TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS MORE WOMEN ARE STARTING THEIR OWN COMPANIES.

Byline: JULIA M. SCOTT Staff Writer

Three years ago, flight attendant Sandy Stein was so distraught about the prospects of her and her husband's jobs that she prayed to her deceased father for guidance.

``Dad, what am I going to do?''

That night, the 55-year-old Reseda woman said, she dreamed of a small metal flower with a curved stem that hooked onto the outside of her purse. A clip dangling on the inside kept her car keys quick at hand. When she awoke, a childhood taunt popped into her head: Finders keepers. But this time, Stein heard it as Finders Key Purse.

Like more and more women are doing these days, Stein found the courage to start her own business, Alexx Inc., a company that makes functional and fashionable key-finders.

In her first year, she reaped $4 million in sales and earned several hundred thousand dollars. And now she feels a whole lot better about her 12-year-old son's future and economic security for her and her husband.

The number of women-owned firms such as Stein's is growing almost twice as fast as those owned by men, according to the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C.

The number of women-owned firms grew by 17 percent, compared with 9 percent for men-owned companies.

Their businesses are just as likely to be successful as mens', said Sharon Hadary, executive director of the Center. A business is considered woman-owned when 50 percent or more of it is owned by women.

Of the 3.3 million small businesses statewide, more than 871,000 are women-owned, according to the United States Small Business Administration.

Los Angeles is a magnet for female business owners, drawing about four out of every 10 in the state.

Numbers from the Center for Women's Business Research indicate that in 2004 the metro area was home to 334,939 women-owned firms, Hadary said.

Many women are attracted to the flexibility of being their own boss, even if they put in as many hours as a corporate gig requires, Hadary said.

``It wasn't so much a glass ceiling as wanting to be in control and to do something that they felt was particularly meaningful,'' she said.

Women often start their businesses organically, pursuing something they love to do, while men often begin by writing a business plan and raising money, said entrepreneur Beth Schoenfeldt.

She and her business partner stumbled upon the idea of starting support groups for fledging businesswomen when they couldn't find any for themselves.

``We started (Ladies Who Launch) really to help ourselves and it turned into a business,'' said Schoenfeldt, 39.

Now the New York-based Ladies Who Launch holds ``incubator'' sessions in 37 cities across the country and in Canada. Four classes cost about $250 and include such homework as sharing your business idea with 10 people.

At a recent session run by Amy Swift in Santa Monica, eight women took turns sharing their progress, encouraging each other with fresh ideas and offering contacts.

Jennifer Loren Woodle, 37, of Los Angeles confessed to the group that she obsessed over every aspect of her nascent handbag business -- buying the leather, designing each tote and selling them to retailers.

``I want to be everything to all people and I never realized that before this incubator,'' Woodle said as other women nodded their heads.

Woodle said she plans to hire an employee so she can go by only one title -- handbag designer. Streamlining her business drew praise from Swift, who carefully nudged Woodle to keep moving forward.

Some women who join Ladies Who Launch have already started their companies, but need moral support.

Nicole Jaffe joined when her mail-order makeup club, Yellow Box Beauty, was a few months old.

``It's very possible that it wouldn't be going if I hadn't gone,'' said Jaffe, 33, of Tarzana. ``It's the support, the `Yes you can,' the `You're not the only one who is doing it.'''

Jaffe was a brand manager in the film industry before striking out on her own. Now she scouts the market for up-and-coming makeup brands, updates her Web site and ships the monthly orders from her home office. It's a job she adores.

``The rewards so far outweigh the fears,'' Jaffe said. ``I just can't imagine doing anything else.''

julia.scott(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Sandy Stein, CEO of Alexx Inc., left, looks over plans for the upcoming year's catalog with Product Development Director Christie Meyer. Stein, who was inspired to start her key-finder firm in a dream, is one of a growing number of women to open her own business.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer