Women everywhere are showing their skills and intelligence. Every woman plays a role of motivation and inspiration for one another. The growing presence of women in various enterprises as entrepreneurs has resulted in rapid economic growth. These women entrepreneurs, regardless of their background, education or age, play a vital role in creating employment.
Success did not come to them easily. Each entrepreneur has a history of struggle and difficulties encountered by them both at the personal and professional level. They overcame those hardships. They exemplified a real fighter and made their way into the business world.
Here are the Top 5 entrepreneurs worldwide who have made their success.
1. Zhang Xin
Real estate Moghul Zhang Xin is dubbed as “ the woman who built Beijing”. She lived the life of a classic "rags to wealth" fairytale. Zhang Xin started working at 15 years of age. She took whatever job she could and worked in a factory for five years. That's when she first felt independent.
She got a chance to move to the U.K for education. Here too, she faced financial issues. She began working at a Fish & Chip store with limited communication skills. She studied economics at Sussex University and earned her master's degree in development economics at the University of Cambridge.
Zhang Xhi co-founded a real estate empire SOHO with her husband in 1995. Together they faced marital issues. Due to the difference in thoughts and opinions they started having clashes. They decided to take time out from each other. She went back to her husband and decided to make things work for one another.
In 2012, SOHO had a significant flip in the traditional business strategy, from “build and sell” to “ build and lease”.
Currently, her net worth is around $3.3 billion.
2. Kiran Mazumdar - Shaw.
Another self-made billionaire entrepreneur of Indian origin, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, is the chairperson and founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was born on March 23, 1953, to Gujarati parents in Karnataka. She graduated in Biology and Zoology from Bangalore University in 1973.
Her father, Rasendra Mazumdar, was the brewing chief of United Breweries. It was upon his suggestion that she go to study malting and brewing at Melbourne University. She could not pursue her career as a master brewer in India because it was considered a “ man’s work.”
Kiran started looking for work opportunities abroad and was offered a placement at Biocon Biochemicals, Limited of Cork, Ireland. In 1978, she started Biocon in the garage of her rented house in Bengaluru.
She faced numerous challenges, especially when it came to credibility. She was young and a woman. Someone who was supposed to belong in the house and not in the business. It has had problems not only financially, but also in terms of recruitment. The country's poor infrastructure made things even more complicated when it came to technology associated with building a biotech company.
In 2004, Mazumdar-Shaw decided to list Biocon on the stock market to raise capital for research programs. On the first day of trading, the market value of Biocon was $1.11 billion.
Mazumdar- Shaw has been a believer in “affordable innovations”. She introduced affordable drugs to underprivileged countries, which proved to be a huge relief.
In 2004, Mazumdar Shaw started the Biocon Foundation. The focus was on the health, education and infrastructure of the rural areas of Karnataka.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been awarded with national and international awards for her contribution towards biotechnology. She has been awarded with Padma Shri in 1989 and Padma Bhushan in the year 2005. She received EY World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020 and EY Entrepreneur of the Year India Award in 2019. She has been the recipient of the Order of Australia in 2020 and of ICMR’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Healthcare in the year 2019 to name a few.
With all the contributions she made, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw became India’s Bitech Queen.
The real time net worth of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is around $3.2 billion.
3. Huda Kattan.
Huda Kattan was born on October 2, 1983. She is an Iraqi American makeup artist, blogger and businesswoman. She is the foundress of Huda Beauty.
She was raised in an open Western society where she had many opportunities to explore her passion for makeup and fashion.
Huda studied finance at the University of Michigan. Soon she landed up doing a job she hated. It held her down and made her unhappy. She decided to quit her job and do a course in makeup. She attended the No.1 leading makeup school worldwide- the Joe Blasco. That changed the scenario and perspectives for her, and soon, she became a face known as a beauty and vlogger blogger. She founded a cosmetic line called Huda Beauty. She has inspired women across the globe to follow their passion and take fashion and make-up as a serious profession.
In June 2020, Huda Beauty decided to donate 500,000 dollars to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. In May 2021, Huda Beauty donated 100,000 dollars to Help India Breathe, a COVID-19 relief fundraiser launched by Jay Shetty and his wife, Radhika Devlukia Shetty.
