With increased globalization and modernization, women are looking forward to gaining a certain degree of financial security and independence. They are encouraged to be able to sustain their livelihood by themselves.
Even in developing countries like India, women are now breaking the stereotypical patriarchal norms. There are various small business ideas for women in India that women can, and are trying out, to get financial security.
As a woman, there are many hurdles that one may have to encounter while starting a business since Indian society is male-dominated. Thus, it may be recommended for women to establish their startups from a small-scale.
In order to help their partners for the purpose of running their families, and get some additional income, there are quite many small business ideas for women in India, which they can look up to in order to make some extra money for the month.
The feminist movements around the globe have also made an impression on the women, so they are more willing to be able to afford their daily expenses. Due to these feminist movements, there is diversity in the options of the small business ideas for women in India.
Starting and sustaining a business can not be a piece of cake. It requires extreme efforts, dedication, time, and money. This article will provide some potential small business ideas for women in India who have the desire to try out their luck in financial fields.
In order have your business getting successful, bearing the potential skills is a pre-requisite. After all, you cannot become a choreographer, without knowing how to dance. Thus, before thinking of small business ideas for women in India, it is important to identify your skills.
These small business ideas for women in India can range from working from home to setting up a small workplace. It can also include renting out a place for an office or simply a bakery.
The article will list down all the possible small business ideas for women in India, so if you have been thinking to start your own business, you have definitely come to the right place! You have taken the first step towards becoming an entrepreneur.
For small business ideas for women in India, they can range from online to offline tasks. There are low versus high investment ideas, the degree of risks and uncertainty when comes the part of going for the right niche.
India is a booming economy where the markets are getting competitive with every passing day. It offers many developmental friendly reforms, which may aid you while starting a business idea of your own.
Why is it important for women to start their own business in India?
The trends are changing across the globe, and the position of women is now getting stronger as days pass by. Since India is a developing country, it is also adapting to the modern position of women.
There are various reasons why in the 21st century, women need to have a stronger position in society. The position is typically made stronger through being educated and financially secure.
Around forty-eight percent of India’s population is female, however, the women’s participation in economic activities account for only twenty-five percent.
·       Importance of Being Financially Stable
In developing countries, the condition of women has been poor previously. It is only within the last decade that some progress has been made concerning the status of women.
They had to face extreme abuse and exploitation by staying in toxic relationships or environments. It was simply because they were not financially independent.
If the rate of working women increases dramatically in India, the rate of exploitation and abuse is expected to decrease significantly.
India is gradually transitioning into an egalitarian society, with increased access to education, social media exposure, social awareness and social enterprises for women.
·       Essential to Break the Stereotypical Norms
For centuries, women had been held back, restricted to homes, and looked upon as secondary citizens, only made for household chores and domestic tasks.
The women were considered secondary and inferior beings who were simply expected to follow the orders of their male guardians, in a robotic manner.
With the position of women changing across the globe, the women in India have started to take part in economic activities and break the stereotypes and social biases.
An increased number of women becoming entrepreneurs have improved the status of women. The exploitation rate has decreased significantly, thus it is highly essential for women to take part in business activities, to improve their conditions.
·       Leadings to the increase in India’s Economic Growth
Women bring about diverse ideas to the table, which can lead to significant success and growth in various industries. They have a different way of thinking and dealing with problems, as compared to their male counterparts.
With more women becoming entrepreneurs, the local industries in India are getting competitive, thus leading to an overall increase in India’s GDP.
Women are considered to have more efficient communication and networking skills, as compared to men. This may make the business more effective, thus increasing the revenues and the total output of the country.
What factors must be considered for small business ideas for women in India?
·        Opt for the Right Business Idea
Whichever business you choose to start, it is essential to make sure that the idea has an essence of innovation and creativity. The idea can be modified through your own touch of uniqueness.
You must also weigh down the pros and cons before starting your business, and look at the current market scenario of related businesses within the same field, present in India, before starting your business.
·        Spend Time on Ensuring Quality and Branding
Your small-scale business would get an edge when you create a brand image. It is important to make sure that you create customer loyalty by providing them with quality products.
The better you market your small-scale business, the more people will get to know about it. Thus, branding is one of the most important factors for small-scale businesses.
You could use social media platforms like groups and pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, as an effective branding strategy, or even create a website, as e-commerce websites can have multiplier effects and benefits on your business.
