Each time the women got together, more female business owners joined them. It was only then that they realized that a formal group would be needed to develop visibility, political impact, and sustained growth.

Leaders emerged, and with amazing insight and support for each other, the women set out to open doors. They learned to be politically savvy. They also discovered the power of unity and of public and media relations.

"We worked hard to position the emergence of women business owners as a growing segment of the women's movement,” said Susan Hagar, the first national president of NAWBO. “Our strategy was to demonstrate to the media, to lawmakers, to federal government agency chiefs, to the White House staff, and to the business community that women business owners were indeed viable. We were a new and growing market and a growing constituency."

Recognizing the value of the group, they incorporated as the National Association of Women Business Owners on July 7, 1975 . Two years later they began recruiting members from across the country, and in 1978 the first chapters were formed.