8 Female Entrepreneurs Who Will Inspire You to Quit Your Job Right Now

​Ever dreamed about being your own boss? (Every. Monday. Morning.) Or maybe you've come up with an idea that would change the world but you're not sure how to make it a reality?

Whether it's in tech, fashion or food, these women are working for themselves, and owning it – and they're about to inspire you to do the same.

Wave goodbye to that Sunday evening dread for good…

1. Nina Devani, 14

Owns? Computer security company, Devanisoft.com

Watching her dad get hacked on Facebook was a lightbulb moment for Nina.

He'd had trouble remembering passwords, so she created an app to make it easier by prompting you – and quickly found an investor to put up £10,000.

'Prompt Me Nina' and 'Prompt Me Now' were born and she's been making a profit ever since.

Her words of wisdom? "Never think that you are too young to start your own business and don't think that it's all too much of a task to start…You have to try in order to succeed".

2. Anne Marie Imafidon, 25

Owns? Social enterprise for girls, Stemettes

To say Anne-Marie is smart is an understatement. She was one of the youngest ever students to pass GCSEs in both maths and IT (at age 10), and by the time she was 20, she had a masters degree in programming from Oxford.

Now, she's encouraging girls to get involved in science, technology, maths and engineering through Stemettes – which organises hackathons, talks and mentoring schemes.

Anne-Marie wants to see a world where "girls are just as interested in becoming popstars and princesses as coders or chemists". Amen to that.

3. Melanie Goldsmith, 24

Owns? Cocktail confectionary company, Smith & Sinclair

What's better than your favourite cocktail? Alcoholic sweets that taste just like that Cosmopolitan.

Melanie, and her business partner, chef Emile, started out running dating nights. There they served up a batch of their now infamous boozy pastilles and guests were obsessed (and no doubt pretty hammered too!).

Now, Smith & Sinclair have sold more than 80,000 sweets and are stocked in Harvey Nichols and Selfridges.

Not bad for a company that started with just £4,000 in the bank.

4. Lauren Paul, 29 and Molly Thompson, 29

Owns? Anti-bullying charity, The Kind Campaign

We've all been bullied – and no doubt done our fair share of hating on other girls at school (and felt mortified ever since).

Uni friends Lauren – who's married to Aaron Paul – and Molly believe that 'girl-against-girl crime' has to stop. They were both badly bullied at school – Lauren so badly that she tried to take her own life.

The pair shot their own anti-bullying documentary and set up 'The Kind Campaign' – a charity that hosts school assemblies to educate girls on the power of female friendship. Since graduating, they've toured the US and shown thousands of young women what girl power is all about.

5. Olga Vidisheva​, 30

Owns? Online marketplace, Shoptiques.com

This woman is proof that if you want to make millions, all you need is ambition, drive and a good idea.

Olga's brainwave came on holiday. Having fallen in love with a pair of shoes, she wanted to buy more. Googling the shop, she quickly realised that they didn't have a website.

Shoptiques was born. It's an online marketplace where small boutiques from London to Los Angeles can trade – and is raking in millions of dollars a year.

Her achievements are even more impressive when you learn that Olga couldn't speak a word of English when she landed in the US from Kyrgyzstan at seventeen.

6. Michelle Phan, 29

Owns? Beauty box subscription service, Ipsy

Want to make money from your vlog? Michelle can teach you a thing or two.

She started beauty vlogging at sixteen and clocked up billions of views. Countless TV companies offered her jobs but Michelle turned them down and kept going.

And it paid off. Four years ago, she launched Ipsy – a monthly beauty box service where she picks the products. She now has more than 1.5m subscribers paying $10 a month for a 'glam bag'.

That's not to say all of her ventures have worked out though but, that didn't set her back: "Some of the best lessons you learn are the hardest", she says. "I had to fail to understand."

7. Olivia Wollenberg, 26

Owns? Free-from treats company, Livia's Kitchen

Food allergies suck as neuroscientist Olivia knows only too well.

When she was diagnosed with a wheat and dairy intolerance, she decided to swap science for something sweeter – launching her own free-from cake and desserts company from her parents' kitchen.

Her ridiculously addictive treats are now sold in Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Planet Organic – along with her first cookbook. Next up? Cooking classes.

8. Emily Brooke, 29

Owns? Cycling safety company, Blaze

Proving that you can turn that passion in to an actual job, keen cyclist and product designer Emily has made it her mission to make the roads safer for everyone.

Her company makes products that stop accidents – like the Blaze Laserlight, a bike light that projects a laser on to the road so lorries can see bikes when turning.

She used crowdfunding site, Kickstarter to raise the cash and to prove that her designs were a good idea – which just goes to show that you don't need thousands in the bank to get started.