Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs: How Eleven Women Escaped Poverty and Became Their Own Bosses

By Anna S. Wadia and Martha Shirk

Book Overview

Over the last five years, the number of women-owned businesses has grown at twice the rate of all U.S. firms; in the next few years, the number is expected to surpass the six million mark. Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs tells the inspirational stories of eleven low-income women who have marshaled the creative energy, confidence, and capital necessary to start their own small businesses. These women, who have used their entrepreneurial skills as a route out of poverty, give an American face to an economic empowerment tool that has enjoyed great success in developing countries. By becoming their own bosses, they not only provide for their children but also inspire them. Though each of their businesses is unique, all eleven of these women have discovered previously unknown strengths as they've struggled to overcome personal and bureaucratic obstacles. All received important assistance from nonprofit organizations supported by the Ms. Foundation for Women, the pioneer funding entity of microenterprise programs in the United States. Updated with a new epilogue.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813342236
• ISBN13: 9780813342238
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Encouraging stories for entrepreneurs

So whaddya know, turns out I'm a sucker for inspirational literature after all. This book was sent to me by a friend who's been following my dreams of starting my own business, and I have to say it was extremely encouraging - both the act of his sending it to me and the stories contained herein. Even if you're not coming from a place of poverty or disenfranchisement, each one of these stories has a good nugget of truth in it: the obvious value of hard work and believing in oneself, but also seeing what people go through in the process of applying for a loan with tenuous collateral, or looking to expand an existing business, or taking a second job to secure health coverage. There's something good in each of these stories, and - yep - they're heartwarming. It's a nice collection.

Inspirational

This book really brings to life the struggles that women entrepreneurs face as they try to turn an idea for a business into a profitable reality. The real-life women whom the authors profile are truly memorable, from Roselyn Spotted Eagle, the Sioux beadworker and quilter who has had an unimaginably hard life, yet doesn't complain, to Yasmina Cadiz, the stylish, edgy creative type in Chicago who you just know will end up being famous some day. The book reads like a novel, even though it contains lots of useful advice about how to get a small business off the ground. I recommend it highly to any woman who dreams of being her own boss one day.