Nine More Women Building Businesses Worth Believing In
Put your money behind the founders who are doing the work. Here's exactly where to start.
Let’s be real. Whether you buy from a billion-dollar company or one of these women microbusiness owners, you are making a decision. It’s loud and clear. Your money is your voice in a capitalist society and there’s no way around that. It may not feel like much when the item costs $20 but it clearly communicates who you want to succeed.
And look, I get it. The big platforms are easy. They're fast. The shipping is free. I'm not here to make you feel guilty about the grocery order or the random Tuesday impulse buy. But I am here to say: when you are intentional about it, when you actively seek out women-owned small businesses and put real money behind them? It matters more than you probably realize.
The average small business owner is one or two slow months away from a decision point. Your order could be the one that tips the scale in the right direction.
No one listed in Part 1, below in Part 2, or Tasty Tin can compete with "free 2-day shipping." And honestly, if any of us try, we will close up shop faster than it takes to say "free 2-day shipping." Convenience is powerful and the billion-dollar companies rely on that. But every time you click Add to Cart on our site or any of the ones listed, I can promise you, the owner (and their family) lights up like a Christmas tree. Your purchase from a small (read: micro) business is funding camp dues, new coats, reading glasses, lunch ingredients, a family trip to the beach. It's not funding celebrities into orbit, it's not funding the erasure of wild places that belong to all of us, it's not covering up acts so despicable people can't even speak about them.
The women-owned businesses listed are solving the little problems they've come across. They might not be curing cancer, but they are helping people who suffer from cancer feel a little better when they look in the mirror and see a handmade beanie or headband adorning their head. They are designing clothes that fit real bodies. They are proving that with good blends you too can make a fabulous meal without going to culinary school. They are showing that you matter. And when you purchase from them, you reciprocate.
Even if you can only spend an extra $50 a year, by choosing a woman-owned small business like the ones below, you're making a difference. No one here is looking for a handout. We work hard, we care, we want to share our craft with more people. And if that $50 spend isn't possible, sharing their stories, liking their posts, and cheering them on social media is just as impactful. So shop them, share them, and remember them when you have a choice.
SWAY Headbands
Founded by Tanya Flemister
If you, like me, suffer from headaches that seem to come from nowhere, then let me tell you about Tanya's Sway headbands out of Colorado. It's amazing that this isn't more widely considered, but headbands SHOULD NOT CAUSE headaches. And while not causing headaches, they SHOULD stay on your head and keep your hair back. Apparently that is hard for big brands to do. Tanya solved that issue and is providing moms a way to work flexibly without sacrificing family time or income.
Short Stretch Non-Slip Headband
This is the headband for people who have given up on headbands. Eco-friendly bamboo, organic cotton, and spandex in a naturally moisture-wicking blend, with six built-in steel clips that lock it in place without squeezing or sliding. It works in the gym, through the school drop-off line, during a yoga class, during a full workday. People have worn it through dance performances, hospital shifts, and roller coasters. It ties to fit any head size and gives you two or more styling options. There's a reason the reviews consistently use words like "game changer" — because that's genuinely what it is.
Shop This Product →Dear Naura
Founded by Karen Mok
What I love about Dear Naura and what Karen is doing is that it comes from a place of knowledge. Not what she had, but what she learned. Karen specifically went to a local college to take a skincare formulation course and organic chemistry (who remembers suffering through o-chem in college?) to create this brand. So while many business owners start from necessity, we also have women out here sharing knowledge and showcasing what a life of learning really looks like.
Fragrance-Free Hyaluronic Acid & Vitamin B Serum
A lightweight anti-aging serum that layers hyaluronic acid and vitamin B to smooth and plump, bamboo water to hydrate and firm, and niacinamide to reduce redness. No fragrance — intentionally — because Karen formulates for real skin with real sensitivities, not for the smell of the bathroom. Safe for all skin types. The oils in this formula are slow-infused for six months before blending, which is not a marketing claim, it's just how she makes things. Shelf-stable for one to two years, ECO-CERT preservative, microbial and bacteria-tested. This is clean beauty done with actual rigor.
