Title: President
Company: Small Business Currents LLC
Location: Irvine, California, United States
Rieva Lesonsky, president of Small Business Currents LLC, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in media and entrepreneurship.
Celebrating an esteemed 50-year career, Ms. Lesonsky has established herself as a trailblazing woman in the world of business and media. She first gained experience as a junior research analyst with Doubleday and Company beginning in 1975. Ms. Lesonsky moved from New York to California in 1978 and devoted several years to finding her next big opportunity. That chance would come in the form of a position as a senior vice president and editorial director at Entrepreneur Magazine.
Despite joining the magazine at a time when the term “entrepreneur” was not particularly well-known, Ms. Lesonsky embraced the role and ended up staying with the publication for 25 years. As the editorial director, she shaped the top-level vision for the magazine, inspired by her family history of small business ownership. Though she had not planned to enter journalism, Ms. Lesonsky quickly found great success and satisfaction in the field. She was also notably one of the first female editors of a general business magazine ever. Ms. Lesonsky recalls being told by another woman that she would never succeed at Entrepreneur Magazine. Rather than being discouraged, she used this encounter as motivation to forge her own path in a male-dominated industry.
After leaving Entrepreneur Magazine in 2008, Ms. Lesonsky contributed as a consulting editor at BizWomen, editorial director at Moran Media Group, blogger at Microsoft, columnist at Huffington Post Small Business, contributing writer at AT&T and contributing writer at Small Business Trends. She also founded her first business, GrowBiz Media, in 2008, where she collaborated with various companies to create articles, blog posts, podcasts and more in support of their business. Ms. Lesonsky additionally created Small Business Currents in 2008, where she continues to serve as president. As part of this venture, she creates articles for her website, as well as writing pieces for other publications like Forbes, and leads webinars on success in small businesses and entrepreneurship.
Ms. Lesonsky first sought an education at American University, completing coursework in journalism in the early 1970s. Subsequently, she earned a Bachelor of Journalism in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri in 1974. To stay connected with the latest updates in her field, Ms. Lesonsky has been affiliated with a number of industry-related organizations, including serving as a board member of the Western Publications Association and volunteering with the Small Business Development Center. She dedicated seven years to offering insight on the SPA National Advisory Council.
Well-regarded for her contributions to the field, Ms. Lesonsky has garnered numerous awards throughout her professional life. She received the Lou Campanelli Award from SCORE and the Regional Award from the SPA for media advocacy and advocacy for women in business, as well as awards from the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization and the ASPC. Ms. Lesonsky was named a champion of small business by America’s Small Business Development Centers. She has been inducted into the Business Journalist Hall of Fame.
Outside of her career, Ms. Lesonsky has been passionate about reading since she was a child and loves watching baseball, especially New York Yankees games. Planning for her future, she notes various crises that are currently impacting small business owners. Ms. Lesonsky intends to continue advocating for entrepreneurship and helping entrepreneurs find solutions to these pressing issues. She also hopes to communicate more directly with young people and encourage them to seek business opportunities.
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