Richmond—
Denise Peterson and Kim Newlen are among the growing number of female business owners.But it's when they started their businesses that's so amazing.
They started them while fighting breast cancer.
Kim says when she was in the hospital and had the idea which she thinks is God given, she did not let it rest.
Denise says it helped her through her process to help other people.
Denise gets many compliments on her hairstyle. The surprising thing, it's not her hair. Fourteen days into chemo, her real hair began to fall out. Nearly a year later, she's still waiting for it to grow back.
She started her wig business Personal Profile catering to breast cancer patients, following her frustrating search for a stylish, natural looking wig.
She didn't want another woman to have the same experierence she did. Denise says it works with different faces and styles, and she tries to make it fun and sassy.
Donna Sizemore is fighting ovarian cancer and she's a client.
Donna says she has people stop and ask her who is her beautician.
Kim Newlen wants breast cancer patients to look better than they feel in one of her camisoles.
The pretty, stylish design disguises the fact it's a medical garment. The idea for it came to Newlen following her mastectomy.
She says she went home in her bathrobe because she had drains than hung from under her arms from the removal of numerous lymphnodes.
Kim designed the camisole with an interior side pocket for drains, and the convenience of stepping into it.
Kim and Denise are among the 10.4 million privately-held businesses owned or part owned by a woman.
These survivor entrepreneurs hope their products make life a little easier for a woman who's life is suddenly very painful.
