International Women’s Day: 12 Case Studies of Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs

Happy International Women’s Day to all our customers and small business owners!

Over the next five years, an unprecedented number of women—between 10 to 12 million—are expected to join the independent workforce in America.

At FreshBooks, we’re all about seeing small business owners thrive. But we know that there are many challenges female entrepreneurs have weathered to get to where they are today.

So to celebrate International Women’s Day this year, we’re sharing some of our favorite stories of entrepreneurial test and triumph from some incredible women and FreshBooks customers.

Ana Gotter

“Someone in my [writers’] group mentioned FreshBooks and a couple other services. I wanted to build my business the way these women had already built theirs. I always took their advice very seriously.”

Read the full case study: Meet Ana, a Business Writer Who Uses Cloud Accounting to Stay on Top of Her Cash Flow and Ease the Pain of Tax Time

Jamie Leigh

“I work primarily with female business owners who may or may not do their work online… so we dig deeper into who they’re trying to reach and who their audience is.”

Read the full case study: Meet Jamie, a Web Designer Who Uses Cloud Accounting to Master Organization and Grow a Profitable Business

Teresa Ruiz Decker

“When you first start out and you’re so small, you think: Is a new tool worth it? Everything adds up in terms of what it costs to run your business. But I found that it’s really important that you do invest in these things.”

Read the full case study: Meet Teresa, a Freelancer Who Uses Time Tracking to Help Effectively Measure Her Productivity and Determine Her Rates

Kelly Vaughn

“You have enough on your plate as it is, so automation is so incredibly important as a business owner.”

Read the full case study: Meet Kelly, a Web Developer Who Creates Winning Project Proposals with a Simple Cloud Accounting Solution

Lisa Pedersen

“I didn’t want to swim against the current anymore. It made more sense for me and my family to start something I’d have more control over.”

Read the full case study: Meet Lisa, a Social Media Marketer Who Uses Accounting Software to Keep Track of Her Time and Money

Marilyn Aston

“Having the freedom to [focus on clients] without needing to sit down and do paperwork is great. That’s a big deal, especially when you’re running things by yourself.”

Read the full case study: Meet Marilyn, a Dog Trainer Who Uses Cloud Accounting to Manage Her Canine Clientele

Kali Hawlk

“I watched my firm grow exponentially in its first full year. I acquired more clients, increased my revenue and kept my costs down. But amidst the excitement of building a thriving business in a short amount of time, I quickly realized I spent far too much time on administrative work.”

Read the full case study: Meet Kali, Founder of Creative Advisor Marketing, Who Made the Switch from Spreadsheets to Easy Cloud Accounting

Bethany Leighty

“As a web and graphic designer, I thrive on giving my clients a personalized experience in order to help tell their brand stories. So I spend a lot of time on the go, meeting them face-to-face to build those relationships.”

Read the full case study: Meet Bethany, a Web & Graphic Designer Who Uses a Cloud Accounting Mobile App to Manage Her Business on the Go

Erin Blaskie

“Being an entrepreneur, I’ve learned one important lesson: Where you start isn’t where you stay, and you should constantly strive to evolve.”

Read the full case study: Meet Erin, a Digital Marketing Strategist Who Nearly Doubled Her Annual Revenue By Managing Her Accounting on the Cloud

Lisa Simone Richards

“From all my experience, there was one type of client I was the most attracted to. I loved working with entrepreneurs. That’s what inspired me to break out on my own and start my first company.”

Read the full case study: Meet Lisa Simone, a PR Professional Who Tripled Her Business’ Revenue While Using a Cloud-Based Accounting Solution

Sam White

“To share my experiences about the transition to freelancing, I turned to YouTube where I created my channel, IamSamWhite. My hope is to use these videos as a way to engage with other freelancers who experience the same struggles and triumphs—and help them understand they’re not alone.”

Read the full case study: Meet Sam, a Freelance Creative, Who Saves 5 Hours a Week on Paperwork Using a Simple Accounting Solution

Elizabeth David-Dembrowsky

“If I could help create the habit of [my interns] using FreshBooks while they’re a student of mine, hopefully they’ll be able to carry that with them as they finish their studies and start to practice.”

Read the full case study: Meet Elizabeth, a Legal Services Professional, Who Considers FreshBooks a Healthy Habit

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