The president of d_parture Spa, Gina Stern of Newark, New Jersey and the president of Relax on Cloud 9, Doreen Zayer of Staten Island, US, have both been awarded for their entrepreneurial skills at a recent ceremony in New York City.

The US-based Make Mine a $Million Business programme for women entrepreneurs was established in March last year and, since then, more than 15,000 women across the US have joined the scheme.

Stern and Zayer were part of a group of 20 women, chosen from 450 applicants nationwide, honoured by the programme’s organisers as successful and inspiring business owners.

Stern operates three d_parture spas are located in two airport terminals –two in Newark and one in Orlando, Florida. Zayer founded Cloud 9 Spa in Staten Island in 1995.

All 20 award winners were awarded a combination of mentoring, marketing and technology assistance to help turn their enterprises into million-dollar businesses by 2010.