20 Woman-Owned Businesses to Support on International Women's Day (and Beyond!)

MiliMili, a Los Angeles-based cribwear and nursery line, was founded by Kelsey Searless and Rose Bridges. The brand produces soft-goods like sleep sacks and crib sheets with colorful, artful, and vacation-inspired prints.

"We strongly believe that nurseries don't have to be decorated in pastels, neutral, or covered in baby bunnies —rather, they can reflect a family's vibrant, playful, and modern style," Searless tells Woman's Day. "Rose and I were lucky to be raised by strong, creative, women with bold senses of style who helped set the foundation for our entrepreneurial journey into the world of colorful and modern sleep sacks and nursery goods."

Ivy Tutors Network, founded by Lisa Speransky, provides tutoring, test prep, group classes, in school and after-school programs, and works with HR departments to make personalized education available as an employee benefit.

"At Ivy Tutors Network, our core belief is that education isn’t one side fits all," Speransky tells Woman's Day. "That may sound simple, but understanding this concept opens the door to really enjoying learning. For 18 years and countless success stories — from learning to getting into the college of your dreams — we’ve proven that personalized education can breed a love of learning that leads to confidence and to success in all its forms!"

DivaDance, founded by former music industry executive Jami Stigliano, aims to change lives by inspiring confidence and building community. "Now in 20 cities nationwide, DivaDance doesn't just offer a fresh dance class experience," Stigliano tells Woman's Day, "but also a unique opportunity for women looking to start their own business and bring this same experience to their local community."

She Speaks Numbers, a consulting company founded by Liz Barhydt, offers executive training, digital courses, and business coaching to help finance and accounting professionals and business owners grow their influence by mastering the power of story to confidently communicate numbers to non-number people.

"I remember growing up hearing my parents fight through the thin walls of the bedroom my sister and I shared. What were they fighting about? Money. It was always about money," Barhydt tells Woman's Day. "My dad was an early stage entrepreneur and consistent cash flow well... wasn't consistent. Growing up this way, I never thought I'd want to own my business. My head knew it would not be easy. But my heart felt otherwise and I just always found myself drawn to entrepreneurship. The desire to build something out of passion, grit, and resilience with lots of risk but also huge rewards has always been more compelling for me. I started my business to create a life centered around the things we love most: God, family and adventure. And I love that I get to create this by helping others achieve big goals in their careers and business."

Rachel Johnson was looking for a company to help her get healthy in a realistic way, and that really spoke to her, and found nothing. "The biggest takeaway from that search was that I wanted to build a company I wanted to be a part of, and something my friends would be proud to be part of too," Johnson tells Woman's Day. So she created ah.mi, monthly or annual membership that helps you get healthy, for good. When you join ah.mi's Health Club you'll instantly receive the company's two-week menu and access to 75 healthy recipes. You'll also gain access to weekly nutrition tips, a goal tracker, group nutrition sessions, and more.

"I love having ah.mi in my life and it 100% helps me consistently keep it healthy," Johnson says. "I am just hoping through ah.mi, we are able to help others see the light and stay in the healthy game as long as we have been able to!"

Pipcorn, a natural snack company, uses hole grain, gluten-free, Non-GMO Project Verified ingredients to create heirloom corn products. As Yola Robert wrote for Forbes in 2020, "By using minimal, clean ingredients, Pipcorn is revolutionizing traditional corn snacks with its staple ingredient heirloom corn, a mini-kernel corn that is delicate, tasty, won’t get stuck in teeth and is easier to digest."

HeyMama, a private online community for entrepreneurial, career, and business-owning moms, was founded by Katya Libin and Amri Kibbler. The duo created what was, at the time, not available to them as working women who wanted to grow their careers and families simultaneously.

"Helping moms find each other and connect in meaningful ways is a difficult and complicated task," Libin tells HeyMama. "And it's what we do here at HeyMama every single day. By creating a virtual space where moms can foster community and find support, encouragement, information, mentorship, and partnership, moms are learning what we've long known but are often encouraged to forget: motherhood and a career are not at war with one another but, in fact, enhance one another."

Nook+Cove, an innovative platform that’s a shop and a registry with designer curated furniture and décor for the home, was founded by Silpa Yadla. "I am so grateful to all the women before me who have had the courage to step outside of the traditional roles laid out for them by society," Yadla tells Woman's Day. "It is because of them, that today I am a proud entrepreneur and have found a way to build a business around my passion for interior design."

Mindset Mamas, founded by Kelli Anderson, a career and mindset coach, helps mothers make career changes, find a job or a new job, and establish careers they actually love.

"Working women are at a pivotal point. There is a great opportunity to re-shape how we feel about work, post-pandemic," Anderson tells Woman's Day. "One of the first ways to do this is by deciding that you deserve to feel fulfilled at work. Taking some time to look inward and figure out what you actually want to be doing is critical. We help women through this self-discovery process and then provide a step-by-step master plan to get them onto their 'dream career path'. I'm here to tell you that it is so possible."