Shop This Product →Year After Year
Founded by Dana Longland
As a new-to-Minnesota transplant, I'm loving my neighbors to the north. And Dana is making it hard to do anything else. Her one-of-a-kind upcycled vintage jackets are both sustainable and fashionable. And for kids! She's helping save the earth while connecting generations. Your grandmother's quilt can become your niece's fashion statement. If that's not Canadian, I don't know what is, eh?
OOAK Upcycled Quilted Jackets
One-of-a-kind jackets handcrafted from reclaimed vintage quilts and lined with care. Brass snaps, high collars, welt pockets, rust-toned trim — and patchwork patterns in blush pink, mint, sky blue, gingham, and florals that feel like they belong to another era and your kid's wardrobe simultaneously. Each jacket is completely unique, carries the story of the quilt that came before it, and is designed with an oversized fit so it can be worn for years. Dana sources from vintage and preloved quilts, including some that are handstitched. The small variations in colour and character aren't flaws. They're the whole point.
Shop This Product →Flirty Pineapple
Founded by Madison Riddolls
We're staying in Canada and going from jackets to scrunchies. Men and women alike are spending more time and money on learning what makes them, them. We're looking to find our signature style, whether that means a signature color or how we wear our hair. And hair is a multi-billion dollar industry. With everyone's hair doing something different but always on display, what we do with our hair can make us smile or ruin our day. Madison is trying to make you smile. My 4c hair needs a different size scrunchie than someone with 1b hair. Over at Flirty Pineapple, they realize that and solved the issue, while making us all feel seen. Their multi-sized scrunchies might not be solving the hunger crisis, but they are definitely making people feel comfortable in their own skin and hair.
Satin Scrunchie
Made with buttery-soft satin that's genuinely gentle on hair — no snags, no breakage, no frizz. Unlike a regular elastic that creates tension and friction, this satin scrunchie glides smoothly on and off and holds a ponytail without pulling. Four sizes means there's actually a right one for your hair type, whether you have fine straight hair or a thick curly situation. They're the scrunchie people order and then come back to order in six more colors. The bridal community has discovered them too — they make the perfect bachelorette gift for a reason. Produced in Canada with care, in colors that are actually worth wearing.
Shop This Product →Shade Tree Naturals
Founded by Tara Scheel
Tara is not out here trying to be cute about it. Shade Tree Naturals is built on a simple principle: what goes in and on your body should be real, honest, and necessary. She makes her products in small batches, keeps her packaging as low-waste as possible, and partners with Eco-Soap Bank, a nonprofit that collects hotel soap and gets it to communities that actually need it. Tara is the personification of don't talk about it, be about it.
Gardener's Soap
Trust me on this one. This soap was designed for hands that have done real work — hands that have been in soil, grease, paint, or whatever it is that gets into your skin and refuses to come out with regular soap. Tara formulated it with a highly superfatted coconut oil base for serious cleansing power, a blend of lemon, lavender, and rosemary essential oils, and a triple-exfoliant combination of ground walnut shells, organic poppy seeds, and organic lemon peel powder. It removes the grime, it exfoliates the dead skin, and it leaves your hands soft because of all the extra moisture left in the bar. Gardeners swear by it. So do construction workers, potters, and anyone who really uses their hands.
Shop This Product →Apothecuryous
Founded by Tatiana Lynn Boland
Buying products that work with your skin is a different process for those who live with eczema, psoriasis, and other skin ailments. Ingredients need to be recognizable and listed in their entirety. Tatiana understands that. And just because someone has a skin ailment doesn't mean they want to look and feel any less their best. I'm talking hair care, body care, all of it. Finding products that work for their intended purpose, like hair growth, while not causing a major reaction is my own cross to bear as the mom of an eczema sufferer. I'm forever thankful for women like Tatiana and brands like Apothecuryous.
Rosemary Scalp Oil — Organic Support for Hair Growth & Scalp Health
This is the product people buy on a whim at a farmers market, get halfway through, and immediately order a full-size bottle of online. A potent blend of certified organic pumpkin seed oil, squalane, rosemary botanical extract, and a five-herb complex — yarrow, sage, horsetail, nettle, and lavender — that works together to soothe the scalp, support circulation, and encourage stronger, healthier hair. Available in a 2-ounce amber glass bottle with a dropper. The reviews from people with combination skin, redness, oiliness, and cystic breakout-prone skin are remarkable. This is the kind of formulation that shows real expertise behind it, and it earns every five-star rating it has.
