How are women-owned businesses breaking through traditional barriers and reshaping entrepreneurship today? What unique leadership styles are helping women-owned businesses thrive in competitive and male-dominated industries? Why is community building at the core of success for many women-owned businesses, and how is it redefining the entrepreneurial landscape?
Women-owned businesses are driving a transformational shift in the entrepreneurial world, outpacing the growth of their male counterparts and reshaping industries with innovative leadership, purpose-driven missions, and community-first mindsets. Despite systemic barriers like limited access to capital and underrepresentation, women-owned businesses are pioneering a new era where success is rooted not only in profit but in sustainable growth, inclusivity, and human connection. Through examples like Christine Barone of Dutch Bros and initiatives like Women of the Vine & Spirits, these entrepreneurs are proving that empathy, strategic care, and collaboration are powerful catalysts for lasting business success.
As we look to the future, women-owned businesses are setting the tone for a more adaptable, socially conscious, and resilient business world. Emerging leaders from Gen Z and millennial generations are blending digital fluency, activism, and entrepreneurship, showing that businesses can prioritize people, purpose, and innovation without sacrificing impact. These trailblazing women aren’t just entering traditional spaces—they’re reconstructing the very foundations of entrepreneurship, emphasizing authenticity, flexibility, and shared success for generations to come.
From 2019 to 2023, the growth rate of women-owned businesses outpaced that of men’s by nearly double. As of 2024, women own over 12 million businesses and employ over 10.7 million workers across various industries.
From technology to hospitality to food and beverage, and everything in between, women entrepreneurs are launching successful ventures and redefining the entire business landscape with inventive leadership strategies and innovation.
This growth isn’t without its challenges, though. From systemic barriers to limited access to capital and underrepresentation in leadership roles, women in business face far more obstacles than their male counterparts, requiring them to sometimes work twice as hard—and twice as long—to break ground.
Despite facing persistent challenges, the impact of these women-owned businesses and their innovative marketing operations across industries are undeniable. They signal a new era of inclusive and dynamic entrepreneurship that inspires the next generation of business leaders and creative thinkers to enter the arena.
Let’s dive into women-owned businesses’ impact and how they’re shaking up the industry.
Table of Contents:
Redefining Leadership & Growth in Competitive Industries
Navigating & Disrupting Male-Dominated Spaces
Community Building & Collaborative Networks
Prioritizing Purpose, People & Innovation
Looking Ahead: The Future Women Are Building
Redefining Leadership & Growth in Competitive Industries
The traditional business playbook prioritizes aggressive growth, rapid scaling, and profit at all costs. The bottom line is the top priority, no matter what. While women-owned businesses must keep earnings in mind, too, women entrepreneurs are changing the narrative by emphasizing sustainable growth, values-aligned leadership, and long-term relationship building.
Take Christine Barone, the dynamic CEO of the Dutch Bros coffee chain, for example. The coffee landscape is incredibly crowded and competitive, with giants like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, other chains, and even smaller local shops. When entering the space, Barone hasn’t just focused on selling more Dutch Bros coffee but has doubled down on customer connection and team empowerment.
And it’s working, as Dutch Bros’ popularity is growing. The company aims to open 4,000 stores in the next 10-15 years. They just recently opened their 1,000th store in Orlando, Florida, and are now operating in 18 states. They plan to open 160 shops in 2025 alone.
As a leader, Barone embodies the notion that success is based on how well the brand connects with people rather than its numbers. In a CNBC article, she said, “I think what customers are coming in for is the experience. And so they’re balancing what they’re paying with what they’re getting. And I think when you come to a Dutch Bros, it’s not just about the beverage; it’s really about the service and that conversation you’re having with us.”
People-first leadership styles help foster brand loyalty and long-term success. Barone’s belief fuels how Dutch Bros trains its employees, engages with its audience, and navigates growth in such a crowded industry.
Women in business like Barone are proof that purpose and performance aren’t mutually exclusive. They’re testaments to the fact that when leadership is anchored in empathy, transparency, and strategic care, both for customers and employees, businesses can build loyal customers and enduring brands.
Navigating & Disrupting Male-Dominated Spaces
For many industries, especially those historically dominated by men, such as tech, finance, and even the alcoholic beverage industry, women’s leadership presence is still a relatively new development. The barrier to entry in these industries has always been higher for women and other underrepresented groups. However, women entrepreneurs are no longer waiting to be invited in for an opportunity. Instead, they’re building their own seats at the table—sometimes even building the entire table themselves.
Take the beverage alcohol industry, for example. It’s a trillion-dollar global industry with continuous growth. However, it’s historically male-dominated. According to the most recent data from McKinsey & Co., only 4% of women hold C-suite positions in the spirits industry.
The alcohol industry has long been seen as a “boys’ club,” but the space is undergoing significant cultural shifts as more women enter the playing field. This change has occurred thanks largely to organizations like Women of the Vine & Spirits (WOTVS).
WOTVS is a global membership organization for women and men committed to empowering, supporting, and advancing women in the beverage alcohol industry. The group provides:
- Educational programming and training for women in the industry.
- Networking and mentorship opportunities with industry leaders and peers.
- Tools and services for personal, professional, and business development.
- Access to a supportive community of like-minded individuals who share the same goal of empowering and advancing women-owned businesses and leaders in the beverage alcohol industry.
WOTVS is now entering its tenth year and has spent a decade supporting women’s career growth and leadership opportunities at every level in the industry, from the winemakers and distillers to the brand executives and distributors. Not only are WOTVS and its vast group of members promoting representation in the industry, but they’re actively restructuring and reimagining it from the inside out because increased representation isn’t just about seeing more women in a particular industry. It’s also about leveling the playing field of opportunity and ensuring equal access to power, capital, and influence so women entrepreneurs have a chance to grow the same as men.
