Kathleen Hendrickson has run a small business for decades, but she hasn’t grown complacent.
There are certifications to update, trends to follow, finances to watch and phone and online orders to fill. She regularly travels to training classes and New York City to buy merchandise for her Wigs ’N More Inc. and Mastectomy Boutique in Unity.
“Not every day is a perfect day,” she said. “You must put in your time. You don’t put in 40 hours, you put in lots of time. When you’re in business, it consumes your brain.”
Hendrickson is among 11 million women who own businesses across the country that brought in $1.7 trillion in 2017, according to the National Association of Women Business Owners. The number of businesses with a woman at the helm grew 114% between 1997 and 2017, according to the State of Women-Owned Businesses Report commissioned by American Express.
Many find themselves in similar industries: professionals such as lawyers, accountants and consultants; health care and social assistance; and salons and pet care businesses, according to the report.
Boarding options in the region weren’t good enough for Jennifer DeSalvo’s dog Brody, so she built her own. Pittsburgh Paws Pet Resort for dogs and cats opened in Sewickley in 2014 and expanded to Fawn three years later.