Before starting your business, you must keep in mind that there is intense competition out there, as the markets are very concentrated. Thus the better you market your business idea the more will be your chances of success.
Consider the Make in India program, initiated by Narendra Modi to encourage local entrepreneurs by offering them different incentives that would ensure the quality of the small-scale business in India.
·        List Down All the Technical Details
Before starting a business, it is essential to plan every aspect of it, including financial plans, operational plans, marketing services, vendors, and delivery.
It might also be beneficial for you to spend some time studying the domestic market for your business in a relevant field. Moreover, look up internationally in terms of how women start their business, and what problems they encounter.
·        Know where to Get Funds from
Usually, these small business ideas for women in India are self-financed, or people tend to take loans from some close family members and friends. However, the investment depends on the scale of your business.
Thus, it is recommended to list down all the possibilities in case you are running short of cash to start your business. In India, some banks give capitals for the start-ups.
Moreover, there are other funds for the community development that focus on the welfare of people, thus offer loans for small-scale business. This might help you overcome the financial hurdles.
Recently, there has been a trend of venture capitalists in India that offer funding on different terms and conditions to support the local entrepreneurs.
List of Business Ideas for Women in India
These are the best small business ideas for women in India to consider:
1. Yoga trainer
Women in today’s era are capable of doing anything. Fitness is something that almost all youngsters and middle-aged women are fond of.
Those who consider themselves passionate about this particular exercise, they can obtain training and after obtaining their expertise in training, they can turn their passion into a profession by making a small business and means of earning out of this.
You could either call the members at home, or you could even provide yoga training online, through live sessions. More options include uploading of yoga videos on a YouTube channel.
2. Blogging
In today’s world, every individual has a knack for blogging. An important and essential part is, that blogging is not just a cup of tea. It requires extreme dedication, time, good writing skills, proficiency, and passion, to a great extent.
You could try blogging in different niches, such as for someone who loves to travel, he/she could become a travel blogger and foodies could go for food blogging. Other niches include makeup, lifestyle, fashion etc.
You could share the tips, tricks, and honest reviews for a certain product, and get paid for it. You could also get paid for sharing the PR packages sent by people.
V-logging is also trendy these days. For instance, if you are not so good at writing, then you could simply turn your experiences into a short video clip and share it with people. For instance, your blogs can include travel videos, food reviews, or even a makeup tutorial.
3. Sell your Sculptures or Pottery
Women who are into art and artistic stuff have already very bright minds. Those women who are into sculpting or pottery, they can create a good business out of their hobbies as well. Women could use their artistic minds to create masterpieces.
You could not only sell your sculptures and earn from those, but also you could teach these skills as a course, to the local neighborhood women or children.
The Indian culture is deeply into sculptures and statues. Some of them hold very sacred or religious values to the Indian individuals. This could be a good opportunity for women to turn their art into earning. The local consumers might be very keen to acquire these skills.
4. Start Cooking Courses
Even the food industry has become globalized across the world. Thus, people love trying out different cuisines. Some prefer Oriental, while others like more of Pan-Asian.
Particularly, in India, people love exploring different kinds of food. They are crazy about their local spices and flavors. The women who love to do experiments with different flavors, spices, and have a passion of cooking, they can change it into a profession.
Mostly, women all over the world as well as those in India have a knack for cooking and are amazing cooks in themselves. Those who consider themselves having expertise over this amazing skill, they can surely provide some catering services.
The food could be sent to offices and industries on a daily basis with a weekly menu. This could also be done for big events such as weddings, local ceremonies, celebrations etc. The individual could start from the smallest stage, with very little investment.
Indian culture is extremely rich in the matter of flavors and spices, which could enrich this business. Other than that, cooking classes could also be provided to the beginners, or the recipes could be uploaded on YouTube channels.
5. Choreography
They say, you cannot teach something if you are not passionate about it. The same goes for dance or choreography for that matter. Dancing is something many people consider as their therapy, passion, and a way out of stress and so on.
There are so many women in India who love dancing and choreographing. Many of them take classes or training for the purpose of improving. The same way, individuals can change their passion for dance into choreography in order to start teaching.
Certain people, who definitely would have a skill but not ample resources could start from a small scale in order to give online classes by taking a certain amount of students in a time slot. For catering purposes, a nice space can be rented.
