As a teenager, Estée Lauder gained valuable business experience working in her father's hardware store and learned important business principles of dedication, determination, and discipline. Inspired by her uncle, a chemist who created beauty products and fragrances, Lauder realized her true calling was in beauty products. Not only did she make the world a more beautiful place, she also left behind a billion-dollar legacy. Sponsors! Target/Slate Studios - Subscribe now to Coffee and...

She’s one of the most powerful women in modern business. Current Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi’s design thinking, calculated risks, and clever strategy brought PepsiCo into the 21st century. We examine how Indra balances motherhood and a high-powered career, and how passion, humility, and hard work helped her bubble to the top. Sponsors! Coffee and Crayons - Subscribe now to Coffee and Crayons on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or wherever you...

In a time when women were desperate for safe and effective treatments for women’s health issues, Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compounds became one of the best-known medicines of the 19th century. She began by giving away the compound for free to create a strong referral network, which fueled the rapid growth of her business. Sponsors! Leesa - Get $160 off a Leesa mattress at Leesa.com/WOMEN LinkedIn - Go to LinkedIn.com/WOMEN to get $50 off your first job post. Care/of - Go to...

Lillian Vernon had no formal business training but that didn’t stop her from starting her own business selling mail-order handbags out of her kitchen. An ad placed in Seventeen magazine for personalized purses and belts would lead to a multi-million dollar operation. Vernon would later become the first female-founded company on the American Stock Exchange. Sponsors! Halo Top - Halo Top is available nationwide. Find your pint at HaloTop.com. Follow them on social media...

Debbi Fields showed that anyone can make a dream business reality. As a young mother with no business experience, she was able to open her first cookie store in Palo Alto, CA in the late 1970s. She often gave cookies away, telling customers they were the most essential investment she could make. Debbi Fields based her business not on selling cookies, but on customer experience. Sponsors! Halo Top - Halo Top is available nationwide. Find your pint at HaloTop.com. Follow them on social...

Brownie Wise didn't just sell Tupperware, she revolutionized sales strategies and created lasting opportunities for working mothers. However, her volatile relationship with Earl Tupper cost her job, her contacts, and for years, her credit for making Tupperware a household name. Sponsors! Halo Top - Halo Top is available nationwide. Find your pint at HaloTop.com. Follow them on social media @halotopcreamery. The Great Courses Plus - Get a full month of unlimited access to The Great...

Susan Wojcicki discovered that great opportunities aren't always easy to recognize. But Wojcicki had a knack for not only recognizing great opportunities but seizing them and executing upon them with immediacy. Her first big opportunity came when she left her job at Intel to become Google's 16th employee. Sponsors! Leesa - Hurry, the Leesa July 4th Mattress Sale won’t last long! Get $160 off a Leesa mattress at Leesa.com/WOMEN today Gusto - Sign up today and get 3 months free once...

After developing a scalp disorder that caused her to lose much of her hair, CJ Walker identified a market opportunity. So she developed her own homemade hair care products and marketed them to the black community. This would become an important business principle for her – necessity is the mother of invention. Sponsors! Pitney Bowes - For a free 60 day trial of a Pitney Bowes C200 go to PB.com/WOMEN Wunder - If you’re interested in helping businesses go solar while earning up to...

Originally a plastics company, Mattel changed their focus to toys when co-founder Ruth Handler sensed a growing need for toys after the post-war baby-boom. Years later, she would disrupt the toy market by launching a doll for kids in the form of an adult woman. It would be called: Barbie. Sponsors! Pitney Bowes - Go to pb.com/WOMEN and get a free 60 day trial of a Pitney Bowes C200. ModCloth - To get 15% off your purchase of $100 or more, go to ModCloth.com and enter code WOMEN...

Martha Stewart started with a modest catering company and parlayed it into a branded empire that focused on quality. This simple business principle set Stewart on her way to becoming the first self-made female billionaire. However, her most impressive feat was earning back her empire that she lost following a slew of felony convictions. Sponsors! Leesa - Get $130 off AND get a free pillow when you go to Leesa.com/WOMEN Gusto - Sign up today and you’ll get 3 months free once you...

Julia Child was a world famous chef, culinary educator, and entrepreneur. After meeting her husband Paul in the Office of Strategic Services, she followed him to France in 1948 where he was stationed. Little did she know this move would be life-changing event for her. She fell in love with the French culture, language, and most importantly their cuisine. After this podcast, listen to Vanessa’s other show Female Criminals wherever you listen to podcasts. Sponsors! Audible - Start...

Coco Chanel understood women’s fashion, perfume, and jewelry. But what she understood the most was that consumers don’t just buy fashion, they buy brands. And Coco Chanel was one of the first to understand branding as we know it today. After this podcast, listen to Vanessa’s other show Historical Figures wherever you listen to podcasts. Sponsors! Hello Fresh - For $30 off your first week of Hello Fresh, visit hellofresh.com/women30 and enter the code WOMEN30 LinkedIn - Go to...

Mrs. Fields. Estee Lauder. Chanel. You know the businesses, but do you know the women behind them? Every Tuesday, Great Women of Business spotlights inspiring careers, savvy decisions, and catastrophic failures. Each episode tells a different woman's story, and teaches the business principles they used to find success. Great Women of Business is a Production of Cutler Media and part of the Parcast Network. The first episode premieres June 5th!