20 successful business ideas for women in India

(Last Updated On: May 30, 2023)

Over the last few decades, online business for women in India has skyrocketed. Women entrepreneurs are emerging into different industries and sectors. Any woman can start any kind of business. In this blog, we have prepared a list of business ideas for women in India based on market forecasts and industry trends. 

Owning a small business empowers you to steer your life path, set your hours, and most importantly, attain financial security.  Let’s dive in.

Women in business

According to a recent report, there are about 8 million female entrepreneurs in India. Even though 8 million sounds like a lot, it is a mere 14% of all entrepreneurs in India.

But there has been progress. In India, the percentage of women holding senior management positions in mid market business stands at 36% – higher than other countries at the same economic level. This clearly means, India’s infasturture is friendlier to the growth of women in business.

Let’s look at how to start a business.

Before we look into the huge list of business ideas for women in India, ask yourself the following questions:

• What am I good at?
• Who am I selling to?
• What will be the profit margin?

This will help you come up with a business idea or at least choose a niche you want to get started in.

Related read: A whitepaper that outlines actionable tips that help you cultivate trust in your consumers.

List of business ideas for women in India

Whether you want to build a profitable side hustle or create a successful business at home, here is a list of business ideas that can help you.

Handmade crafts 

Women unquestionably have an edge in handicrafts. Some Indian handicraft items include jute bags, bamboo buckets, mats, and terracotta figures.

Handmade items are in demand across the country, which makes it one of the best business ideas for women in India. You can sell your products online via social media or by creating a personal retail store.

If you’re into crafts, this is the perfect business idea for you to start from home. Turn your hobby into a business: here’s a free guide to help you get started as a handmade products business owner.

You can use your handicraft skills to make eco-friendly daily-use products. For example, Bag2basics, a sustainable brand started by Santhiya, an entrepreneur based in Tirupur, makes grocery carry bags using the highest quality plastic. 

She brought back the old style of wire basket, giving her customers a reusable, long-lasting, washable and multipurpose item. Read more about how Bag2Basics redefines sustainability. 

Want to start your own handmade products store? Get started for free here!

Online gifts store

Gift stores are evergreen businesses. Whether it’s for weddings or birthdays, housewarming or cultural festivals, we Indians always carry gifts! You can sell anything from coffee mugs, toys, stationery, photo frames, clocks, and much more.

Take your gift store business online by signing up for a hosting site. 

Related read: Part-time business ideas

Soapmaking

Soaps come under the category of “organic and natural products”. Many consumers look out for soaps with natural ingredients. Thus, homemade soaps already have a huge market in India to be explored.

You’ll need raw materials and equipment to start making soaps. You can start this business at home and expand it accordingly. The advantage is that there are no specific licenses for soap if you do not plan to sell it on a large scale.

One Pour Tree, a natural skincare brand founded by Fizaah Fayaaz, sells soaps via her online store. What started as a small social media business grew into a community that wanted to stay away from all the toxic substances introduced.

Read the full story here.

Create printable pieces and sell them online

Printable pieces are documents that can be downloaded and printed by consumers. This is a great idea for passive income. You can design a template using graphic design tools and sell them on your online store or marketplaces. 

Some examples of printables include calendar planners, project planners, meal planners, financial planners, stickers, journals, spreadsheets, workbooks, and colouring sheets.

The biggest advantage is that you can start with little to no investments. Since the products are digital, you won’t need to worry about storage and inventory.

Other digital products you can sell online include eBooks, courses, and audiobooks. Read more about selling digital products online here.

Jewellery Business

Indians are crazy about jewellery. The demand for artificial jewellery is ever-increasing. You can sell hand-made jewellery from home. Women indeed have a knack for accessories, making this a great business idea for women.

For example- Ae Ri Sakhi, started by Jayati Dave and her mother Hema Dave, sells sustainable jewellery pieces. They’re made from recycled cloth and have a collection of ethnic designs. Check out their store here. 

Related Read: How to Sell Jewellery Online in India – Tips and LIVE examples

Clothing business

Starting your own clothing line is definitely a good business for women in India.

Apart from being an evergreen business idea, it also has good profit margins: around 30 to 40 per cent. And there’s potential to bring in extra profits during festive seasons.

Here’s a guide on how to sell clothes online in India and create a successful business.

Merchandise business

You can narrow down your focus and sell clothes, jewellery, or other products targeted at a particular fanbase. The best examples of merchandise businesses that are loved by Indians are Souled Store and Bewakoof.

Here’s a small business that sells BTS merchandise online: Aurora Hope Pins

Food business: Tiffin service

If you love to cook, nothing can stop you from becoming a food entrepreneur! It can be based on anything that has demand in your local area. You can specialize in the kinds of food you want to sell- vegetarian, desserts, continental, and so on.

If you are based out of a city, high chances are tiffin services will be high in demand. Basically, tiffin service business runs by collecting pre-paid orders and delivering home-cooked food.

But how do you set up a food business online? The most popular option is to set up a tiffin service. You can use WhatsApp to create a group where you put up the day’s menu and collect orders.

