she volunteers with the Center for Grieving Children, an important cause that’s close to her heart given that her own mother died at a young age.
Connect with Angela on LinkedIn.
Sherisse Hawkins, CEO of Pagedip
Sherisse Hawkins, CEO of Pagedip, knows being a successful entrepreneur means looking at the world differently and daring to solve problems — even the biggest “I-won’t-accept-the-status-quo” problems. Her creativity knows no bounds; it’s no wonder she’s been on Shark Tank and was even once a Walt Disney Imagineer.
Initially shy and reserved, Sherisse gave me one of my favorite tips: that you must ask in order to receive. As an entrepreneur, time is a limited resource. If you oftentimes find yourself offering a lot of your time to others, don’t forget to make the ask when you need help, too. Thanks, Sherisse!
Connect with Sherisse on LinkedIn.
Emily Hyde, Co-Chair of Atlanta Technology Professionals
Emily Hyde was an accomplished sales leader at Advocate, using her unparalleled energy and enthusiasm to bring innovative technology to her clients. She has also grown through the ranks from President to Executive Advisory Board Co-Chair for Atlanta Technology Professionals, giving back to the technology ecosystem that helped foster her own success.
Additionally, Emily is an acclaimed speaker and mentor. And despite her growing list of credentials, she remains as down-to-earth and easy-to-talk-to as they come.
Connect with Emily on LinkedIn.
Pat Niekamp, CEO of Texas CEO Media
Pat Niekamp is the founder and publisher of Texas CEO Magazine. Her mission is to connect Texas businesses across industries in order to grow the Texas economy. She does this all with enviable ease by tapping into her decades of experience in the media industry.
Known to her peers as ethical, kind, and wise, Pat is exactly the kind of person you want in your corner as you build and grow a business. She has a knack for finding valuable, worthwhile projects, always tackling them to the best of her ability.
Women in small business make a big impact
These are just a few of the amazing women that our team has met while traveling the country this year. I hope you are as inspired by their stories as we are. And, no matter whether it’s National Women’s Small Business Month or not, please take a moment to celebrate the leaders in your network or town, and patronize their businesses.
Salesforce can help you find customers, win their businesses, and keep them happy so you can grow your business faster than ever. Follow @SalesforceSMB on Twitter to learn more about Salesforce Starter Suite, the easiest way to get started with CRM.
