Article of Interest: The Best Boss For These Women? Themselves!

Ambitious young women (such as Emily Fitzgerald pictured) today are striking out on their own by starting their own businesses (and eventually joining WPO I might add!), and each day, a few more join their ranks.

They make up a good portion of the economic pie that embodies young, energetic entrepreneurs in this 21st century. In fact, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 10.6 million businesses across the United States are women-owned. These small businesses employ a large number of workers and contribute $2.3 trillion dollars in sales annually.

According to a study by UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, one out of every 11 women in the nation is a business owner, and they account for almost half of all privately held firms.

While women-owned businesses have become a major economic force, their creation and growth can be bittersweet to the women running them. Passion and hard work are just two elements necessary for a business' success, but there are myriad other reasons some women-owned businesses succeed and others fail.

The Midwest (that's us!) is no stranger to women-owned businesses.

Read more, here.