In the Lead: Women-Owned Businesses 2024

Welcome to the inaugural issue of In the Lead: Best Women-Owned Businesses.

Finance & Commerce has been honoring women in the business world for years, especially through our Top Women in Finance program, which has developed of community of honorees who have worked to build and lift up the next generation of women. We think we’ll see something similar with our comparatively recent programs, Top Women in Construction and Empowering Women, which recognizes businesses that make an extra effort to develop and empower their female employees.

Those programs, while successful, are largely narrow in focus, targeted at a handful of related businesses. With In the Lead, we decided to go broader and try to recognize the best of Minnesota’s women-owned businesses.

How did we do that? First, we asked our readers for recommendations (and they delivered). Then we turned to reviewing our prior news coverage and awards honorees. Finally, we looked at other publicly available information about women-owned businesses. To be eligible, businesses must be at least 50% owned by women.

From that large pool of candidate businesses, we then curated a list that our editorial team felt were the best based on demonstrated businesses success as measured by revenue and/or employee growth, efforts by these businesses to empower other women, ability to trailblaze and find success in male-dominated industries and general success and reputation.

I think you’ll agree that this list is filled with impressive businesses and business owners, from large enterprises to small shops. Perhaps you’ll also find the next business that can do exactly what you’re looking for. Congratulations to all the honorees.