This is part of Folksonomy's Featured Female Entrepreneur of the Week series of interviews.

If there is a woman that can inspire, its Marleen McDaniel. Words cannot even begin to describe Marleen McDaniel's accomplishments. I can only pray that the injustice I will bring her by attempting to do so in this introduction, doesn't lead to a lawsuit.

We all have much to learn from this lady. Prepare yourself to be inspired.

What will it take to encourage more women to start companies?

Starting a company is an enormous act of creation requiring love and commitment. The process is exactly the same whether you are a male or a female. The only people who can sustain the energy required to incubate a company are those who can channel and sustain their positive emotions habitually over time. What I am saying is that this cannot be taught or encouraged. It comes from within and just is.

Women can be taught by other role models, but it is all about self worth and self actualization, not about mechanics such as engineering, marketing, or finance. This is why it is so hard.

The creative process to start a company begins with the idea or inspiration. This idea is like a spark of positive energy. By staying focused on this idea you will ultimately attract the money, people, and clients to get the idea off the ground.

Women can do it.

What do you think is the biggest obstacle for women in today's world to start companies and how can we address that problem?

Women have been trained for centuries to be caregivers. As such, we are naturally attentive to the needs of others. And thank goodness for that. However, attending to others is both time consuming and energy depleting. So, many women who have families and husbands do not allocate sufficient time to attend to their own needs.

In my opinion, this is the root of the problem.

There are also issues of security, self assurance, and the like. Again, this ability is dependent on our habitual skill of harnessing positive emotions. People who find positive outlets for their God-given talents create positive meaning in their lives. Positive emotions create an upward spiral attracting what you need to start a company. When you feel that you can accomplish anything, you can. Because there is an opportunity behind every adversity.

Unfortunately, many people do not focus on what they can do, only what they can’t or only the reasons that they find the obstacle too hard to overcome. This is a downward mental spiral that will lead to missing the important cues that life sends us that are the doors opening to the wonderful opportunities that are available.

If cash flow was not an issue and you had had the choice to do any kind of startup, what would it be?

I have already had the fantastic experience of starting 6 successful companies. The ride is awesome.

Right now, I think that I can be most effective teaching others. I would just love to spend my time cultivating entrepreneurs. This could take the form of public speaking, which I am both good at and love to do, books, or seminars on motivational topics. I believe that I can assist people who are interested in beginning or expanding their company in a very big way.

When it comes to entrepreneurship, do you think women have less opportunities than men, and if so how can we change this for the better?

Women have all of the same opportunities as men. However, they need to learn how men think about business in order to obtain financing and customers since much of the money in the world is controlled by men. This is a relatively simple idea, but most women do not understand this fact and this is often where they get stuck because we need capital and we need revenue to win at entrepreneurship.

What or who is your greatest source of inspiration?

The great women of the world all inspire me. Mother Theresa, Grace Murray Hoppper , Oprah Winfrey, Princess Diana, Madeleine Albright, Sophie Germaine (mathematics), Florence Nightengale, and Shirley MacLaine, just to name a few.

There are so many wonderful inspiring people….we meet them every day.

What or who is your personal motivation for being an entrepreneur?

My mom. She is gone now, but I guess I have always wanted to make her proud and to be and do what she might have liked to be herself. I miss her and love her.

My dad. He is also gone now. He was a very talented mathematician and rocket scientist. He is a beautiful person. He gave me the gift of curiosity. I miss him and love him.