7 Essential Insights for Women Entrepreneurs to Achieve Success 

Written by: Taylor Kaufmann  

2025 Summer Marketing Intern

Entrepreneurship is a bold and transformative path for everyone, and for women it can be one filled with unique challenges and incredible opportunities. 

Entrepreneurship has never only been about profit, but rather it is about power, purpose and creating the future you want to see for yourself. 

Despite representing about half of the world’s population, women-owned businesses only represent 39.4% of U.S. firms. These businesses face challenges in funding, mentorship and most importantly, access to networks. But this is changing. Stories, resources and movements are on the rise to support women entrepreneurs. 

If you are a woman entrepreneur, or even aspiring to become one, here are seven essential things you need to succeed, from must-know resources, to life changing motivation. 

1: Access to Targeted Grants and Funding 

Access to capital is one of the most crucial, yet most difficult tasks to build a successful business. For many women entrepreneurs, traditional funding pathways have historically failed as they are not as accessible for the women in the industry. This is why being able to identify the right grants and funding opportunities can be a game changer. 

When searching for funding options, look for grant programs that align with your business's industry and long-term goals. Strong grant opportunities can provide more than just money but mentorship, development support and access to a greater community. When applying, be cautious of requirements and eligibility criteria. 

It is absolutely essential in the world of business acquisition and sales to have access to capital, it could be the difference between closing a deal or walking away. 

Whether you are starting, growing or acquiring a business, it is fundamental to your success to be prepared and know where to find supportive financial resources. 

2: Learning, Mentorship and Media That Moves You Forward

One of the fastest ways to grow yourself as an entrepreneur is by learning from those who have been where you are now. This could be through personal mentorship, books or even podcasts. By surrounding yourself with smart, experienced voices you are exponentially growing your leadership skills by the minute. 

Mentors do not always have to be provided by a one-on-one partnership. Today, mentorship is more accessible than ever with the help of digital media. Whether through books, interviews, webinars and podcasts, media can provide you real life examples of women who have overcome challenges and built lasting business models for themselves. 

Every entrepreneur has something to learn from all stages of their business. Women in the early stages of entrepreneurship often benefit from mindset resources. For example the book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success  by Carol S. Dweck, is a great resource as it identifies fixed versus growth mindsets, and how a growth mindset can push you toward further success after facing adversity. 

More established founders frequently seek out interpersonal mentorship regarding scaling, hiring or even preparing for acquisition. A great example of this is shown in the Goal Digger podcast with Jenna Kutcher. She is able to blend tactical business advice about marketing and personal development as a women entrepreneur. She interviews other successful women in the industry creating honest conversations about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. 

Books like Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by former COO of Meta, Sheryl Sandberg, are great examples of media that can be interpreted across industries. Although geared toward the corporate world, the insights provided in this book are directly applicable to female entrepreneurs. Sandberg provided tips toward setting boundaries within the workspace and how to raise capital in male-dominated spaces. 

Another empowering example is The Confidence Code written by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman. Backed by science, these authors created not only an ‘adult’ version but “The Confidence Code for Girls,” an interactive journal to help empower the young women today to grow confidence in themselves. Across generations, this text explores how not just competence, but confidence drives success. 

Whether you’re flipping through pages, pressing play on the podcast or connecting with an industry mentor, all forms of mentorship will help you create clarity and confidence to succeed. In a male dominated space, women need these tools to keep them motivated and inspired for the long haul. 

3: Women-Focused Networking Communities 

Success in business is rarely a solo project. All entrepreneurs thrive when they work together, but women specifically need a space across sectors to collaborate. These communities provide mentorship, visibility and a strong support system for women entrepreneurs today. 

In Wisconsin, there are numerous opportunities to get connected. Based out of Milwaukee, the She Stands Tall Foundation helps connect women entrepreneurs through different speaker series, hands-on educational sessions and even networking sessions. 

Another great example is based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Her Network by StartingBlock was founded by Mel Butcher with hopes to create an open space for women business owners to connect. This environment allows for open and honest conversations about the ups and downs of being a woman in the industry.  In these sessions members are expected to give and receive stories and advice to create true interpersonal relationships. 

4: Role Models and Real Life Success Stories 

“You can’t be what you can’t see...”

— Marian Wright Edelman

For women, role models serve as both inspiration and evidence that it is possible to dream big, lead loudly, and build something incredible. This is especially true for those with shared backgrounds, values and community to help dismantle their limiting beliefs. 

