Business Ideas for Women in India: How to start a business
We live in the day and age of equality where the men and the women try to divide their duties with both contributing to the household work and expenses. Working for women has become a common norm and everyone does it willingly without hesitation. Back in the day, it was very uncommon for women to work as they were required to take care of the household and children. It was the duty of the man to bring the finances at home. But this social norm is not only wrong but also hinders the growth of the community and the people around. Women are capable of working just as much as men if not more. Today there are countless opportunities for women to start and flourish their own businesses without the help of their male counterparts.
Women are directors, bosses and CEOs of some of the most renowned companies in the world. All while also being a great partner, mother and any other roles they’re required to play. This means women can absolutely achieve whatever they want to if they choose to do so. Working women are supported in almost every society and community and they’re given equal opportunities too to do the same.
Not only that, but the government of India has also introduced a few schemes that help women start their own businesses. This could range from loan requirements to helping in accelerating their business and ease of transactions. Be it anywhere, in the city town or rural areas, women can now be their own bosses and start their own business without them being dependant on anyone or anything. But do ensure, starting a business does come with certain risks and always be prepared for them and do not lose hope if things do not go according to plan. You can always figure out the process in the long run.
Top 7 Businesses Women can Start in India
We’ve mentioned the top 7 business ideas that women can start in India. Please note that none of these is perfect and these are just ideas from which you can take inspiration.
Given all the circumstances and situation and surroundings, while it is easy for women to start a business in India, one of the major reasons holding them back is the capital required to start a project or business. Many might feel women have not equipped to start a business that is a wrong notion or might not fund the women projects. Due to this the capital available to women is low and they need to look at other forms of raining money or starting a business.
That is why some of the businesses started by women are ones that hardly require capital or can be self-funded to a certain extent. Some of the top businesses that women can start with low, medium and high capital are:
- Home bakery and food shop
With the way, women are great in the kitchen and certain women are known for making great Indian snacks and farsaan, they can start their own food shop from home. This is an evergreen business that will always be in demand given whatever economical environment is there. People are always going to prefer and choose to eat snacks. To make it more trendy, they can always add a healthy element to it and that will sell more as people prefer healthy food.
Another great option is to be a home baker. You can start giving out products from cakes to cupcakes and even healthy desserts. Since not every Indian household has an oven, many people prefer buying their desserts from home pop up shops. To add an element of fun you can do seasonal treats based on available fruits and produce. During festival periods, your business will most likely see a boom given in the snacks section or the dessert section as food is a great gift option in Indian customs.
Investment Required: Low to Medium
Raw Materials: Food materials and basic kitchen equipment, packaging and delivery methods
Evergreen Business Model: Yes. All year round
- Fashion Designer and Clothes Store
With the Big Fat Indian Weddings and the evergreen business model for clothes and fashion, if you have the creative mindset and a knack for tailoring or fashion styling, you can always look to starting your own fashion designer label. While there is some investment required on this end as you need to buy material before you start getting the payment and need to pay your tailors and other expenses, it is very manageable to take orders.
Pre Wedding season is a great time to start your business as everyone wants new Indian clothes for different functions. You can also start advertising your business on Instagram as that is how clients will come to you. In case, Indian clothes are not your forte you can also start a small western line as more and more Indians are now wearing western clothes and are very open to trends and fashion.
Investment Required: Low to Medium
Raw Materials: Packaging and delivery methods, Salary to tailors, Textile cost
Evergreen Business Model: Yes. All year-round, especially during wedding season and festivals
- Freelance Blogging in a particular niche
Mom bloggers, food bloggers, finance bloggers or even fashion bloggers are the biggest hot industry in the economy right now. To top it all, if you can cover content on all of these factors, your business is going to succeed for sure. Since blogging will be based on your personal experiences, you do not need any prior knowledge to start your own blog.
Instagram and Youtube are great platforms to start this business. As your business grows, that is your followers on these platforms, you can earn money through brand partnerships and sponsorships. On youtube, you can even earn money through the advertisements that play during your videos. This business can be done with your everyday lifestyle too and you do not need to give up anything to start this business. All you need is great content, a good camera and you’re good to go.