You can also create a website to add all your menus. This will make the process easier.

Remember: Any food business needs the certification of the Food Safety Board of India. So make sure you get the paper works ready.

Read this blog to know how to set up your food business from scratch.

Sell baked products

Who doesn’t love cakes?

Selling baked goods is an evergreen business idea for women who knows the intricacies of baking.

You also have a scope of getting good profit margins: anywhere between 5% to 20%.

Start your baked goods business by selling within your neighbourhood or locality. Let your friends and family know that you bake. To reach more people, start a Facebook or Instagram page where you can post pictures and videos of your products.

This is a more challenging business idea because you will need to get together supplies and storage become crucial. Also, packaging and delivering baked goods is much more challenging than any other product.

Know more about products with good profit margins here.

Sell art online

Do you have a talent for creating aesthetic things? If yes, you can turn this skill into a viable source of income. It can be anything from hand-lettering, making dreamcatchers, to creating mini-sculptures. Selling unique art online is always in demand in the market.

For example- Avni Mehta started an online macrame business during the lockdown- Artbuzzar. Macrame is a sophisticated technique of weaving rope together to make beautiful art. Find out more about how Artbuzzar became a successful full-time art business.

Here’s another interesting art business idea: selling miniature art objects. Bagaway, founded by miniature artist Hiranmayee, is a business that focuses on miniature art products: daily life objects made into pocket size.

 

 

Beauty products business

The beauty products industry has been climbing steadily over the last decade and is expected to grow another 5% by next year.

If you’re passionate about beauty products, this is a great business idea for you.

You can either sell products of other brands or start your own beauty products line. There has been a steady increase in demand for handcrafted beauty and skincare products, especially those with organic and vegan raw materials. Consumers are moving away from mainstream beauty products.

Related read: How to sell cosmetics online in India

Starting your own line of cosmetics is not as hard as it seems. There are many small businesses out there that successfully sell homemade beauty products. For example, June Cosmetics sells vegan cosmetic products which are made locally. Read more about how this college student started a beauty brand online.

Photography

An average photographer in India can earn a 6-figure revenue per month. If you love clicking photos photography is a business you can pursue. When you start, you’ll have to build a portfolio. Photographers are needed at weddings, parties, and other special occasions.

Leverage social media to let more people know about your photography. Once people get to know about your photography services, you might want to collect bookings easily.

The best way is to have a simple one-page website:

Create your own free landing page and kickstart your photography business.

Blogging

Blogging is one of the best business ideas for women at home. Your working hours can be flexible. You can write articles according to your interests like beauty, food, travel, child-care, personal development, and so on. It is important to note that blogging can take a while to earn a decent income. But, the plus side is that initial investments are close to zero.

You can also start as a freelance blog writer. Here’s how you can make money with quality content. 

Online tutoring

Women with academic skills can help students learn their subject of choice. The skillsets you need are basic communication skills and the required qualification. If you have high-level expertise on a particular topic, you can create an online course. 

You can get people to sign up for your classes with the help of a landing page. Here’s a guide on selling courses online.

Reused goods

Women who love accessories, clothes or various other decorative items for themselves can set up an online store, it can make you independent.

You can sit at home and also make your products and sell them through various social media platforms and at the same time you can also handle the chores at home.

 

You can sign up at Instamojo and get your business started today! Also wondering how to start a thrift store online? We can guide you.

Caretakers

Nowadays in every house, we come across most of the married couples who are working and are pretty much occupied with work and find it difficult to take care of toddlers or elderly people in the house.

There is where your business can get involved, as a caretaker you can get paid for the hours that you spend. You can get all bookings through your page or your website (which you can build).

Beauty services

Who wants to go to the parlour when the party starts in an hour? Nobody does, right? Here is when you can swoop in to save them with your small business.

Before one books your slot for them, ensure that you are a certificated beautician, in this way, you can have more customers, covering larger circles of places within the city.

Save the moments with Polaroids

In the fast-paced world of today’s world, nobody wants to go to the printer and get a picture printed and stick it up on the walls. Instead, they would want to get an instant picture at that moment and carry it around. You get to sell a lot of love and happy pictures to most of the customers.

For instance, Pooji’s Opus store is one of the small businesses that have signed up with Instamojo. The page sells decorative polaroids and many other cute products.

Not everyone can buy an Instax but can definitely purchase a Polaroid from your business for a better and budget-friendly price.

Home Decor

Have a creatively bent mind? Consider selling catchy and unique home decor items. Odd Trunk, a female owned business has a store that will inspire the artist in you.

Source: Instamojo

Phone accessories: 

Sell attractive accessories like lanyards, pop sockets, customized phone cases and lots more. All you have to do is create a page, gain your customers’ trust, share reviews on your social pages and also create payment links for the customer to have easy transaction of payments to your account.

Artoitness sells one of the best phone accessories online with customization options available for the customers.

 

Don’t be limited to these 20 ideas! If you have your own unique idea, let us know in the comments!

Do you want to take your small business online? Let us help you get started with our online store. 

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