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Businesswomen Who Failed, Then Won

By William Vogeler, Esq. on November 27, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Failure can be a doorway to success, but only if you push the door open after it slams shut.

Jeff Bezos couldn't get money to launch Amazon. Steve Jobs got fired from his own company. These men made it because they kept pushing.

Some very successful businesswomen have also failed, then won. Here are a few who did it their way:

Oprah Winfrey: "Think Like a Queen"

Oprah Winfrey had the golden touch, yet her OWN network started to fail -- cancellations, layoffs, and falling viewership.

She told Forbes about her struggle to overcome failure. She said she had to "think like a Queen."

"A queen is not afraid to fail," she said. "Failure is another stepping stone to success."

Arianna Huffington: "Until Success Happens"

Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor of Huffington Post, has failed as well. Publishers rejected one of her books 37 times; she also lost her bid to become governor.

It was a low point in her life, but the experiences taught her how to move forward. She told college students that she learned to persevere.

"So very often the difference between success and failure is perseverance," she said. "It's how long can we keep going until success happens."

Jessica Alba: "More Than Perfume"

Jessica Alba won fame and fortune as an actress. It was not so easy when she tried to launch a natural products company, however.

She wanted something more than a perfume business, but investors looked at her "cross-eyed."

"I was getting rejected by so many people," she said at the Women's Innovation Panel in 2015. "Instead of that making me devastated and going away, it made me more determined."

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