Are you a woman who wants to be your own boss?
Own your time and make good money! You probably read this in a shady get rich quick scheme. No one really gets to do that… or do they? The internet has exploded and given people all over the world the gift of opportunity. Backyard to bank balance success stories fill our Facebook feed, and social media celebrities are self-made millionaires. They all have the same running thread – the desire to make it on their own.
Running a business is no walk in the park, and not everyone can become a social media sensation. But a business or one with low or no investment is a definite possibility. It offers women who want to make money from the comfort of their homes, the opportunity to take it one step at a time and continue to fulfil all the other responsibilities that they are committed to.
The Most Important Investment is Your Time
Starting and running a business often does require lots of startup cash, but it also always also requires a significant time and energy investment. If you hate what you are doing you are less likely to put in the time and effort to make your business succeed. However, if you love what you do, even the little milestones will bring you far more satisfaction.
business ideas for women
The trick lies in marrying a talent with an idea and following it through. For any home-based business to work, skill is a definite requirement. One cannot become a successful home baker without knowing how to bake!
Identify a skill or talent that you think could be converted into a home-based or online business opportunity. Simply go through our consolidated list of business ideas for women who want to be their own boss and find out if you could be one of them.
Food, glorious food
If you are used to receiving compliments on your cooking skills then the food business is what you should consider. One of the most popular small business ideas for women is a tiffin service. There are a host of aggregators that give home chefs a wider audience.
Family recipes, traditional cuisines or simple home-style food is most sought after.
To start, make a WhatsApp list of friends and family who always ask you to make them this or that favourite dish, tell them that you are starting on your own and let word of mouth do the rest.
If catering food is not your style, you could simply document your passion for it. It’s a great business idea for a lady sitting at home with a lot of cooking ideas up her sleeve. Instagram is filled with celebrity home chefs who are reaping returns on their talent in the kitchen.
A great success story is that of Archana Doshi of Archana’s Kitchen fame. She used her passion in the kitchen to create a successful and very popular food blogging website that details meal plans, lunch box ideas and recipes.
Your skills: In addition to the obvious skill in the kitchen, you will need, basic phone camera skills and basic online social media skills for a page to help people find you.
Bake that cake
business ideas for women
If you are the designated cake baker at family functions, then a baking business may be right up your alley. It is a great business idea for ladies with low investments.
Services like Indulge by Innerchef allow home bakers to reach out to a wider audience and bake as per their capacity. Good presentation and quality ingredients will build a client base. Over time you can choose to invest in a website to help you get orders directly.
If you would rather bake for your family, then document your baking adventures.
Your skills: In addition to the obvious skill with the oven, you will need, basic phone camera skills and basic online social media skills for a page to help people find you.
Passion for fashion
homemade business ideas for women in SA
For those with a passion for fashion who are looking for a business idea in India under 10 lakh, opening a small tailoring boutique may work well for you.
Platforms like Shopify and Facebook shop allow you to reach a bigger audience and showcase your designs. Online payment gateways make the entire process so much easier. Prompt client servicing and innovative designs could help begin your success story.
Your skills: Good eye for designs and patterns, production skills that help you get work out of your staff and good customer relation skills.
Crafty ideas
business for ladies sitting at home
If you are great with your hands then a good home-based business for women is handmade craft supplies. The world is seeing a shift towards handmade as it is authentic and unique.
Websites like Shopify offer the opportunity to set up shop online and sell your creations from the comfort of your home. Stationary to handcrafted book covers, great ideas can be used to create handmade goodies that can pay good money. Backing your creativity with good quality and unique products will help build a loyal customer base.
Reaching out to party planners who design wedding and party favours is another way to make this work. They are always on the lookout for unique products and services.
Your skills: In addition to your creativity, you will need an online shop that you can manage like a Facebook shop. Decent skills with a camera phone to take pictures is also essential.
Resell to your social network
business ideas in SA with low investment
Reselling is fast becoming a popular online business idea for women in SA. This is an internet friendly version of the earlier offline “home sales” or “garage sales”, where women would call their friends and neighbours home to showcase sarees, suit pieces and jewellery among other items. For women who have a wide social network, nothing like making it earn you some extra cash!
Your skills: Good eye for trends and new products along with interpersonal skills that will help build customer relationships.
Stock trading
The stock market has a huge potential for becoming a home-based business for women. A large number of market savvy housewives are turning the stock market into their office. They look at earning extra cash by stock trading.
Stock trading can be done from anywhere, even parallelly with a job! It allows you to decide your risk appetite and earn using your financial skills. This option is great for those with a financial services background who have taken a break from work. But that does not mean that those without such a background can’t learn to become stock market pros. A risk appetite, however, is a must.
Your skills: Apart from an interest in the stock market, a regular study of current happenings and the willingness to learn from trial and error are also important.
Daycare centre
business for women
If you love being with kids and have a great time entertaining them, then a good business idea with less than 10 lakh investment is starting a small daycare facility.
When both parents are working, daycare is often the only option for a safe and healthy environment for the child. A small facility that is child safe with a well chalked out schedule as per the age group of children has made many small daycare setups a success.
ing on the terms of your venture.
Your skills: Good business skills concerning facility management, customer relation skills to handle parents and a keen interest in children.
Home-based hobby classes
small business ideas for women
If you have a skill that you are really good at, you can consider conducting classes to share it. Hobby classes like flower making, cake decorating, jewellery making, art, pottery etc are popular with adults and kids alike.
A Facebook page or Instagram account can help spread the word along with word of mouth. This is a very good business idea for women in India, where community living gives people the opportunity to interact and do these kinds of activities from home.
Your skills: Good interpersonal skills, innovative teaching skills and a fun personality will help draw more students to your classes.
Digital marketing services
home-based business for women
Digital marketing has become one of the most sought after services that have great potential for those who want to start their own home-based business.
Online courses abound that give a good understanding of the subject. If you have worked in the field of marketing and brand building, then this might be just the right fit for you.
Freelancing with smaller brands that seek digital marketing services on a project basis is a good way to start and build your portfolio. Having a website that details your projects and the work done would help build the credibility of your business service.
Your skills: In addition to a marketing background, and added digital marketing qualification is important. Good client servicing skills will help you retain and grow your client base.
