Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs: How Eleven Women Escaped Poverty and Became Their Own Bosses by Martha Shirk, Anna S. Wadia, John Kerry, Anna S. Wadia, John Kerry (Foreword by)

From the Publisher

Over the last five years, the number of women-owned businesses has grown at twice the rate of all U.S. firms; in the next few years, the number is expected to surpass the six million mark. Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs tells the inspirational stories of eleven low-income women who have marshaled the creative energy, confidence, and capital necessary to start their own small businesses. These women, who have used their entrepreneurial skills as a route out of poverty, give an American face to an economic empowerment tool that has enjoyed great success in developing countries. By becoming their own bosses, they not only provide for their children but also inspire them. Though each of their businesses is unique, all eleven of these women have discovered previously unknown strengths as they've struggled to overcome personal and bureaucratic obstacles. All received important assistance from nonprofit organizations supported by the Ms. Foundation for Women, the pioneer funding entity of microenterprise programs in the United States. Updated with a new epilogue.

Publishers Weekly

In Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs: How Eleven Women Escaped Poverty and Became Their Own Bosses, journalist Martha Shirk and Ms. Foundation program director Anna S. Wadia celebrate women who went from low-income employees to small business owners. Their stories are inspiring: America Ducasse immigrated from the Dominican Republic and eventually launched a home-based day-care business in Massachusetts, while Lucille Barnett Washington started working as a clerk at an auto parts store in Detroit in 1961 and today runs an auto parts and repair business. Each of the women received assistance from nonprofit organizations supported by the Ms. Foundation for Women. Photos. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In the United States, the number of women-owned companies is growing at twice the rate of all firms and will reach six million this year. This trend is exemplified by the 11 entrepreneurial or micro-enterprise case studies covered here. These female entrepreneurs worked their way out of poverty, often balancing the obligations of single parenthood and work and taking risks to achieve the dream of success for themselves. Their enterprises encompass many different industries, including retail, restaurant, and small manufacturing, and are located throughout the United States. These women were assisted by various nonprofit organizations, like the Ms. Foundation for Women, that support economic development through micro-enterprises. Documentary black-and-white photographs capture the hard work and spirit of the women and their families, and two appendixes provide additional data on micro-enterprise research and resources available to help new businesses. These studies by journalist Shirk and Wadia, a program director at the Ms. Foundation, should be included in business and women's studies collections in academic and public libraries.-Susan C. Awe, Univ. of New Mexico Lib., Albuquerque

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