As a bicycle messenger in San Francisco, Lynn Breedlove was accustomed to the punishing perils of pedaling packages on the city`s steep streets.
What she couldn`t get used to during two years as a wheel woman for a corporate client was the sexist work environment.
Among her charges: harassing remarks made to female messengers and sanctioning of favoritism shown to riders who provided sexual favors and drugs to dispatchers.
Breedlove, 33, decided to take control.
”It dawned on me that I could change things,” she says. ”It was in my power to start my own company and just work with other women messengers.”
Taking her small savings, plus a loan from her grandmother, Breedlove founded Lickety Split, an all-female messenger firm, which celebrates its first anniversary this spring.
Breedlove, who calls herself ”team leader” rather than owner, says she`s created a supportive work environment. ”We`re all one unit and everyone shares responsibility” and takes turns dispatching and riding, she says.
The company also specializes in serving all-women and women-friendly small businesses, even providing gratis service to some needy clients, such as a shelter for battered women.
Though the firm remains tiny, she says it`s finding a niche.
The only hitch came early on:
More Top Picks Best Walking Sandals With Support
”I wanted to call (the service) `Fast Women,”` she says, ”but my friends said it sounded like an escort service.”