What
Are The Largest Woman-Owned Companies?
By
Angela Baker
Staff Writer
| Who
is categorized as the “largest” women-owned
companies is largely determined by what source you read.
Unfortunately, these statistics do not seem to be as widely
publicized as would seem to be helpful. Most resources
available only report by state or county, rather than
a compiled inventory for the entire United States.
However,
a list published by Entrepreneur Magazine in their November
2007 issue, made possible via a survey they co-sponsored
with the Women’s President Organization, reported
“the top 50 fastest growing female-led companies
in North America.” The following is taken from that
survey (Torres, 2007):
•
Circles in Boston was co-created by business
women Janet Kraus and Kathy Sherbrooke in 1996. The company
was founded in order to provide marketing solutions out
of Boston, Massachusetts. They are probably at the higher
end of entrepreneurs in regards to their initial startup
investment of $26.9 million dollars. Although they had
a rocky first few years, they did not let these obstacles
get in their way, and managed, by 2006, almost double
their initial investments in their total sales of that
year.
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•
Harpo Productions in Chicago was created by
television mogul Oprah Winfrey. Her company is a huge production
facility that owns the popular Oprah Winfrey Show, O Magazine,
Harpo Films, the Oprah & Friends XM Radio Show, and more.
•
Koni Corp in San Diego is a hospitality industry
window treatments and linens company that was started by Kim
Koni in 1998. Kim has managed to take her initial investment
of $50,000 and turn it into the $13.7 million dollar sales she
achieved by 2006.
•
Mexus Transport in Northville, Michigan, a trucking
company, was started by Alba R. McConnelly in 2003. Only starting
with a modest initial investment of $300,000, she has managed
to increase her sales to a whopping $9.4 million dollars in
2006, just 3 years after the commencement of her business.
•
Salo LLC in Minneapolis was founded by business
woman Amy Langer in 2002, and was ranked as
a top senior level finance/accounting staffing company. With
a beginning investment of $100,000, she only profited half of
that during her first year. However, four years later in 2006,
she pulled in sales totaling $32.1 million dollars.
•
Warm Spirit in Exeter, New Hampshire was created
by Nadine Thompson. Her company is a fast-growing network marketing
company that sells self-care and wellness products. The company
allows women to become independent consultants to generate part-time
or full-time income.
•
Windsor Quality Food Co. Ltd. in Houston was founded
by a trio of woman entrepreneurs - Phyllis S. Hojel, Anne M.
Smalling, and Kathryn M. Geib. They had a goal in 1990 to begin
a food manufacturing business out of Houston, Texas. Having
$12 million dollar to begin their venture, by 2002 they had
increased that to yearly sales of $221 million dollars. If that
seems amazing, in 2006 they reported their sales at $697 million
dollars, 58 times their original startup investment!
