Actual experts of business creation express concern that media’s flashy portrayal of handsome entrepreneurs, disruptive products and instant investment glosses over the unglamorous learning process vital to any new business.

What drives a small grocery store to grow? The answer is customer demand at Compton’s Market in East Sacramento, an established neighborhood with beautiful houses and tree-lined streets.

In 2014, Darling launched Free Form Factory, making after-market decks and hulls out of durable polymer material. Two years later, the company relocated from Rochester, New York to Rancho Cordova. Free Form Factory has unveiled a stand-up watercraft prototype that is 100-percent recyclable and electric-powered.

Equal representation and closing the pay gap for women in academia remains an ongoing issue, as women represent an increasing student demographic at U.S. colleges and universities — but haven’t yet achieved parity as professors or administrators.

Hackbarth’s life in politics and advocacy was the right course of action for her, until it wasn’t. So she did something about it — returning to school and experimenting with different jobs until she landed on the new career that best suits her as a wellness coach.

Groupthink is all too common when people work together in a brainstorming or planning session. This phenomenon can veer a team or company off course, or it can result in people stereotyping others, including their colleagues — neither is good for a company.

In the last 50 years, higher education’s customer base has become decidedly more female. In 1967, 40 percent of college students were women. By 2014, it was 56 percent. The U.S. Department of Education projects that will climb to 59 percent by 2025.

But the people responsible for delivering those educations are still overwhelmingly male.

That bowl of guacamole on Cinco de Mayo will be more expensive this year, as avocado prices rise to a record on surging demand and a smaller crop in Mexico and California.

Edible Sacramento is back in print with a March/April edition that might be headlined “Under New Ownership.” The bimonthly food magazine is now owned and published by Reno residents Amanda Burden and Jaci Goodman.

Comstock’s asked this year’s six Women In Leadership recipients to see how they prepare themselves for the day ahead.