The Indian culture is rich in the development of dance. The main niche includes traditional and classic kathak dance. The passionate ones could get experience here and teach the ones who are keen to learn, around the local neighborhood.
6. Start a Fashion Boutique
Mostly women all over the world, plus in India are equally crazy for clothes and their dresses. They keep conscious about how they style themselves and what they wear. They are very particular about their clothing.
Women in India, in particular, love banarsi saree, or embroidery on clothes. It gives a traditional and cultural look. Thus, starting a boutique could be one of the best small business ideas for women in India.
It is one of the most profitable business which in turn requires less than an ample amount of investment. It comes with promising profits in return.
You could start up business on the small scale by taking space on rent with minimum orders for the beginning. You could promote yourself or through friends, family, and social media. Creating a brand image would play a crucial role for your business.
7. Daycare for Pets
Just like daycare for kids, daycare for pets is equally important these days. Many people work and can not leave their pets alone at home.
Thus, by providing daycare services for pets, women can earn. They can make a play area in their home. They can keep pets and charge on a daily basis by providing them with meals and services.
This way, they can earn and it proves to be beneficial fort both the parties. They can even offer training and grooming facilities for the pets. However, this requires extreme patience, attention, and love for the pets.
Moreover, you could also sell homemade food for the pets, people might prefer the food made by you as compared to those available in the markets.
8. Make-up Artist
Due to the global technological advancements, things are mostly based on the e-commerce business. Women being in India can take courses and learn makeup skills from anywhere around the globe. They can start up their ventures.
They can easily set up a home-based studio and this does not require a heavy capital either. The main target audience can be the customers who are not willing to spend heavy amounts in normal salons.
This could turn out to be one of the profitable small business ideas for women in India, as the locals in India love going to parties, ceremonies and events. There is always one thing or the other happening. Moreover, the Asian individuals consider the application of make-up as a dire need.
By taking appointments for wedding events and other celebrations, you can earn well. If people require more services, you can offer them customized packages per their needs.
9. Social Media Management
Women in India can opt for handling the social media for different businesses. This might also suit them well since women in India are usually family-oriented and are not willing to leave their children alone at home.
This may provide them with an opportunity to continue their business by working from home as they can respond to the queries on Instagram, Twitter, Emails and Facebook. This way, they can earn some extra cash, and also be aware of the business world.
This teaches them the way of communication and teaching with others as social media management teaches a lot of customer dealing, patience and various skills.
This business idea may be the go-to one for the women in India, as it does not require any kind of capital investment in the first place. Thus there are no risks attached with consideration of the management of social media as a business option.
10. Become a Travel Planner
The locals in India love to travel, but with a busy work schedule, they do not get enough time to search up places that would be according to their budget.
Thus, you could design travel packages for them, with the prices of hotels, restaurants, tourist destinations that they could visit. These plans and packages could be customized according to their preferences and desires.
Considering the fact that the tourism industry around the globe is growing and booming, this might help your business to succeed and have a multiplier effect on it. With attractive packages and pricing, you may gain a lot of customers in no time.
Your destinations may range from local to international places, you could also add on different attractions like water and mountain sports, honeymoon packages and the family packages.
11. Provide Nursing Services
Nursing is a well-reputed job that allows you to take care of individuals of all ages. It helps promote the well-being of the community and also the prevention of sickness.
In India, Nursing is practiced a lot. The profession helps the nation to maintain the quality of life of people coupled with their health. Educational advancements and clinical exposure have given a wide acceptance of this field in India.
Nursing does not only include caring for sick, but qualified nurses can also work as teachers or researchers. The careers for nurses are open and vast. Many of the aspiring nurses are women in India.
A fact that can never be denied is that nurses never go unemployed if they strive for work as they hold a place in both private and public places such as homes and hospitals.
Moreover, nursing skills and qualifications can allow women to open up their nursing bureau. This can turn out to be a great idea for women to earn by themselves and consider it as a small business idea.
12. Offer Freelancing Services in Different Niches
After all, who would not like to have some extra bucks in their pockets? Freelancing is a great way to earn those extra bucks by considering it as a business idea.
Freelancing can be even done from home. Thus, it is an easy way to earn money, with no investments required. You could be your own boss and can work according to your own feasibility.
In particular, freelancing works as a great opportunity for women who are housewives in India. They can finish their daily chores and then work easily and comfortably in their own home.
