Why Women Are Starting New Businesses Right Now
If you’ve felt that tug lately, that Maybe I could build something of my own feeling, you’re in good company. Women are starting businesses at an unprecedented rate, and moms are quietly becoming one of the most influential groups of new entrepreneurs.
According to recent national data, women now own over 39% of all U.S. businesses, around 14 million companies, a double-digit rise in just a few years.
And nearly half of all new business filings in 2024 came from women.
This is not a blip.
This is a movement.
Some are calling it the Female Founder Era.
Others describe it as economic necessity meeting creative ambition.
But to me, and to many moms reading this, it feels like something deeper.
It feels like women reclaiming their agency.
It feels like a quiet, steady awakening.
And it’s worth paying attention to.
Women aren’t building businesses because it’s having a cultural moment. They’re building them because the world around them has shifted, and in many ways, tightened. As the cost of living rises, childcare becomes harder to afford, and traditional workplaces remain inflexible, women are being squeezed out of systems that were never designed with their realities in mind. Add to that the broader cultural landscape, where women are watching their rights questioned, restricted, or rolled back, and it makes sense that so many are choosing entrepreneurship as a form of autonomy, protection, and self-determination. This isn’t a trend. It’s a response to the world they’re navigating.
The modern mom is:
juggling school schedules
managing family logistics
handling the majority of the mental load
dealing with rising childcare and living costs
stepping into caregiving roles for aging parents
often still working full or part-time jobs
It’s not shocking that so many moms are saying:
“I want flexibility, autonomy, purpose, and income… on my terms.”
Entrepreneurship, side hustles, and digital business models offer that.
They offer a way to build something without asking for permission.
Women are starting:
digital shops
consulting businesses
Etsy stores
Substack newsletters
YouTube channels
coaching practices
service-based brands
AI-assisted businesses
content businesses
product companies
Not because they have extra time, but because they have extra drive.
The Side Hustle vs. the “Growth Business”, And Why Both Matter
There are two paths women often choose, and neither is better.
They serve different seasons of life.
1. The Side Hustle (the “margin model”)
This is the business you build:
during nap time
after bedtime
in the school pickup line
in the leftover moments when we still have a little energy to give
A side hustle is beautiful because it:
has low pressure
lets you experiment
allows you to pivot without fear
fits into family life
builds confidence safely
becomes the seed for something bigger
Most women start here because it’s doable. It doesn’t require sacrificing motherhood, health, or sanity.
2. The Growth Business (the “I’m really doing this” model)
This is where you begin to:
invest more time
invest more money
outsource
hire help
build systems
scale
think about revenue seriously
create structures
identify core offerings
A growth business isn’t necessarily “full-time.” It’s simply a business with intention and trajectory, but often becomes more than “full time” as any entrepreneur may tell you.
I was in this stage when I built my pet product company, the one that eventually sold in over 1,800 stores nationwide. (I’ve written about it on Substack, you can find the article titled, “Building Again with Babies and Balance”. I was passionate about it. It was extremely demanding. It stretched me. It required so many systems, long nights, grit, and consistent decisions.
I was deeply committed to what I was building, not just passionate, but invested in it with the kind of long-view strategy and vision I could most definitely see. Growing a business from nothing isn’t glamorous work; it’s meticulous, operational, and often invisible. It required thoughtful systems, layered decision-making, and the discipline to keep going when the results weren’t immediate. Building that company stretched me in every direction: operationally, creatively, financially, and personally. I managed logistics, inventory strategy, brand development, product sourcing, manufacturing timelines, wholesale relationships, distribution, and the inevitable long nights that come with scaling something real. That experience shaped the way I understand entrepreneurship today: not as a spark of passion, but as an ecosystem of resilience, structure, and intentional execution.
It taught me this truth:
A side hustle gives you flexibility. A growth business gives you freedom, but requires more infrastructure.
An upcoming article I’m working on will break this down even more.
But for now, here’s the biggest takeaway:
Your season determines your model, not your talent.
Not your worth.
Not your intelligence.
Not your potential.
You are allowed to choose what fits your energy and your life.
Why Moms Make Exceptional Entrepreneurs
Motherhood doesn’t diminish your capacity, it amplifies it.
Some of the most valuable business skills are second nature to moms:
Prioritization (“What actually matters right now?”)
Decision-making under pressure
Multitasking (in a way corporate environments still don’t understand)
Resourcefulness (moms build miracles out of nothing daily)
Emotional intelligence
Adaptability
Community-building instincts
Time-efficiency (because your minutes count)
People think motherhood is a distraction from entrepreneurship.
But for many women, motherhood becomes the training ground.
A Forbes contributor recently wrote that women entrepreneurs tend to lead with clarity, empathy, and resilience, qualities directly shaped by motherhood and caregiving.
The advantage is real.
The world is finally noticing.
The 5-Day Tiny Step Plan
This is how women build businesses that last. Through clarity, alignment, and strategic momentum.
Day 1: Choose Your Idea
Not the perfect idea, the viable one.
Choose the concept you can execute with the resources, energy, and time you have right now.
Great businesses are built on feasibility before brilliance.
Perfection is optional; movement is not.
Day 2: Choose Your Platform
Decide where this idea will actually live.
Substack, Etsy, Instagram, YouTube, Shopify? Every platform has its own strengths, audience behavior, and learning curve.
Pick the one that aligns with your content style, your capacity, and your long-term business vision.
One platform. One focus. One starting point.
Day 3: Build the Simplest Version
Create the MVP, the minimum viable product.
Not the polished version.
Not the scaled version.
Not the version you fantasize about launching six months from now.
The simplest, most usable, most testable version that proves the idea has legs.
This is how real entrepreneurs reduce risk, gather data early, and build with intention.
Day 4: Share It
Visibility is a business strategy.
Tell one person.
Post one story.
Send one email.
Put it in front of someone so you can observe how it lands, what resonates, and what needs to evolve.
Feedback is information and information is leverage.
Day 5: Reflect + Improve
Ask yourself:
What felt aligned?
What drained me?
What excited me?
What would I adjust next?
This is the step most people skip, but it’s the one that builds longevity.
Women create sustainable businesses not through hustle, but through refinement. They build through the quiet art of making the process fit their life, not the other way around.
Your Permission Slip
Print this. Save it. Keep it:
I’m allowed to build something of my own.
I’m allowed to take up space.
I’m allowed to earn money in ways that feel right for my life.
I’m allowed to start small.
I’m allowed to take my dreams seriously.
I’m allowed to take steps even when I don’t have everything figured out.
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Let this be your spark. ✨