| It’s impossible to read
about the 25 Influential Black Women in Business without a deep
admiration for their accomplishments.
They have enhanced their careers and businesses through talent and skill, and in spite of difficulties of motherhood, corporate barriers, and accessing financing, they have contributed immeasurably to their professions.
The women have become role models, not only for other women but also for men, who nowadays seem to need role models most.
A common thread tying the women is not just their color and gender but also their spirit of commitment and perseverance, their love of work, career and family and their love of community and God.
“When you can persevere and are not afraid to fail, half the battle is over,” Tammy Camper, president and CEO of T.C. & Associates and a single mother of three children has said.
“I have a real love for marketing, which is why I studied marketing in undergraduate and graduate schools,” said Verdia Johnson, president and co-founder of Footsteps in New York City.
These 25 influential women have been through the process of doing and can now provide perspective, understanding and a way of involvement in work and in personal growth to others. Their gift to the black community is the gift of inspiring, encouraging and identifying the skills of success obtained after a long search.
Just by talking about their successes and their difficulties, these women are passing on their experience and knowledge to others, foremost of which is the illustration of the necessity of movement, growth and learning, for no one can continue to teach without learning. These women have learned, and are now teaching that reflecting on old accomplishments is important but only if those reflections are an aid to taking new risks, as they all have demonstrated.
 Publisher's
Note
Kicking the Glass
Ceiling
Aziz Gueye
Adetimitin
Succeeding in corporate America
or in your own business is tough—particularly if you are a
black woman. The glass ceiling and the difficulty in obtaining
start-up capital are just two barriers that make success
hard.
Nonetheless, black women are still succeeding; they are
kicking the glass ceiling and are getting loans to start or to
expand their businesses, so that each year we are able to pull
together a list of 25 dynamic businesswomen.
For the third consecutive year The Network Journal is
recognizing the achievements of 25 Influential Black Women in
Business. Many of these women, as you will see in their
profiles, launched their businesses from nothing more than a
kitchen table or a spare room. Others have worked very hard in
corporate America to start their own businesses. Still, others
have grown professionally within their organizations, breaking
through the glass ceiling to positions once considered beyond
their reach.
We selected our 25 women from more than 250 candidates, whose
names we received during the nomination process. Our panel of
judges picked the winners based on the strength of their
businesses, their commitment to excellence in their
professions and their work in the black community.
Their achievements exemplify the strides made by people who
have a long history of being challenged on all fronts. It is
therefore encouraging that we, at The Network Journal, take
time to salute the determination of these 25 women.
Special thanks go to our sponsors, Avon, Mobil, JPMorganChase,
L’Oreal and WBLS/WLIB. This event would have been impossible
without their support.
Join us this month in celebrating the achievements and
tenacity of our 25 women achievers whose skills and talents
are as varied as the firms and industries they represent.
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