Topic for Discussion: Why is Darlene Jeter one of the wealthiest self-made women in Boston?

Answer: Because she owns trucks and other heavy equipment. These are hard assets. Just changing the tires on one of the big roll off trucks costs $10,000. Well-run "dirty" businesses make plenty of profits while the sweetly stocked gift shop struggles to eke out a living for its owner. In his book, The Millionaire Woman Next Door, Tom Stanley says it takes $16.25 in sales to make a dollar of profit out of a retail store. He notes that one dollar of profit can be made in construction from just $5.45 in sales.

While doctors, dentists and various types of professionals doing consulting type work make decent profits on sales, these kinds of companies are dependent upon the knowledge worker. Often they are dependent upon the talent of the founder. We want to encourage women to go into the types of businesses that will give them the best chance to build something substantial. We want to see women in businesses that will make it through the test of time and that will make them wealthy in ten to twenty years.

Darlene is surrounded by heavy metal and she is not afraid to buy more. When a customer asked her to do a big job, she had to go out and buy a new truck. The sticker price didn't put her off because she knew her company could deliver the promised service and that she could win more customers to make profitable use of the new equipment.

You think about it: Does a business owner have to know how to do the things their employees are doing? What "dirty" businesses could a woman clean up in?