Being a bit of a maverick proves to be Tova Borgnine's route to success.

Kathy Davis scattered seeds of joy and grew a garden of success.

Entrepreneur caters to everyman with a warm, inviting experience that features the best music, the best service and affordable prices.

Microsoft validates their concepts by bringing them to its Xbox platform.

Peggy Duncan teaches people how to work smarter--lessons she took to heart when it came to building her business.

As in China, the philosophy behind Kilop USA is helping one another create a meaningful living.

After her husband suffered a stroke and employees left, Jill Anderson literally mortgaged her company's future--and it paid off.

'Character goes a long way. You have to make your word count,' says Saxon Group's Jeni Bogdan, No. 17 on our list.

Amy Rees Anderson saw a way to break into the medical records market, so she consolidated two companies and built a multimillion-dollar business.

When you start in a dorm room, the sky's the limit. Make sure there are goals to reach along the way.

Leslie O'Connor, No. 14 on our list, says her virtual model helps keep her overhead low and her margins below the competition.

At staffing company Salo, there's an element of sparkle and good, old-fashioned fun.

For Kathy Lehne, the long list of challenges facing her when she started her company wasn't enough to extinguish her entrepreneurial fire.

If you can't do what you love, find something to be passionate about and develop whatever that is.

Liz McKinley knew she was a generation or three late to her chosen game, but $120 million in sales says she's figured out the rules and become a competitor.

It takes hard work, long hours, outperforming your competition--and reinventing yourself every day.

Knowing she was an entrepreneur at heart, Naheed Syed decided to stop creating new divisions at her corporate employer and instead create her own company.

'Companies go astray when they stay the same but the world around them changes,' says Ranjini Poddar, No. 7 on our list.

By never taking its initial customers for granted, direct-mail company Polaris Direct solidified its reputation and grew its client base.

And make sure you love it, or you're not going to have much fun.