Being single and starting your own business can be challenging?  How do you support yourself on one income while you’re trying to get things up and going? FREE RESOURCES FOR STARTING OR BUILDING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS.  Here are two women who launched their businesses while they were living single:

Saskia Strick, International Checkout

Saskia left the Netherlands at 17 to pursue a modeling career and then followed a boyfriend to LA.  When that broke off, she found herself a single mom at 26, managing a ranch just outside of LA, with no definitive career direction.

Saskia’s friends from her modeling days were asking her to ship clothing and electronics that they couldn’t get shipped to their countries.  She realized that there was a need for American retailers to have a secure method to ship internationally.  From this simple need came her idea for International Checkout.  With just $800 of her own money, she managed to get her website off the ground.

International Checkout gives American retailers the ability to ship worldwide. Today Saskia boasts 250+ American merchant partners and is ranked as one of the top 500 ‘net retailers.

She was invited to speak at Vital Voices recently to help inspire global women to become entrepreneurs.  “Since I only used my own money, I was able to steer away from anything uncertain. If I had sought investors, I would have grown faster, which may also have meant more risks,” Saskia explained.

And to all you entrepreneur sisters out there, she says stick to your guns, “Don’t be intimidated in a male business world. Don’t differentiate yourself by thinking of yourself as a woman, be an equal. Anything a man can do, you can do!”

Eden Herzog, New Moon Kitchen

Eden Herzog, 33, describes herself as, “Cookie mogul and entrepreneur, and in-between all that I believe that owning your own business is about creating the life you want to live.”

Eden always had an affinity for baking.  With a desire to enjoy healthier gourmet treats, she set out to create recipes that were just as good, if not better, than the ones made with butter, eggs, white flour and white sugar.

After high school, she decided to sell her baked goods just for fun—her products were an instant success and made her a successful entrepreneur at the ripe age of 20.  You can find yummy New Moon Kitchen goods across Canada and now in Colorado.  The cookies also just got an updated wardrobe with 100% recyclable cardboard packaging.

You can follow the progress of New Moon Kitchen on her blog, Adventures of a Baker Babe.  Eden hopes it helps empower women to create their own jobs and businesses.  “Being your own boss is as wonderful as it sounds,” shares Eden, “It’s also a whole lot of responsibility, but it’s incredibly rewarding, every step of the way.”

One other event of interest happened last year—Eden got married.  The announcement on her blog shows how her life and business philosophy have meshed beautifully, “If you’ve been reading any of the other stuff I’ve written, you’ll know that my whole deal is about living life!”