Table Of ContentSHE
MADE
IT
HAPPEN
22
INSPIRING
STORIES
FROM
FEMALE
ENTREPRENEURS
AROUND
THE
WORLD
INTRODUCTION:
VENESSA
MOSS
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
2017
:
Venessa
Moss
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
.........................................................................................
1
DR.
ANNA
MAY
TERRY
..............................................................................
3
GEORGINA
GRAHAM
..............................................................................
13
MEL
DEAGUE
..........................................................................................
23
DANIELLE
CANTY
.....................................................................................
32
REBECCA
LOCKWOOD
............................................................................
42
DEBORAH
HURWITZ
...............................................................................
56
LISA
JOHNSON
........................................................................................
65
EIRIAN
COHEN
........................................................................................
77
SABRINA
MÜLLER
...................................................................................
89
MICHELLE
CHILDS
...................................................................................
98
NADINE
CRESPO
....................................................................................
108
HELEN
REED
..........................................................................................
117
LINDA
MORRISON
.................................................................................
129
ABIGAIL
HORNE
.....................................................................................
138
EMMA
STIRK
.........................................................................................
146
BUNMI
ABOABA
....................................................................................
158
JENNIFER
DUFFEE
.................................................................................
170
LINDSAY
VAN
ZUIDAM
..........................................................................
200
JENNIFER
HARDIE
..................................................................................
210
MELISSA
MARIE
LOWNDES
...................................................................
226
DENISE
MORTIMER
...............................................................................
236
HOLLY
MATTHEWS
...............................................................................
248
INTRODUCTION
Have
you
ever
looked
at
a
really
successful
woman,
and
wondered
how
she
made
it
happen?
Especially
those
women
who
seem
to
have
pushed
boundaries.
Those
women
who
are
truly
inspiring.
Those
women
who
seem
to
have
all
the
secrets
to
being
the
strongest
of
entrepreneurs.
Wouldn't
it
be
great
if
you
could
share
in
the
wisdom
of
their
experiences?
By
carefully
watching
and
learning
from
those
who
have
achieved
the
things
we
want,
we
can
understand
more
about
ourselves
–
how
we
can
condition
ourselves
to
succeed,
to
push
past
limitations
and
grow
a
new
business
to
be
the
very
best
it
can
be.
If
you've
read
this
far,
you
probably
already
count
yourself
as
entrepreneurial.
The
challenge
is
how
to
translate
that
hunger
for
change
into
actions
which
will
drive
real
progress.
In
this
book,
we
will
take
a
detailed
look
at
22
women
who
have
done
just
that.
The
women
you
will
meet
in
these
pages
have
all
been
exactly
where
you
are
now
–which
is
to
say,
they
started
something.
Often,
they
started
something
with
nothing.
You
can
do
this
too.
And
here's
how.
We
are
going
to
break
down
every
aspect
of
the
journey
these
amazing
entrepreneurs
have
taken.
From
a
variety
of
backgrounds
all
over
the
world,
we
will
see
that
with
the
right
attitude
and
determination,
there
is
no
circumstance
that
should
be
able
to
hold
you
back.
We
will
learn
how
all
it
can
take
is
one
defining
moment
to
truly
change
the
path
you
take
in
the
world,
and
that
this
moment
can
be
hugely
important
or
seemingly
insignificant
at
the
time.
The
real
challenge
is
choosing
to
act,
and
making
the
right
changes
at
the
right
time.
1
We'll
follow
our
entrepreneurs
through
the
decisions
they
made
which
set
them
on
the
path
to
the
future
they
always
dreamed
of,
and
look
at
what
they
did
to
overcome
the
setbacks
they
faced.
So
this
book
is
about
22
incredible
women.
These
women
all
faced
challenges.
They
faced
the
self-‐doubt
that
can
cripple
confidence,
and
prevent
real
and
lasting
change
from
happening.
These
women
all
know
what
it
means
to
create
something
from
nothing,
and
have
experienced
first-‐hand
the
struggles
and
hurdles
along
the
way
which
come
with
this.
They
all
went
on
to
achieve
their
dreams.
And
the
good
news?
You
can
achieve
your
own
dreams
too.
We
hope
you
feel
inspired
by
their
stories.
Venessa
Moss
2
DR.
ANNA
MAY
TERRY
You
have
to
burst
your
own
reality
bubble.
When
I
began
my
journey
as
a
female
entrepreneur,
I
was
a
completely
different
woman
than
I
am
today.
Growing
up
I
certainly
never
saw
myself
as
an
entrepreneur.
I
had
been
brought
up
to
believe
that
the
only
way
to
reach
financial
success
was
to
work
extremely
hard
in
a
traditional
job.
My
view
of
the
world
was
shaped
almost
completely
by
my
dad.
He
had
a
very
successful
career—but
he
paid
the
price.
