Written By: Smita B

Small-scale businesses have always been an important part of the Indian economy as they generate many employment opportunities for the Indian population regardless of gender, age, and educational background.

Every category of the Indian population is eligible for small-scale businesses still as per analyzed data, the number of female entrepreneurs is comparatively less than male entrepreneurs. However, some SMEs (small and medium enterprises)or small-scale businesses are highly compatible with Indian women and their conventional lifestyles. Moreover, the Indian economy needs women’s participation in the entrepreneurial sector the most to uplift the country's standards.

Hence, in this article, we have curated a list of the best small-scale business for women to let them discover their potential and achieve their goals without disturbing their priorities and personal responsibilities.

Small-Scale Business For Women: Role Of Women Entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs are a very important part of the Indian economy as they contribute to the economy by participating in various small, medium, or big business ventures or skilled professions i.e. doctors, engineers, writers, lawyers, etc. Especially in small-scale businesses, they play a very important role to encourage economic expansion.

• Contribution In Economic Development

Women entrepreneurs enter various business sectors at different operational stages even with small business ideas i.e. manufacturing, services, sales, etc. However, this contribution adds significant impact on countries economic development.

• Business Operations With Limited Resources and Societal Challenges

It is a fact that Indian women entrepreneurs mostly from tier 2 or 3 cities face difficulties during their entrepreneurial journey. For instance, lack of funds, limited resources, societal pressure, gender inequality and so many other reasons they deal with to establish their business.

• Generating Employment

Numerous women entrepreneurs cup with their small-scale business ideas in industry and now they are running successful businesses and providing lots of employment opportunities to local people to enhance their livelihood without shifting anywhere.

• Promoting Women’s Empowerment

Indian women need to stand up for themselves and break the stereotypical thinking of society. However, women entrepreneurs have taken the step to encourage other females to live their own lives on their terms by achieving financial independence and self-confidence. Moreover, women's entry into the business world has promoted gender equality as well.

• Addition Creative Approach

Unlike males, women have more capability to deal with any problem whether it is personal, financial, social, or professional. They have a unique in-built point of view to the problem and can provide a very creative solution to rectify those problems quickly. Indeed they apply this creative approach in their small-scale business too.

We have seen the role of women entrepreneurs in overall countries' economic development. Now let's move further and have a look at some of the best small-scale business opportunities for women in India.

The Best Small-Scale Business Ideas For Indian Women

Home-Made Food Supply

This business is considered the best for ladies with low investment as it can be started from home with minimal equipment and inventory at an initial stage. This business has various dimensions and any women entrepreneur who has the right skills in cooking and loves the profession can start this homemade food supply business. In addition, the homemade food business can expand at a larger level i.e. catering business, hotels, and restaurants, corporate food contractors, etc.

Here are some potential ways to start a small-scale homemade food supply business.

• Tiffin service
• Homemade bakery products like cakes, biscuits, cookies, bread, etc.
• Homemade Indian snacks such as different types of traditional sweets (ladoo, pedha, gujiya, etc.) and savoury items( sev, papad, khakra, etc)
• Homemade pickles, spice blends,
• Using organic ingredients to craft USP in homemade food products.

Skill Coaching

Coaching is the ultimate profession, especially for women who have developed a particular skill set while growing up and are unable to proceed further. Women with lying skill sets can start small-scale coaching businesses from home, online, or from their studios with minimum investments with time flexibility.

Here are some ideas to start a coaching business

• Dance Academy (Online/Offline/)
• Cooking classes
• Yoga classes
• Singing classes
• Personality development
• Language classes (foreign/Indian)

Customized Gift Articles

The trend of personalized gifting has evolved in the last few years. Hence the demand for personalised gift articles is increasing over time. Women who want to start a business at home with limited investment can take advantage of a customized gift article business. This business also can expand to gain annual corporate gifting contracts, and bulk gifting contracts on occasions like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

Here are some customized gift article items

• Personalised engraved jewellery (male/female)
• Custom photo frames, keychains, cutting boards, mugs, etc.
• Customised photo clocks
• Customized photo collages and prints

Beauty Parlor/Salon & Spa Centre

Women with essential and relevant knowledge of beauty parlors can easily start a beauty parlor business from home. They can serve the local client at an initial stage with the comfort of their home and time availability. Moreover, women entrepreneurs can offer personalised services to their clients in their comfort places. So the cost of physical stores will be reduced.

Women entrepreneurs can scale their small-scale beauty businesses by

• Opening their compact physical beauty parlour
• Opening a large-scale salon and spa studio
• Collaborating with beauty franchise stores.

Content Writing Services

For women who are looking for online businesses for ladies’ home kind of opportunities writing services are the right choice for them. However, to start this business, women have to adopt the digital content writing skill set. After gaining the proper knowledge of the digital writing field women entrepreneurs can set up a small-scale virtual writing service business with their website or professional digital platform like Linkedin, Fiverr, Upwork, etc., and offer their services through those platforms.

Here are some niches to start a content writing services business

• Creative writing
• Copywriting
• Scriptwriting
• Article writing
• Medical writing
• E-book
• SEO writing

Youtuber/ Vlogger

This is an interesting profession every woman can pursue with maximum income and extreme time flexibility. Video content is based on YouTube profession which any woman can produce. The investment to start this profession is to have a smartphone with internet connectivity where you can shoot your content videos and upload them on the YouTube platform. YouTube has its parameters regarding its payment structures i.e. number of subscribers, number of views, likes, shares, and comments on the content video.

Here are some content ideas to start a YouTube channel

• Food/recipes vlogging
• Educational videos
• Live streaming
• Gaming videos
• Family vlogging
• Product review
• Reaction videos

Conclusion

women's entrepreneurial journey adds a positive impact on the country's economic development and social development by bringing gender equality to any profession. Hence, India’s thriving economy has allowed women entrepreneurs to start small-scale businesses and achieve personal as well as professional growth.

This opportunity provides them the freedom to incorporate their creativity, fresh approach, abilities, skills, and passion into their business operation to take the business to the next level.

However, Many women are unaware of the potential aspects they have, which can lead them to live a successful life.

Most women are surrounded by personal responsibilities, limited financial access, and limited time for themself.

So in this article, we have shared some amazing small-scale business ideas for Indian women who want to leverage their inner skills to be a self-made women entrepreneur in 2024 without compromising their personal lives. For more details reach out to us at FranchiseBazar.

FAQ’s

Q.1. What are the best small business ideas for women?

Apart from above mentioned small-scale business ideas following ideas also work best for Indian women

• Stitching and tailoring
•  Boutique store
• Digital marketing agency
• Commercial photography
• Interior Designing
• Social media influence
• Jewelry making
• Handcrafted product trading

Q.2. How hard for a woman to start a business?

The point of view about women entrepreneurs in India is evolving. However, some conventional beliefs block the path of women’s entrepreneurial journey even in the current era. For instance, the lack of family support, financial support, societal pressure, unawareness of current market trends, and many other reasons make’s women start-up journey a little difficult.

However, to get rid of these problems, they should approach a good business consultant before starting any business without knowledge. It will assist them in establishing a prominent business.

Disclaimer: The brands mentioned in this blog are the recommendations provided by the author. FranchiseBAZAR does not claim to work with these brands / represent them / or are associated with them in any manner. Investors and prospective franchisees are to do their own due diligence before investing in any franchise business at their own risk and discretion. FranchiseBAZAR or its Directors disclaim any liability or risks arising out of any transactions that may take place due to the information provided in this blog.