Investment Required: Low to None
Raw Materials: Good Camera, content about your lifestyle, Laptop
Evergreen Business Model: Yes. All year round
- Online Classes and Tuitions for your specialisation
If you have certain skills in subjects that set you apart from other people, starting your own classes and online tuition is the best step for your business. Since lockdown people have gotten used to zoom and google meet classes, you can get students from all over India for the classes you are teaching online. These classes can be in any subject and you can market them over Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads.
If you’re good at cooking or baking you can do that or if you’re better at teaching professional subjects you can even take tuitions for students and prepare them for exams and other competitive exams. As your student base grows you can even look at conducting in-person classes and grow your team by hiring more people and teachers. You can even look at holding courses and having your lectures on apps such as Byju’s to name a few.
Investment Required: Low to Medium
Raw Materials: Skills in the subject you’re teaching, laptop, notes and other study material
Evergreen Business Model: Yes. All year-round, especially during competitive exams season
- Wedding Planners and Other Events
If you have a good network base and know people from all walks of life, this might be the business idea for you. Right from wedding planning to events and parties, anniversaries this can be the business line for you. Ideally, this should be done with a partner as sometimes event planning can become very hectic and there are too many people to coordinate with but it is a great line to be in once your business starts growing and you increase your client base.
You need to know vendors such as decorations, people in the games industry, music and producers, venue heads as you will have to negotiate with them all and the clients. You have to find the best rates possible and give your clients a great experience as that is how you will get more clients in the future. While the wedding industry is a great space to be in, sometimes the investment required might be high as weddings are a large scale event. But if you have everything planned out your events will be a success for sure.
Investment Required: Medium to High
Raw Materials: Network and connections with people in the events industry, good client base and client servicing
Evergreen Business Model: Sometimes. Major boom and peak during wedding season and festivals
- Digital and Online E-Commerce Store
If you know you’re good with making, buying or selling stuff online this is the business for you. Since you can now start a business with just a few clicks, and the easy documentation procedure, having an online store is the go-to answer for your business idea. You could sell anything from clothes, jewellery to even handmade books and stationery. All you have to do is take good pictures to put up on social media, ensure your prices are in a competitive range and that’s it your business is good to go.
Starting an e-commerce store is not an easy thing to do as it does require some amount of capital to buy the goods and products. You will also need some capital for setting up a website or any other digital platform that needs to be set up. Once your business is up and running, you can do brand collaborations to get in touch with influencers and ensure your brand reaches newer heights.
Investment Required: Medium to High
Raw Materials: Basic products and goods needed to sell, a good website and social medial set up, camera
Evergreen Business Model: Yes. All year-round, especially during sales
- Nutrition or Dietician and Ayurvedic Coach
Since health is at the forefront of every individual’s needs you can look into being nutrition or dietician as that is a great business to get into. All you need to do is do a nutrition course from some renowned university and you are good to go. This does require some basic knowledge about the food we consume, the science behind it and how different food products merge and mix with our body and its fluid. But once you are well educated in this field, you can do this profession on a part-time and full-time basis and even work from home.
Being a dietician is not a capital intensive business idea and you can do it at any age you like. To add to your skills and the services you have to offer, you can even look into getting into the ayurvedic space as Indians prefer to go back to their roots. This will help you have an added benefits and will help increase your client base.
Investment Required: Low to Medium based on the education course and certificate
Raw Materials: Good laptop, social media skills to connect with new clients
Evergreen Business Model: Yes. All year round
These are the 7 top business ideas women can start in India easily without having to worry much. Remember, having your own business is great security and you can run it how you like, but there are certain risks attached to it. However, in the long run, the risk will pay off against hard work and consistency. And always ensure your business is also evolving with the time and trends. As mentioned above these are just ideas and if you find an idea you can connect and relate it, always note it down take inspiration from it and see how you can make that idea work for you.