We
rarely
saw
him
while
we
were
growing
up,
and
I
am
sure
that
the
high
stress
level
he
operated
on
eventually
impacted
his
health.
I
was
encouraged
to
perform
at
a
high
academic
level
and
did
very
well
throughout
school.
My
parents
built
a
strong
sense
of
self-‐esteem
within
me,
which
was
shattered
at
age
thirteen.
This
event
in
my
life
meant
that
for
a
long
time
my
life
was
to
be
dictated
by
painfully
low
self-‐esteem
and
crippling
anxiety.
It
all
began
with
a
very
traumatic
experience
at
high
school.
A
group
of
girlfriends
decided
to
launch
a
vicious
hate
campaign
against
me.
Literally
in
the
space
of
a
day,
my
whole
world
turned
upside
down,
and
the
experience
was
so
upsetting
I
was
forced
to
change
schools.
That
day
taught
me
a
lot
of
lessons,
but
they
were
not
very
healthy
ones.
I
learned
that
I
could
not
trust
people,
I
learned
that
I
was
not
worthy
of
friendship,
and
I
learned
that
I
was
much
safer
on
my
own.
Over
the
years,
the
wound
of
that
experience
began
to
heal.
However,
some
hurts
run
very
deep
under
the
surface,
coming
up
when
anything
triggers
insecurities
within
us.
After
graduating
with
a
first-‐class
degree
in
Psychology,
I
experienced
first-‐hand
how
brutal
the
job
market
was,
and
the
only
job
I
could
find
was
working
the
late
shift
at
a
petrol
station.
After
working
so
hard
at
university,
this
was
understandably
demoralising.
I
left
this
job
as
soon
3
as
I
could
and
took
myself
to
live
in
Florence,
Italy,
for
three
months.
It
didn’t
take
long,
however,
before
the
pressure
to
go
back
to
the
UK
and
find
a
‘proper
job’
took
over,
and
I
returned
to
a
research
post
at
the
University
of
Birmingham.
A
few
more
jobs
later,
I
came
to
at
least
one
conclusion:
I
was
unemployable.
In
2011,
I
began
my
PhD
at
the
University
of
Manchester.
I
had
never
really
planned
to
take
on
such
a
huge
challenge
but,
as
usual,
I
had
no
real
direction
in
life
and
ended
up
there
by
sheer
chance.
During
the
first
two
years
studying
for
my
doctorate,
I
also
completed
a
course
on
how
to
write
children’s
books
and
another
on
interior
design.
It
became
quite
clear
to
me
that
I
had
absolutely
no
idea
what
I
wanted
to
do
with
my
life.
Then
in
2013,
I
read
a
fantastic
book
called
Free
Range
Humans
by
Marianne
Cantwell.
For
the
first
time
in
my
life,
I
found
another
person
who
felt
the
same
way
as
I
felt.
Marianne
refused
to
put
herself
inside
a
‘career
box’.
It
was
at
this
point
I
first
felt
myself
drawn
to
the
entrepreneurial
world.
I
began
to
realise
that
I
was
someone
who
had
always
just
reacted
to
life.
I
had
simply
fallen
into
jobs
and
situations
without
having
ever
really
asked
myself
what
I
really
wanted.
I
made
wild
plans
and
began
to
dream.
I
tried
setting
up
my
own
business
writing
academic
essay
templates,
but
failed
miserably.
Nevertheless,
the
thought
of
creating
a
business
I
loved
was
always
at
the
front
of
my
mind.
It
wasn’t
until
2014
that
I
was
to
embark
fully
on
my
entrepreneurial
journey.
I
was
introduced
to
the
network
marketing
industry
and,
like
many
people,
completely
rejected
it
as
something
below
me.
Although
on
the
surface
network
marketing
was
a
business
opportunity
that
could
offer
me
everything
I
was
looking
for,
I
just
couldn’t
bring
myself
to
believe
that
it
was
genuine.
However,
the
burning
desire
to
have
my
own
business
never
went
away,
and
there
was
plenty
I
wanted
to
change
about
my
world
and
my
identity.
In
all
honesty,
I
was
sick
of
being
shy.
I
knew
that
I
had
a
lot
to
offer
the
world,
but
my
lack
of
confidence
and
belief
in
myself
was
holding
me
4
back
in
a
big
way.
I
knew
I
was
destined
for
bigger
and
better
things,
but
I
didn’t
know
how
or
where
to
begin.
I
had
always
felt
like
there
had
to
be
more
to
life.
I
remember
speaking
to
one
of
my
closest
friends
about
this
feeling.
To
this
day
I
remember
so
clearly
what
she
said
to
me:
“Unfortunately
there
isn’t
much
else.
You
just
have
to
get
a
job
you
don’t
mind
too
much
and
crack
on.”
I
refused
to
buy
into
this
view
of
life—I
wanted
so
much
more.
