Taryn Rose, CEO, Taryn Rose International
Rose loved wearing heels but searched fruitlessly for stylish shoes that wouldn't destroy her feet. Rose saw her fashion quandary as a marketing opportunity. She got to work, "I feared regret more than I feared failure."
Jill Blashack, CEO, Tastefully Simple
After selling food at craft shows, she recalls, "I woke up in the middle of the night and thought, 'talking and eating. I can do that.'" Her idea of selling gourmet food items at house parties has led to the company's success.
P. K. Scheerle, CEO, American Nursing Services
Underpaid nurses began fleeing the bedside in the 70s and 80s, producing a shortage. Scheerle diagnosed it--and prescribed a solution, a staffing agency that provides hospitals with trained nurses.
Mary-Ellen Hardin, CEO, SmileCare
People dread visiting the dentist. Hardin left her law career to launch SmileCare with her dentist husband, "We had a unique delivery system that offered a very caring alternative." They offer one-stop dental shopping for the entire family.
Gay Warren Gaddis, CEO, T3
Gaddis used her $16000 IRA to found T3. Her agency helps companies integrate marketing into their broader strategies--as when it helped Dell develop a marketing course with the University of Texas to cement the company's presence in its community.
Irene Cohen, CEO, FlexCorp Systems
Cohen is doing for staffing what Charles Schwab did for stocks: offer a service for a simple, per-transaction fee. They handle payroll and health and retirement benefits for temps at large corporations for a flat yearly cost.
Karen Bressler, CEO, AGAR Supply
She took over the family meat-distribution business. She implemented a new computer system, created a road sales team, and moved the business to a new facility. AGAR has recently expanded to new categories.
Sharon Evans, CEO, CFj Manufacturing
When people ask Evans what she does, she answers, "What do you need?" Her company makes everything from custom promotion pens to jewelry for employee-awards programs. Evan has established a reputation for service.
Madolyn Johnson, founder, The HomeMaker's Idea Co.
As a junior high-school teacher Johnson had a dilemma: stay organized, but make her classroom look cheery. She realized parents face the same problem at home. Now her company sells decorative organizational products.
Cyd Szymanski, CEO, Nest Fresh Eggs
She never wanted to get into the family's farm business, "I always said, 'I'll never be a farmer.'" Her father launched a new business producing eggs from uncaged hens. He gave up and she bought the company. She went in person and convinced buyers to carry her eggs at their markets. The eggs are now sold at 11 chains.
Julie Rodriguez, CEO, Epic Divers and Marine
Rodriguez knew nothing about repairing offshore pipelines. She started listening to her employees, using her divers as consultants to learn about where to expand and which new customers to pursue.
Gloria Bohan, CEO, Omega World Travel
Bohan was inspired to go into the travel business during her honeymoon cruise on the Queen Elizabeth. Now Omega, which specializes in corporate travel and convention management, posts revenue of more than $1 billion. That's some honeymoon.
Himanshu Bhatia, CEO, Rose International
When Bhatia grew up in New Delhi she wanted to be an architect. While pursuing a graduate tech degree, she was pleased to discover that designing information systems was similar to what she'd imagined designing buildings to be like, "I love the process of creating a design from start to finish."
Pamela Chambers O'Rourke, CEO, Icon Information Consultants
O'Rourke knew it was time to strike out on her own when she was reprimanded by her last boss for treating clients too well. She launched her own IT consulting firm with capital from friends, local businesses, and those same "spoiled" clients.
Victoria Buyniski Gluckman, CEO, United Medical Resources
Gluckman sold greeting cards door-to-door at age 10. She skipped college and landed in health benefits in the early 80s. She soon saw her chance--to manage the complexities of managed care for companies.
Cordia Harrington, CEO, Tennesee Bun Co.
Ever heard of a high-speed bakery? If you've ever hit a McDonald's in the southeast of the United States, or went to Chili's for dinner, or ever had a Pepperidge Farm cookie, you've tasted Harrington's work. Her facility churns out 60,000 buns an hour.
Margery Kraus, CEO, APCO Worldwide
When Washington insider Kraus launched her Beltway consulting firm in 1984, she used the fact that she was one of few women in a male world to her advantage, "You're not confused with all the grays suits in the room."
Janet Kraus and Kathy Sherbrooke, Cofounders, Circles
"We wanted to create something that really changed people's lives," Kraus says of the experimental marketing firm she began with fellow Stanford grad Sherbrooke. They help companies forge emotional bonds with customers by creating memorable events.
Nian Vaca, CEO, Pinnacle Technical Resources
It's unusual to start a company at age 25. It's rarer still to turn it into a $30 million powerhouse eight years later. Revenue soared at Vaca's IT consulting firm, which specializes in data warehousing. Clients are in telecom and transportation.
Nancy J. Connolly, CEO, Lasertone
After spending a decade launching new initiatives for Exxon, Connolly knew startups. So when a friend pitched the idea of launching a business based on remanufactured laser-printer cartridges she didn't hesitate. Their environment-friendly cartridges are a $13.6 million business.
Elaine Osgood, CEO, Atlas Travel International
Osgood books travel for busy road warriors. She pays close heed to what customers need, "You have to ask questions, actively listen, and then act." Her TravelPolicy Plus rewards travelers that comply with their employers' policies.
Cheryle Pingel and Misty Locke, Cofounders, Range Online Media
It seemed crazy for Pingel and Locke to start a search-engine marketing firm in the depths of 2001's bust. Four years later, it's clear they were ahead of their time: Range's revenue was $24.5 million in 2004.
Angela Drummond, CEO, Silo-Smashers
Drummond's 77-employee consultancy is about getting people to agree. The conference room's seats have keyboards and stealthy screens in the table. Clients type anonymously and results are viewed by all--a hierarchy-flattening formula.
Ranjini Poddar, President, Artech Information Systems
Poddar has found success with a diversified revenue stream. Her consulting firm, which provides offshore techs services from applications development to help-desk staffing, targets both government and private-sector clients, companies large and small, and recruits customers in multiple industries.
Rebecca Boenigk, CEO, Neutral Posture
The ergonomic-seating company was created after her parents' chair-manufacturing company failed. It was the first woman-owned company on Nasdaq. When shares plummeted and Neutral Posture was booted from the market, she bought back her company, "It was so nice to know that the decision-making process was ours again."