Shop This Product →Jenna Bricher Swim
Founded by Jenna Bee
Summertime is quickly approaching, and large-chested women are already dreading the swimsuit search. When you don't fit the body image of magazine cover models or what society deems "beautiful," you feel ignored, forgotten, and overlooked when shopping for clothes, especially swimsuits. Jenna got tired of that and did something about it. So for all my ladies rocking a 42F or filling out their size 18 jeans, there are bikinis made for us, by us. We all deserve to look good and not worry about flashing anyone at the neighborhood pool.
Gigi Bikini Top
An uplifting balconette-style top with a secure under-bust band, two layers of Italian recycled polyamide and elastane, and a lace-up back that lets you customize the fit exactly the way you need it. The result is a bikini top that supports without pinching at the neck, stays put without the constant readjusting that ruins beach days, and looks stunning — genuinely stunning — on a full bust. Reviews consistently say things like "my favorite bikini top ever" and "I'm so supported and feel sexy." That combination is what this brand exists to make possible. Silky, sun-kissed, and made for curves that deserve to be celebrated.
Shop This Product →Willow Field Soap
Founded by Terri Allen Knudsen
Dry heat, humidity, cold temps, rainy season, allergy season, high tides, even when Mercury is in retrograde, the largest organ on the human body decides your comfort. Terri moved to Arizona and found out real quick. Now her husband, son, and she are sharing what she couldn't find in stores with the world. And every bar is beautifully packaged to be gifted. I don't need to tell you how important soap is to my family.
Moonstone Soap
The scent alone is worth the order: lavender, bergamot, star anise, jasmine, violet, ylang ylang, heliotrope, sandalwood, oakmoss, musk, amber, and vanilla. It's complex in the best way — the kind of scent that makes you stand in the shower a few seconds longer than necessary just to stay in it. The formula underneath is just as good: lard, coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, avocado oil, coconut milk, kaolin clay, and tussah silk, which is the ingredient that makes the bar glide so softly it feels genuinely different from anything mass-produced. Every bar weighs four ounces and arrives ready to use or give. Life is short. Use the good soap.
Shop This Product →b.e.happe Designs
Founded by Brooke Happe
And this final founder has shown me that even something as innocuous as a beanie to cover your head when you just don't have the energy to do anything else can fund a movement. I am a beanie wearer. I have beanies in all colors, sport team specifics, ones with matching scarves and masks (COVID is not gone). And Brooke has shown that there are more people like me than I ever imagined. Not only is she providing a product I love, but she's also providing an income source to women just like her who want to stay close to home for their kids, pets, and older family members while also financially contributing to their household. Women are everything!
Crochet Puff Stitch Slouch Hat
The original. The one that started everything. A handcrafted crochet beanie with a puff stitch pattern that means it never loses its shape, a thick band that keeps your ears warm and your hair hidden on the days you need it to be, and a relaxed oversized fit that works whether your hair is down, up, or decidedly not a priority. Made from 80% acrylic and 20% wool, soft and warm and genuinely durable through seasons and seasons of wear. People who describe themselves as "not a hat person" get this hat and then send Brooke reviews saying their whole relationship with winter changed. Available in a wide range of colors. It's the kind of thing you buy for yourself and then buy again for every woman in your life.
Shop This Product →Shopping Small Is Not a Sacrifice. It's a Decision.
You've just met nineteen women who built real businesses from real conviction, and whose products are — across the board — genuinely excellent. They're not asking for your charity. They're asking for your business, which is different and better.
When you shop women-owned small businesses, you are one of the specific people that story gets told about. The order that came in at exactly the right time. The review that made a new customer decide to trust them. The person who shared the link in a group chat and set off a chain of discovery.
Share this post. Comment below. Tell me which one of these businesses you're shopping first. And if you haven't read Part 1 yet, there are more founders waiting for you there.