For
a
long
time
I
had
felt
trapped
in
a
cage.
It
felt
like
there
was
another
whole
world
out
there.
I
was
certain
that
it
was
out
there,
but
I
could
never
find
it.
This
feeling
of
being
boxed
in
caused
me
an
enormous
amount
of
anxiety
and
sucked
a
lot
of
the
joy
out
of
my
life.
I
knew
that
there
was
a
big
world
out
there,
and
I
wanted
a
slice
of
it.
I
also
knew
that
I
was
not
on
the
life
path
that
I
wanted
to
be
on.
I
was
living
a
life
that
I
thought
others
expected
of
me,
not
one
of
purpose
or
aligned
to
who
I
truly
was.
I
felt
an
enormous
amount
of
pressure
to
pursue
an
academic
career
and
have
a
job
with
status.
I
really
wanted
to
let
go
of
that
and
forge
my
own
path.
I
wanted
prosperity
and
the
feeling
of
having
‘made
it’,
although
I
could
never
figure
out
what
‘it’
was.
One
of
the
biggest
breakthroughs
came
when
I
realised
that
perhaps
I
could
be
in
control
of
making
‘it’
happen
for
myself,
that
I
didn’t
need
to
rely
on
something
like
winning
the
lottery.
Most
of
all
I
wanted
freedom,
and
I
knew
that
having
my
own
business
was
going
to
be
the
only
way
I
could
achieve
that.
I
dreamt
of
having
a
business
I
could
run
with
just
a
laptop,
Wi-‐Fi
and
a
smile.
I
faced
many
struggles
as
I
started
to
change
as
a
person
and
as
I
became
more
successful
in
business.
These
challenges
are
so
important
to
discuss
and
highlight,
because
it’s
crucial
for
female
entrepreneurs
to
be
prepared
for
these
challenges
and
to
learn
how
to
best
overcome
them.
When
I
coach
women
these
days,
many
of
them
are
so
surprised
to
find
out
that
I
too
had
struggles
and
challenges.
They
will
often
bring
up
common
challenges,
and
I
will
have
a
story
about
having
gone
5
through
the
exact
same
experience.
Afterwards,
they
often
say,
“Don’t
take
this
in
a
bad
way,
but
it’s
so
reassuring
to
know
that
you
struggled
too.”
We
have
a
tendency
to
see
successful
people
as
superhuman.
I
think
that
if
we
are
truly
honest
with
ourselves,
we
purposely
choose
to
ignore
the
fact
that
we
know
these
people
didn’t
just
wake
up
successful.
They
worked
hard,
overcame
challenges
and
probably
felt
like
quitting
many
times.
We
kid
ourselves
into
thinking
that
those
successful
women
are
somehow
different
from
us,
giving
ourselves
a
convenient
‘get
out
of
jail
free
card’
for
why
we
aren’t
as
successful
as
we
would
like
to
be.
I
think
that
female
entrepreneurs
tend
to
make
up
an
enormous
number
of
excuses
as
to
why
we
are
not
successful.
We
do
this
so
we
don’t
have
to
own
up
to
our
own
lack
of
work
ethic
or
commitment.
We
do
this
so
we
don’t
have
to
look
our
biggest
fears
right
in
the
eye.
One
of
the
biggest
challenges
I
came
across,
and
one
that
I
really
wasn’t
expecting
to
affect
me
so
much,
was
learning
to
retrain
my
brain
for
success.
Mindset
and
personal
development
were
concepts
I
had
never
heard
of
before
coming
across
the
network
marketing
industry.
Not
once
in
my
life
had
someone
told
me,
“You
can
change,
you
can
become
a
completely
different
person
if
you
want
to.”
The
biggest
gift
that
building
my
business
has
given
me
so
far
is
not
financial
freedom,
but
rather
the
introduction
to
personal
development
and
power.
There
is
so
much
truth
in
the
saying
that
success
is
80%
mindset
and
20%
skill
set.
I
have
had
to
work
on
my
mindset
every
single
day—and
still
do.
Of
course,
the
process
of
beginning
to
build
my
own
business
brought
up
that
old
wound
from
high
school.
I
began
to
seriously
doubt
myself
and
found
it
extremely
challenging
to
believe
that
I
could
achieve
the
kind
of
success
I
was
seeing
all
around
me.
This
is
often
known
as
the
‘imposter
syndrome’,
and
it
was
something
I
had
struggled
with
all
throughout
my
graduate
work.
I
remember
literally
sitting
in
tears
on
the
floor
of
my
apartment,
convincing
myself
that
success
was
only
meant
for
other
people—certainly
not
for
me.
6
Description:life. I had simply fallen into jobs and situations without having ever really asked myself what I really wanted. I made wild plans and began to dream about our 'upper limit', our human tendency to never let ourselves be continually happy. Fighting this tendency should be a key battle for all of us.