Nancy Twine, CEO and founder of Briogeo Hair Care, realized that "natural hair care products" rarely live up to their hype. "We should treat our hair the same way we treat our skin; by nurturing it with ingredients that detoxify, hydrate, and protect," Twine said on her website. Twine uses her grandmother's beauty recipes, with the help of a natural chemist team, to create hair products that better meet the needs of a variety of hair types.

Modern Mommy Doc was founded by Dr. Whitney Casares, a mama-mindset thought leader, pediatrician, and author. Dr. Whitney offers six different online courses and groups that help working moms move from conflicted and guilty to centered and grounded in their motherhood experience.

"Right now, as we wade through the murky waters of a global pandemic, educating our children from our living rooms, and balancing our careers with our family obligations in unprecedented ways, mothers everywhere are finding it harder and harder to find joy – or even a moment of peaceful solitude," Casares tells Woman's Day. "It's in times of chaos and stress that we often have the hardest time prioritizing ourselves, but, ironically, as the pressures around us grow more and more overwhelming, that's when finding ways to attune to our own needs is the most critical."

Wise Marketing Strategy is a marketing company that helps growing businesses in the education space. Founder Kristen Johnson partners with founders to help them build out their marketing. Essentially, she's an entrepreneur helping other entrepreneurs.

"I'm inspired by creativity and love learning and helping others learn. Wise Marketing Strategy has given me an opportunity to be surrounded by those every day," Johnson tells Woman's Day. "I help founders of education-related companies build out their marketing capabilities so I get to show business owners what marketing can do for their companies and see the creative ways they are helping students learn."

Mini Melanie, a one stop shop for delicious and innovative desserts, was founded by sisters Diana and Melanie Moss. From corporate-branded treats to DIY baking kits to their signature truffles, the duo does it all with exceptional customer service and attention to detail.

"My sister and I are proud to be a female owned and operated business at Mini Melanie," Diana tells Woman's Day. "We're also moms, wives, and daughters. We hope to be role models for the next generation of female entrepreneurs thinking about starting businesses — in 2021, there's nothing that isn't possible.”

Bea Dixon founded The Honey Pot Company, a natural feminine care product company, after suffering from bacterial vaginosis for months. "One night, an ancestor visited me in a dream and gifted me with a vision to heal myself," Dixon said on her website. "With her help, I created the Honey Pot Co to solve for what other brands wouldn't, using the power of herbs."

The Honey Pot Company offers everything from washes, wipes, tampons, panty sprays, pads, lubricants and other herbal products, all made from natural ingredients by women, for women.

Mented Cosmetics, founded by Amanda Johnson and KJ Miller, is a cosmetics company that finally answered the question, "Why is it so hard to find a good nude lip color?"

"That conversation sparked an idea, and that idea became the brand we are building today," the company's website reads. "We created Mented Cosmetics because we believe every woman should be able to find herself in the world of beauty, no matter her skin tone. We know you'll love being put first — because when it comes to beauty, no one deserves to be an afterthought.'

Hungry Bunny, a virtual donut shop, was founded Khloe Hines after she lost her job due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

"We pride ourselves in choosing animal friendly and quality organic ingredients to provide our customers with the freshest and most delicious donuts delivered right to their doorstep," the company's website reads. "Whether you're a 'Simple Sweet Lover' or 'Adventurous Muncher,' we offer cake donuts in a variety of flavors & designs that any bunny will love!"

Magnetic Midnight was launched in 2015 by Columbian designer Lucia Echavarría. With a penchant for costume, cultural handicrafts, and aesthetic ob­jects, her intricate designs stem from "her passion for cultural history and tradition as reflected through dress and adornment," according to the company's website.

Snow Monkey, a dairy-free dessert company, was created in Founder and CEO Rachel Geicke's college apartment, and in just two years expanded to over 1,200 retail locations. "Born and raised in Hong Kong by parents of Chinese and German descent, Rachel grew up in an international business hub," the company's website states. "She started her first business in the entertainment industry at age 16, turning a profit and leveraging this experience to gain roles with Pepsi China, the Peninsula Hotel in Shanghai, and the Hilton Queenstown."

Asha Patel Designs was founded by pharmacist turned jewelry designer Asha Patel, and features truly breathtaking pieces. Whether it's a necklace featuring gorgeous statement gems or sterling and lotus petal rings, these simple yet elegant designs are truly one-of-a-kind.

"Patel was born in London to Indian parents, and her sense of style was established at an early age," the company's website says. "She adored traditional Indian jewelry, pieces known for being both gorgeous and grand. Those bold pieces ultimately helped shape her less is more philosophy into the simple aesthetic she’s most known for today."

Not On The High Street was founded in 2006 by by Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish. Not On The High Street is partnered with over 5,000 business owners and entrepreneurs, creating a central hub for people to find business owned by everyone from jewellery makers and engravers to chocolatiers and artisan bakers.

"From around a little kitchen table, came a big idea that would inspire the nation – to bring together the most unique, stylish and never-before-seen products that are hard to find anywhere else," the company's website reads.

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