Need small business ideas for Indian women? Here are 10 profitable and successful small business ideas for Indian women and housewives to take inspiration from.
With an increase in the cost of living becoming a problem even in tier-2 cities of the world, many Indian housewives are hoping to start small businesses from home to earn extra income for their daily requirements.
In India, 60% of all industries belong to the SME sector and the Indian Gov. is doing its bit to encourage small business owners to set up shop. If we want Indian women to add to the GDP of the country, we need to offer valid and actionable small scale business ideas for housewives.
In times when women’s empowerment is being heralded as the way forward, starting a small business with the ideas below can help Indian women become financially independent.
Indian women and moms can find expert business coaching and mentoring on the SHEROES app for women to help them launch their dream business and support their families and kids, whether they’re married or single mothers.
Building on our many lists of small business ideas for Indian women, here are 10 more proven and successful small business ideas for Indian women to help inspire you to launch your own startup or small scale business.
These small business ideas for ladies include some business models that have worked in the past and some that you can start today from the comfort of home.
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10 Profitable & Successful Small Business Ideas For Indian Women
Are you looking for proven small scale business ideas for Indian women? Here are 10 profitable and successful small business ideas that Indian moms and housewives can take inspiration from.
These business ideas for ladies might be small, but they can create a huge impact if they inspire even a few women to start a small business that creates financial security for themselves and their families.
1. Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad
This famous co-operative was started in 1959 in Mumbai by 7 Gujarati women who stayed in Lohana Niwas of Girgaum Locality. With a seed capital of just INR 80, they wanted to start an enterprise with only one skill they were all experts in i.e. cooking.
The firm was named “Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad” and was registered as a Co-Operative society under the then recently introduced Companies Act (1956). With guidance from Chhaganlal Karamsi Parekh, they focused on quality, product standardization and proper maintenance of accounts.
The business grew with the women doing all cooking by themselves to the employment of 25 girls aged above 18 who were assisting them in the process. Steadily, it expanded to different parts of the country with several women agents helping the brand to reach rural lands as well.
Watch the amazing story of Lijjat Sisters – from INR 80 seed capital to a turnover of 1600 Crores.
Can you come up with a similar business model that will work by creating a cooperative for women? If so, you could very well become a successful social entrepreneur.
2. Mann DeshiMahila Bank
The Mann DeshiMahila Bank was started by Chetna Gala Sinha in 1997 at a small village called Mhaswad in Maharashtra. The village belongs to Satara district, an area that is seriously prone to drought cases and is heavily dependent on Agriculture.
In such a heavily resource depleted area, work done by Mrs Sinha is commendable as she set up a Radio station for the unemployed women of the village apart from starting her co-operative bank (Mann DeshiMahila Bank) which helped many women to start their own business through the availability of capital.
Vandana Pise was one of the women given training on financial literacy and, after successfully making her loan payments, she turned around her business and now earns enough to be able to send her children for higher education.
Her other contributions to the village included setting up cattle camps, checking dams construction which helped reduce excessive use of resources in the village giving the villagers an idea on how to manage their resources.
What ideas can you think of to help women in rural India create financial independence for themselves?
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3. Freelance Writing Or Blogging Business
Creating internet income through digital content creation and blogging has become a huge area of demand for businesses. This has given many budding freelance writers an avenue to showcase their talent and mastery over their native language.
Blogging can be a huge business opportunity for website content writers to sell their content writing skills to organisations that want to promote their products and services through their own social media channels and blogs.
There are plenty of self-made celebrity writers who make money blogging and earning huge bucks to start their own businesses..
4. Home Tutoring Or Online Teaching Business
Home tutoring is definitely the queen of all home businesses for Indian women. There is every possibility that you will come across private tutors in every city who teach students in a rented place.
Women have traditionally been known as good teachers so it gives an opportunity for highly qualified women to start coaching classes at their own place or in a rented place for highly popular and evergreen courses like CA, CS, CMA, IIT-JEE, Medical etc.
The next iteration of home tutoring is online tutoring, which allows women to take up online tutoring jobs or go into business by creating online courses of their own, all from the comfort of home.
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5. Sewing & Embroidery Business
Sewing and embroidery are traditional arts carried on by generations. Mostly done by women, there are numerous techniques in embroidery sciences that are not much known about in the world. For example, TODA is one such embroidery style quite famous in the Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu.
Taking inspiration from a very famous Hindi film, women can start a cooperative society of stitching experts so as to be able to attract contracts for work in different countries.
A similar model has been followed in Kullu-Manali where there are several Government-recognised weaver associations employing thousands of winter clothes makers who are experts in the Kullu style of embroidery as well as the weaving of shawls.
Also read: How to Start Artificial Jewellery Business From Home
6. Home Tiffin Business
Cooking is a very handy skill to start a business with. A recent example is from a trip to Darjeeling where we came across a local Bengali Restaurant providing homemade quality lunch at Rs. 100 per plate.
The restaurant has been functioning since the 1950s with interiors replaced with concrete from wood back in the day. It has been able to provide a decent income to its owners who are able to live peacefully and send their kids to school.
There are more homemade food business ideas for ladies who love to cook, such as starting a YouTube recipe channel and earning money from ad revenue or collaborations and sponsorships with advertisers.
Pro Tip: As long as you can follow economies of scale and maintain pricing per plate, you can learn how to start a home tiffin service, as Shipra Baranwal, founder of a six-figure home-kitchen business in India, can attest to.
