This study explores how a sample of women business owners in Southwestern Pennsylvania view their business experience and how they describe and define what being in business means to them. In depth interviewing was used to capture the voice and case histories of fifteen (15) women business owners from Southwestern Pennsylvania, whose businesses varied by size, industry and length of time in business. Thematic analysis and a sustainability model of business were used as lenses to filter and analyze the experiences of these women business owners. Six key themes emerged from the interviews and the way the women defined and interpreted their experience of owning and operating a business: Path/Purpose/Passion, Preparation for Business, Perception of Business, Practice and Performance, Principles, and Personal Change and Growth. The themes provided a structural framework used to more clearly describe and define the business model as expressed by the women. Key aspects identified by the women in the model included looking at business as: an unplanned leap of faith; a journey; evolution; relationship centered; reflection of family and culture; enacted values; empowerment and an agency of change; and more than money. The women also identified that within the model a dynamic tension exists between external (profitability and growth) and internal (sustainability) expectations upon their practices and performance and that this tension has an impact on business results, the business owner and the community. This study offers new insights about how woman owned and centered businesses think and operate. It queries whether women business owners are creating businesses from a different lens and whether this is leading to or can lead to the emergence of new business paradigms. Specifically, this research provides a deeper understanding of the challenges and needs faced by women business owners located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. These insights are important in the creation of meaningful dialogue between women business owners and local government, economic development organizations, banks and business organizations. From an educational standpoint, this research offers new ways to perceive business, especially from a sustainability standpoint, which can provide alternative ways of looking at how businesses can be structured and operate.