The current net worth of Huda Kattan is $4.5 Million.
4. J.K.Rowling.
The fantasy of kids is incomplete without the Harry Potter series. Joanne Rowling, also known by her pen name J.K. Rowling wrote this series that was an enormous success. It has sold more than 500 million copies, has been translated into at least 70 languages and has created a global media franchise that includes films and video games.
Joanna Rowling went to Exeter University where she gained knowledge and expertise in literature. She also did a course in Paris. After graduation, she moved to London, where she held several jobs. She also served as a researcher with Amnesty International.
In 1990, Joanna came up with the idea for Harry Potter while sitting on a train from Manchester to London King's Cross. The book was originally released in June 1997 by Bloomsbury Children's Books. In the United States, Scholastic released it as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 1998. This was followed by six other titles in the Harry Potter series, each of which was a record success.
In 2001, Warner Bros released the cinematographic element of the book and produced the film adaptation of the first title. Once more, the six titles were adapted and concluded with the release of the eighth movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2nd, in 2011.
J.K.Rowling has received many awards and honours, including the most prestigious
Companion of Honour, for services to literature and philanthropy, 2017
PEN America Literary Service Award, 2016
Freedom of the City of London, 2012
Hans Christian Andersen Award, Denmark, 2010
Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur: France, 2009
Lifetime Achievement Award, British Book Awards, 2008
South Bank Show Award for Outstanding Achievement, 2008
James Joyce Award, University College Dublin, 2008
The Edinburgh Award, 2008
Commencement Day Speaker, Harvard University, USA, 2008
Blue Peter Gold Badge, 2007
WH Smith Fiction Award, 2004
Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, Spain, 2003
Order of the British Empire (OBE), 2001
Children’s Book of the Year, British Book Awards, 1998 and 1999
Booksellers Association Author of the Year, 1998 and 1999.
Joanne Rowling is the founder and chairperson of the Lumos Group. This is an initiative to empower children to have a family by transforming care systems worldwide. To remember her mother, she founded the Anne Rowling Clinic in 2010. To support a wide range of projects and organizations in order to alleviate the affected lives of women and children, Joanne Rowling set up a charitable trust, Volant in 2000 in Scotland.
The current net worth of Joanna Rowling is around $1.1 billion.
5. Oprah Winfrey
Known as the Queen of all Media, she was the richest African-American of the twentieth century. She is recognized for her mind, communication, persuasion and influence. She was highly successful with her talk shows.
The road to success wasn't easy for her. She was born on January 29, 1954 in Mississippi from a single teenage mother. She spent her childhood in poverty. At nine years of age, she went through sexual abuse by her cousin, uncle and a family friend. She became pregnant at the age of 14, but the baby was born prematurely and passed away shortly afterwards. The tragic events had a profound impact on her psyche.
In spite of all the darkness in her life, Oprah Winfrey was an excellent high achieving student. She received a full grant at the University of Tennessee at the end of her high school education. It opened up opportunities for her and helped her shape her career. She began her career at a local radio station in Nashville by reading afternoon stories.
Winfrey was spotted by an American Broadcasting Company affiliate while working in Baltimore is Talking. She was given a job on national television. She revolutionized the program's ranking, gradually going from the lowest position to the takeover of the morning waves. The show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1985. That same year, she was chosen by Quincy Jones to play in The Color Purple.
Oprah Winfrey manages the production business Harpo Inc. She is committed to telling countless untold stories and promoting black art. There is a long list of awards that Oprah Winfrey was given as recognition towards society and the media. She won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Talk Show in 2004.
The current net worth of Oprah Winfrey is $2.75 Billion.
Each of these women has distinguished herself in their respective fields. They have opened many new opportunities for the next generation. These powerful and successful women have done their best to change the centuries-old belief that women are the weaker gender and should be confined to housework. Thanks to their dedication, concentration and positivity, they have become great role models for others.
Be the Boss-lady that you are and mark your way!
Harneet Kour
#CEO #CO-FOUNDER #COO #CTO #DIRECTOR.
#entrepreneurs #woman #successful #business #biotechnology #realestate #author #media #makeup