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7. Patiserrie Or Chocolatier Business
Cooking is a very handy skill that many housewives can take advantage of as many Indian men still don’t know how to cook. They can go a step further and start their own pastry business or chocolate making.
This is quite a popular business in metropolitan areas like Delhi, Mumbai, Los Angeles, London or New York, with a cosmopolitan population where the cultural and culinary contributions of different communities are appreciated.
You can be flexible if you request your prospective customers to place their orders in advance so that you have ample time to do your work and expand your production and distribution area.
Pro Tip: Start small and target locality wise. Work on promoting your work in a particular locality. Once the word gets around and your business becomes successful, you could even create a franchise.
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8. Interior Design Business
Interior design is a very flexible arena and you don’t need any training to start consulting as a designer as long as you have a good aesthetic sense. Take a page out of Suzanne Khan’s book and start your own interior design consultancy firm.
With the desire for high-end design among the wealthy class, this is an opportunity for artistic and creative women to start an enterprise that allows them to express their creativity and passion.
The only caveat is getting clients and this will require you to build a brand and promote your work in order to make your enterprise profitable in the long run.
Or you can take a shortcut and open an online shop in India on the 22-million strong SHEROES platform for women and have a ready market to showcase your home decor and interior decoration brand.
Pro Tip: Zero compromises on the quality of products sold to design offices or homes. Customers look for a first-class finishing touch.
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9. Mobile App Business
With India’s Smart Cities initiative currently underway, there is no better time than the present for starting a small business in the field of software development.
With the world going digital and the focus on women safety being high in consideration across the world, it is the right time for starting an all-female app.
Here are some successful Indian women in technology who started their own mobile apps:
- Sairee Chahal, founder of the SHEROES app for women
- Neha Kanodia, co-founder of the GoGaga dating app
- Swati Bhargava, co-founder of the CashKaro app
Pro Tip: You could focus on developing apps devoted to women safety on the lines of the Vodafone “Sakhi” app which can help many women stay in contact with their family or law enforcement for their safety.
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10. Female Taxi-Aggregator Business
With taxi-related crime constantly occurring in metro cities, this is a chance for starting an all-female taxi business that can cater to the transport needs of women working late-night in offices across the country.
There are already certain local level private transport initiatives in Mumbai and other cities, like TaxShe™ as well as the Pink Auto service, which means it is a viable business to get into.
Driving a taxi can be a great side gig for women who how to drive and a good opportunity for college students to earn some money for their college fees.
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Start Selling Online With SHOPonSHEROES
To support every woman in her entrepreneurial journey, the SHEROES app for women now allows every woman entrepreneur to start a SHOPonSHEROES where she can sell her own products and services or resell premium brands in a social setting, with content tools, dashboards and her own community.
So if you want to open an online shop in India, you can learn how to start an online store without investment and sell products online with the SHEROES app for women.
Want to know more about SHOPonSHEROES? Read the articles below:
- How To Build An Online Shop In India With SHOPonSHEROES
- Top 10 Online Store Ideas to Sell Products Online
- 7 Benefits of a SHOPonSHEROES Online Store
- SHOPonSHEROES Arts And Crafts Stores With Beautiful Handcrafted Gifts
Don’t know what to sell in your SHOPonSHEROES online store? Join the SHECO Partner program and start selling high-quality, high-margin, premium brands at a profit.
Today it is important to train Indian women or at least assist them in setting up their own small business, home business, or online business in India.
If you plan to apply for small business loans for women-owned businesses in India, you should also learn how to write a business plan as it will improve your chances of success as an entrepreneur.
Since women are more likely to spend time with their kids at home, they can help the next generation learn about entrepreneurship and harness their natural innovation and creativity to turn their dreams and ideas into reality.
We hope this small business ideas list will inspire more Indian women to start up their own small scale businesses for ladies and create financial independence for themselves and their families.
About the author:
Priya Florence Shah is the Group Editor at SHEROES and author of Devi2Diva, an emotional self-care book for women.
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Work At Home Business Ideas:
- How To Build An Online Shop In India With SHOPonSHEROES
- Top 10 Online Store Ideas to Sell Products Online
- 7 Benefits of a SHOPonSHEROES Online Store
- 7 Best Hobbies And Skills To Earn A Side Income From Home
- SHECO Partners Share How To Make Money From Mobile Phones
- Zero-Investment Business Ideas For Housewives
- How To Start An Online Reselling Business With Reseller Apps
- How To Start An Online Business Without Investment In India
- 6 Steps To Start A Virtual Assistant Business From Home
- How To Start A Social Media Marketing Agency From Home
- How To Start A Beauty Salon Business: 6 Steps To Success
- Life Coaching Business: Be Rewarded For Transforming Lives
- How To Start A Stitching And Embroidery Business From Home In India
- 5 Profitable Work-From-Home Business Ideas For Housewives
- 5 Mompreneur Ideas For Moms Based On Your Motherhood Experience
- 10 Business Ideas For Women: Turn Your Passion Into A Business
- Top 10 Small Business Ideas For Indian Women With An Enterprising Streak
- 21 Profitable Small Scale Business Ideas For Women
- 17 Proven Business Ideas For Women In India
- 10 Food Business Ideas In India (From Low-Cost To Big-Budget)
