Thinking Pink? Think Again

What do women want? That question has been asked by millions ofmen (and other women) throughout the ages. Many magazines haveattempted to answer, promising to reveal the innermost secrets ofwomankind. Well, don't get too excited-we're not spillingour guts here (though the women of Entrepreneur couldprobably tell you a thing or two). But we will give you the scoopabout one of the nation's, if not the world's, mostimportant and influential markets: women.

This is an area where female entrepreneurs can claim a naturaladvantage; after all, they are consumers as well as businessowners. And while Entrepreneur has many women readers, about60 percent of our readers are men. So in the interest of levelingthe playing field, we're going to clue you all in. In the pastseveral decades, as tens of millions of American women left thehouse and entered the work force, they accumulated a lot of buyingpower. In addition to what women actually buy, they also influencea ton of other purchases made by family members and friends. Andthat's just in their roles as consumers. Add their relativelynew roles in the business marketplace, and you start to understandwhy marketing to women should be an integral part of almost anyentrepreneur's plan.