One remarkable example is Pleasant Rowland, the incredible entrepreneur behind American Girl, building this foundation right out of Middleton, Wisconsin. After noticing a gap in the toy market, Rowland wanted to emphasize a doll that combined play with history, learning and most importantly meaningful storytelling for young girls. 

Rowland’s journey is a testament to the power of purpose driven entrepreneurship, as she did not only create a product, but a platform that helped generations of girls see themselves in stories that mattered. 

Her ability to blend education with a passionate business innovation is an example of how women entrepreneurs lead with impact as well as ambitions. 

Today, women founders make their mark through every sector, tech, wellness, finance, retail and more. We see a lot of them go on to openly share their stories through books, podcasts and even LinkedIn posts. 

Although their paths are rarely linear, their transparency helps to normalize and highlight the challenges of entrepreneurship. 

As a woman entrepreneur, try to find other leaders who are two steps ahead of you. Follow their journey and learn from the challenges and pivots they face along the way. Watch as they progress through and align them to your goals as an entrepreneur. 

Success is not only something to admire, but something to model, adapt and one day you can be the leader passing it on. 

5: The Gender Gap 

It is not just about the ambition or effort a woman has to enter the industry, the system itself needs revisioning. Women receive less than 2% of venture capital funding annually. Even fewer women hold CEO positions, or lead billion dollar start up companies. These gaps were not created from a lack of talent, but instead bias, access and structural inequality. 

The gender gap refers to the systemic disparity between men and women’s access to resources, opportunities and outcomes. In entrepreneurship, the gap is obvious. It impacts everything, from who is funded, to who is even heard. 

Women are more likely to be asked about risk and responsibility, while men are asked about vision and opportunity. Women often take few financial risks due to little to no support and have even fewer safety nets. All while trying to navigate through industries built with male dominated norms. 

Awareness of these facts help women navigate the system with clarity, but more importantly, it fuels people to take action. Closing the gender gap isn’t just a women’s issue, it is a business imperative. Diverse leadership provides better outcomes that lead to stronger innovations and a more resilient workforce. 

Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful tools for women to create long lasting wealth. It is also a great place to drive community, change and influence the surrounding industries. 

In order to thrive we must continue to break down the existing barriers, and create systems where women have equal access to succeed, learn and grow.

6: Driving Change Through Policy and Investment Advocacy 

Change never happens by accident. Change is driven by action and investment. Women entrepreneurs can succeed exponentially with systems that support equity. 

Personal resilience, strong networks and access to funding all excel growth, however women face structural disadvantages that after investment and policies can be addressed. Some key issues that need attention include unequal access to capital, lack of paid family leave and childcare costs and availability. 

Advocacy means much more than simply raising your voice, it is pushing for a change that not only benefits you, but the next generation of women leaders. We need to fight for great representation in venture capital, demand for transparency in financial decisions and support legislation that help women owned businesses. 

You do not have to be a legislator to make a difference, advocacy can be had at any level. Whether you join or support women business associations, or choose to vote for candidates who are fighting for equitable access to capital. 

As a community we need to use our platforms to help move away from the societal norms and barriers the women entrepreneurs today face on a daily basis. 

Progress never happens by chance, it happens when people push for it.

7: Resilience, Grit, and the Power of a Growth Mindset 

For anyone, entrepreneurship is not linear. It is not glamorous and it cannot be achieved without challenges. However, for women resilience, grit and a growth mindset are not only beneficial but essential for building something that lasts. 

Resilience is your ability to bounce back from challenges you face. For women entrepreneurs especially, resilience is shown through navigating rejection, self-doubt and conquering systemic barriers in their way. It means hearing the word ‘no’ and choosing to move forward anyways. 

As women we are taught to believe everything we hear, but with resilience we learn to pivot a plan that does work, without questioning our own worth. And staying committed to our goals even if the path isn’t always clear. 

Resilience does not mean we have to do everything alone. Building a community with mentors who guide you, peers who cheer you on and  joining networks will remind you that you are never alone. 

As you take your next steps as an entrepreneur, whether you’re launching, acquiring or selling a business, remember that success doesn’t land to the most perfect or most connected leaders, but it belongs to the most persistent. 

Keep learning, keep building, and most importantly keep betting on yourself. 

The world needs more women in leadership, ownership and innovation. It just so happens that entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful ways to get there. You’re not just building a business but rather you are creating equity and opportunity to build the future you want to see. And that is always something worth fighting for. 

Taylor Kaufmann is a senior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a focus on Strategic Communications. Her studies center around public relations, brand marketing, and digital media strategy, complemented by extensive experience in the retail sector.

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