There are various fields within freelancing, that one can think of before considering it as a business idea. Such as writing articles for freelancing websites like Fiverr. The niches can include creation of animations, providing marketing services.
The niche may differ as well, according to your own interests. For instance, if someone is interested in writing on fashion niche, they may choose to write on that. Other niches may include health, education, science, technology and so on.
Freelancing is one of the best small business ideas for the women in India, as it is an emerging field due to the advancements of e-commerce. Thus, it could guarantee you success in the long term and provide you a wider scope.
13. Start as an Interior Designer for Homes or Offices
India is a country that is full of culture and heritage which is often aesthetically reflected through their interior designs. People are usually very considerate about how their homes or workplaces look. They spend special efforts in designing their places.
Interior designing can be considered as a top notch small business idea for women in India as they are considered to be very conscious individuals when it comes to converting a house into a home.
Thus, being an entrepreneur in the field of interior designing could help them provide their expertise to different people by decorating their homes, offices and workplaces.
According to a survey, India is ranked as the top 15 countries in the world for its designing capabilities. Having a business of designing of homes is one of the great opportunities for the women in India.
You could have different client networks in no time, if you consider this as a business opportunity, by providing the clients with customized packages, and designs per their preferences and liking.
Nonetheless, having an essence of creativity, knowing about the color co-ordination, furniture styles, different designs and historical architecture is a pre-requisite.
14. Jewelry Designer
The demand for heavy jewelry is high all over India, with the culture and heritage focusing on heavy jewels for all walks of life. Be it bangles, jhumkas for everyday wear or jewelery for weddings and parties.
As the market has got more competitive jewelry industries, more people are looking for unique and customized pieces to wear. Especially with the hike in prices of gold and other rare metals, most middle class people rely on the artificially made jewelry.
Wire based jewelry, handmade gota jewelry and those with pearl and jewel embellishments are high in demand in India. Thus this might just be the right pick for you to consider it as a business idea and design the jewelry at home.
You could sell your products to the local markets, or the women in local neighborhood in the initial stages. Then later on, expand the business to a larger scale and consider taking orders to design customized jewels according to the choice of people.
15. Start a Henna Venture
The art of henna is getting recognition worldwide as south Indian women, remaining true to their heritage, have introduced the world to their intricate bridal henna tattoos.
This is an upcoming and emerging field, with an increasing demand for unique designs, patterns and reasonable skill. A lot of skilled henna artists are being called internationally too to grant their services.
People in West, who typically have a craze for tattoos, also look up to getting henna or mehndi designs now. Thus the mehndi business is getting trendy again.
Moreover, people in India love their celebrations and have the desire to get on mehndi tattoos on various occasions. This may provide you with great profits.
16. Try your Luck with GhostwritingÂ
Many websites and blogs these days require ghostwriters who can produce content that is not plagiarized and is of sufficient quality to boost their sites by providing a continuous stream of content.
This freelancing job can provide the comfort of work from home with flexible working hours and is great for anyone looking to make some money as a side-hustle.
17. Become an Audio transcriberÂ
For many journalists, lawyers and research workers, recording long conversations and interviews is the prime role. All the subjects are needed to be transcribed, so they can be further shared, edited and worked upon.
This is a relatively easier form of grunt work that requires only listening to the audio/video and converting it in to written content per request. This, it should definitely be considered as a small business idea for women in India.
18. Start a Tuition Centre at Home
Education helps to change the world, and makes it a better place to live. It is used to spread knowledge by teaching as it is one of the key ways for building a better future.
In India, women are highly skilled but cannot leave the household due to various reasons. This is where the concept of teaching from home arises.
Additionally, the parents are also willing to send their children for the purpose of attaining more attention from the tutor than from a teacher in school who deals with many students at once. This might provide you with more clients, in the starting of your business.
Moreover, teaching from home makes a person earn better than the salaries received in schools. The Indian industry is constantly growing with a rate of 35% per year. You might just start from the kids in your neighborhood.
Conclusion
All the businesses have their pros and cons and in the end it is only your passion and dedication that can thoroughly make a difference and define the success of your business.
The extent of small business ideas for women in India which is successful for you, will depend on various factors. But it is only important for you to stay focused, have faith in yourself, and just never give up!
In the end, the recipe to establishing a successful business, even at a small-scale includes, a pinch of being risk-taking, having adequate skills, be daring enough, lastly topped with lots of confidence, determination, courage, and self-confidence.