Community Building & Collaborative Networks
One of the hallmarks of women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses is their unwavering commitment to community over competition. While a healthy dose of competition can benefit business, traditional entrepreneurship is often painted as a solo journey full of hustling and rivalry, stepping over everyone who gets in your way of reaching the top.
Instead, many women and organizations for women in business, like the Enthuse Foundation, are reframing entrepreneurship as a collective movement rooted in connection and mutually uplifting those who occupy the space with us.
This is where mentorship becomes pivotal. Mentorship is essential, especially for women in entrepreneurship. Unlike transactional networking, mentoring relationships are often much deeper and built on shared experiences and a desire to pay it forward. For example, most women who have been mentored throughout their careers feel a need to pay it forward and bestow their knowledge upon the next generation of women entrepreneurs, creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond that first mentee.
Again, look at organizations like Women of the Vine & Spirits, which exemplify this model. Their community events and year-long access to programming and educational resources foster mentorship and learning at scale. In situations like this, you may even see executives guiding newcomers while simultaneously learning from those just entering the space or who have been in the industry for quite some time. Consistent access to education and connections creates a revolving door for improvement, innovation, and education. Plus, members can connect with each other outside of the confines of specific programming to build personal relationships, share business insights, and navigate industry challenges together.
While there certainly is an air of competition and individualism in some business cases, many women-owned businesses and women entrepreneurs realize that success is most sustainable when shared. The spirit of collaboration doesn’t just support businesses; it redefines how companies generally operate. Succeeding in entrepreneurship isn’t solely about building the best, tallest tower. It’s about raising the entire village.
Prioritizing Purpose, People & Innovation
Modern entrepreneurship is evolving, moving from profit-only goals to more purpose-driven business missions. The “growth at any cost” mentality used to dominate the business space, but over the past several years, there’s been a shift toward more thoughtful, human-centric businesses, and often, it’s women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses leading the charge.
In fact, the most successful women-led businesses I know are the ones that prioritize purpose over profits. The company values are deeply embedded in all operations, and every business decision is made by consulting the best practices for the business operations and the morals, values, and principles that guide the brand and its mission. Whether through increased sustainability efforts, company-wide wellness initiatives, or social impact programs that strengthen the surrounding community, women entrepreneurs are exceptionally good at showing that doing well in business and doing good for the community and society at large are not mutually exclusive.
Beyond focusing on purpose rather than the bottom line, the best, most successful women entrepreneurs I’ve met also have a critical set of skills and traits that help them thrive, one of the biggest components being empathy.
Empathy is often undervalued in most traditional business circles, but it’s gaining traction as a strategic advantage. Women entrepreneurs are rising to the occasion, bringing emotional intelligence into the boardroom. This approach allows them to build teams that feel tightly knit and supportive, like a family, which translates into a brand that feels that way for the consumers, too. It’s about designing products, services, and messaging with humans in mind. Both your employees and your customers aren’t just numbers. They’re real people with thoughts, feelings, and desires. The more you shift operations to prioritize that, the more resilient, adaptive, and trusted your business will be.
Looking Ahead: The Future Women Are Building
The future of entrepreneurship isn’t being written behind closed doors or in isolated boardrooms. It’s being crowdsourced in real-time by women working hard to build companies that reflect their lives, communities, values, and the causes that matter most to them.
The rise of women-owned businesses and women in leadership positions isn’t just about shifting who holds the bulk of the power in the business industry. It’s more about transforming how that power is used and shared. We’re lucky to witness the rise of more inclusive, adaptive, and values-driven entrepreneurship that prioritizes human connection and long-term impact over short-term gains and the pursuit of titles and the corner office.
The entire business landscape is constantly evolving, and one shift that really excites me is the emergence of Gen Z and younger millennials into the entrepreneurial space. These young women are mission-driven, and they’re starting businesses much earlier in life. This group of young leaders are also digital natives who know the internet like the back of their hand and see content creation, community-building, and entrepreneurship as interwoven disciplines. They use this connection to their advantage to build businesses that generate buzz and reach customers worldwide.
This incoming generation is also deeply invested in social issues, including climate change, mental health, sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion. They expect the brands they support (or build themselves) to reflect those values authentically. And they’re not afraid to choose impact over income to preserve their morals and mission.
These up-and-coming business leaders also aren’t afraid to lead differently, and they’re inspiring women entrepreneurs who have been in the industry for a while to explore new ways of doing business that may be more efficient and even healthier. For them, the days of working for 14 hours straight, never stopping for a break or even a vacation, are over. They’re showing that you can be a visionary CEO and a mother, friend, sister, or partner, and generally have an individual persona outside of your business. You can run your multi-million-dollar company from anywhere in the world, whether it’s the local library, your living room, or a beach somewhere. They’re repositioning rest and flexibility as key business strategies, not weaknesses. Success isn’t confined to stiff board rooms and hustle culture. They’re making space for a more nuanced, human, holistic approach to entrepreneurship and inviting all of us to join them.
Conclusion
Women-owned businesses aren’t just breaking barriers; they’re rebuilding the blueprint of what it means to be an entrepreneur. Through purpose-driven leadership, innovative strategy, and a powerful sense of community, they are crafting a future where business is more human, inclusive, and resilient.
These women entrepreneurs show that progress and growth don’t just happen—they’re built with intention. They’re leading their companies to do more than generate a profit. They’re turning heads, impacting their communities, and expanding what’s possible in business and what success can look like.
These women aren’t waiting for permission to build and evolve. They’re taking matters into their own hands, forming communities, sharing insights, and leading with empathy. And they’re inviting every other woman to join them because we’ll get much farther when we go together than if we just went alone.
