Sisters, like publicist Dana Hill of Boca Raton and Hollywood clothing boutique owner Carol Edwards, are doing it for themselves.

They were among the many black women who in the last decade left corporate jobs and high-paying salaries to start new businesses and be their own bosses.

"I was at the top of my game, making six figures," said Carol Edwards, a former real estate agent. "I liked that. But I decided to take the drive that had made [her employer] a success and make myself a success."

Edwards and Hill are among the fastest-growing demographic group involved in entrepreneurship in the United States. Between 1997 and 2002, the last year statistics were available, black female-owned businesses grew 70 percent, according to the Social Security Administration.

More than 15 million Americans of all races are self-employed. Of that number, 916,564 are Floridians.

Florida has the second-highest rate of growth among black women entrepreneurs in the country. Nearly 46,000 black women were self-employed in Florida in 2002, compared with 21,570 in 1997, a 112 percent rise.

Over the six-year period, black women surpassed black men in operating businesses nationally and in Florida. Experts say the growing number of black women entrepreneurs is the result of more black women getting college degrees and successful role models like Oprah Winfrey.

"There's an entrepreneurial spirit in the black community," said Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute, a San Francisco think tank, and author of a 2004 report on African-American women and entrepreneurship. "The opportunities are [in entrepreneurial enterprises] for women who want to combine work and family."

Hill left corporate America in 2000 to start Hill Girl Inc., a public relations and marketing firm, based out of her Boca Raton home, but she also has an office outside her home.

Her 5-year-old company, which began as an event-planning firm, is taking on publicity and marketing for small businesses.

"I've always been an entrepreneur at heart," Hill said. "When I was in corporate America, the goal was basic thinking. I was tired of people not thinking outside of the box and trying to climb the corporate ladder. They kept recycling the same old boring ideas."

Fresh out of Lynn University, Hill's creativity landed her the job as director of marketing and publicity for LLP Management, a restaurant management firm that had among its clients Dan Marino's Town Taverns.

Hill had searched for a job by carrying a sign, up and down Atlanta's Peachtree Street. The sign read: College graduate in need of a job; $28,000 in student loan due in two weeks.

When she was marketing and publicizing Marino's restaurants, Hill became known as "the queen of events" by turning money-losing publicity events into money-makers.

When Marino, the former Miami Dolphins quarterback, retired from pro football, Hill decided to move on as well, fearing the job would become "just another basic marketing job."

She opened her own company, and after five years, she's still in business.

Edwards started Hollywood Diva in downtown Hollywood in June after watching the success of a friend's business. She left Gables Residential, a property management firm, for self-employment.

"I loved my old company," Edwards said. "But there's nothing like being your own boss. I'm taking a risk, but I'm happy I did it."

Since she was 6 years old, Edwards dreamed of opening a clothing boutique and selling her own designs. She used to sketch her designs on an Etch-A-Sketch and on paper. She cut her designs out and put them on her Barbie dolls.

Her store sells trendy fashions that can be worn casually or to a red-carpet event.

"The reason why my store has been such a quick success is due to the uniqueness of our inventory," Edwards said. "I purchase items that most stores don't or won't carry."

For women like Hill and Edwards, running their own businesses has its benefits.

"You know you're not going to get fired," Hill said. "If you have a bad day, no one holds it against you. You can try things. If you have a great idea and it works, you can pat yourself on the back and say, `Good.' If it doesn't work, you can say `I tried.' In corporate America, with all the second-guessing, maybe you don't try it."