When it comes to would-be women entrepreneurs, there are many business ideas that they can look at. Here are five small business ideas for women to check out.
Women business owners don’t just contribute to the family income, but also forge an identity of their own.
A substantial number of Indian women have done extremely well for themselves in business and even created large corporations with huge valuations. However, there are also many women entrepreneurs doing quite well running small but profitable businesses, often out of their homes and garages.
Editor’s note: Once you've chosen a business to start, put your new venture online in less than 5 minutes with Online Starter Bundle.
Terrific small business ideas for women in India
More and more Indian women across cities and small towns are foraying into entrepreneurship these days. Here are five good small business ideas for any woman dreaming of starting her own business:
- Day care.
- Bakery.
- Stock trading.
- Tailoring boutique.
- Content creation.
Let’s look at each of these business ideas closely, followed by where you can to look for a startup business loan.
1. Day care
First on our list of small business ideas for women is childcare. With more and more urban India women joining the workforce, the demand for daycare facilities where working mothers can leave their children has grown tremendously.
The investment required for this business is minimal.
To start a daycare center, all they need is some spare space at home, with a few changes to make it inviting and comfortable for small children.
One can paint the area in bright, cheerful colors and provide toys and games to keep little children busy. Any woman who has raised children of her own would take to looking after small children quite easily. Read about how the Sangini Child Care Cooperative in Ahmedabad runs their daycare centers.
2. Bakery
Any woman who loves baking could make a successful business of running a bakery from home.
- With young aspirational India having taken to celebrating all kinds of occasions in a big way at work, one could tie-up with offices to cater to their employees' demand for cakes.
- One could also reach out to residential areas and tap into their demand for cakes, cupcakes and homemade bread.
If you have the skills required for this business, the investment required in equipment is reasonably modest.
This is the kind of business that can be promoted quite easily on social media with the help of bright and vibrant pictures of the bakery items being sold. Word of mouth by family, friends and relatives too can help publicize your offerings initially.
3. Stock trading
Another small scale business for ladies could be stock trading. This can be easily carried out from the comfort of one's home.
Depending upon your knowledge of the stock market, you can turn this into a viable income stream.
You can start trading with an amount as low as a few thousand rupees.
Having a finance background can be helpful, but you can learn on the job. It would be a great idea to watch investment shows on TV business channels to understand the dynamics of the industry. A keen insight into the goings-on of the corporate world would help as well.
4. Tailoring boutique
If you are a fashion aficionado with a keen sense of style, you might want to look at opening a tailoring boutique. Having a background in fashion would be a plus.
If you own about 300 square feet of space or are in a position to rent it, you can equip it with some sewing machines and hire a tailor.
That is all that it is going to take! Running the business like this can cost lesser than one lakh rupees a month.
At first, you can sell your wares through Shopify or other marketplaces. These services not only give you access to a large target audience, but also make receiving payments quite easy.
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5. Content creation
If you have a way with words, you could make a fine career out of freelance content creation. Any business worth its while requires written, photographic and video content for its website. Many routinely hire people who can write blogs, press releases, white papers and research reports.
Other forms of content creation include:
- Photography
- Videography
- Graphic designing
- Animation
Content marketing is huge in today’s digital world. Those with the right kind of skills can cash them in big-time.
One can obtain orders through platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, WittyPen and Guru. If you have the penchant for this kind of work, you can get started with little more than a computer and an internet connection.
Related: How to start a freelance writing business in India
Small business loans for women
There are quite a few small business loan schemes for women in India. Among the better-known ones are:
- The Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme for women entrepreneurs running beauty parlors and daycare centers awards loans of up to Rs. 10 lacs that can be paid back in a maximum of 10 years.
- The Annapurna Scheme by the State Bank of Mysore offers up to Rs. 50,000 to women selling packed meals and snacks.
- Shree Shakti Package for women entrepreneurs. Offered by the State Bank of India, this funding is open to women with at least 50% ownership in a business.
- Bhartiya Mahila Bank Business loan can be availed of by women to the extent of Rs. 20 crores against property and up to Rs. 1 crore without collateral.
5 types of small scale business for ladies
Indian women looking to start small businesses have a wide range of ideas to choose from. All of the businesses listed here can be easily set up, most with minimal expense.
The fact that there are many small business loans for women entrepreneurs means that an ever-larger number of women from across the country can set up a small business of their own. Going forward, one can expect to hear of many success stories from the growing number of women entrepreneurs running highly successful small businesses.
