Let’s talk about the best business ideas for women! It’s so important for our world to have women in business. After all, we’re half the population—that’s billions of women with unique ideas, skillsets, and visions for the future.
Female business owners own 40% of businesses in the United States and generate 1.8 trillion dollars annually. They help keep the economy running while improving their own lives and innovating new ways to make the world better.
While any woman can start any type of business she has the knowledge and experience for, here are some of our favorite small business ideas for women who want to be their own boss!
The great news is that a lot of these business ideas are low-cost to start. Especially if you already have the necessary skills to get started!
Business ideas for women with kids
If you have children, then your life is probably quite busy already. But there are still plenty of great job ideas you can do even if you’re busy with your kid’s schedules and don’t have a lot of extra time.
1. Bookkeeping and accounting
If you liked math in school and have a knack for numbers, you might make a great bookkeeper. Bookkeeping is a great small business idea for women because you can easily find free bookkeeping courses to get trained in the right skills.
You can often find flexible online work doing bookkeeping for small businesses. That’s why it’s one of the great business ideas for women at home. Because you can do it as a side hustle or as a full-time job.
Accounting requires more training, but you can start with bookkeeping while you take your accounting classes.
2. Professional home organization
Remember when everyone was talking about Marie Kondo? It drew attention to the fact that many people aren’t happy with the amount of clutter in their homes.
However, sometimes it takes an un-emotionally attached third party to manage the purging process. With a home organization business, you can charge an hourly fee to declutter a home and style rooms in a better way.
It’s a great business for women who are highly organized and have a passion for explaining their organizational processes easily to others.
And this job has flexible hours that you set yourself – a huge bonus!
3. Caring for animals or children
Do you love animals or kids? Get paid for it!
Almost 79% of childcare workers are women. Starting a home daycare can be a great business idea for women. That way, you can stay at home with your kids while you work!
You’ll need to obtain the proper licensing for your state, set up a welcoming care space, and consider how you’ll handle the thousand things that kids can need.
If you’re a pet owner or an animal lover, there are plenty of ways to turn furry friends into furry clients. You could offer services to pet owners like pet sitting or grooming. You can also start a dog walking business by using an app or website.
4. Photography
The money in photography is mostly in events like weddings, and it can be a difficult industry to enter.
But it also makes a great side business idea for women since you can schedule wedding or portrait sessions on weekends and still keep your weekdays free. So learn how to start a photography business and earn some extra money!
5. Social media management
Social media management is a good business idea for women who know how to navigate social media. If you like keeping up with online trends, can grow a following, and like managing social media accounts, then you can be a social media manager.
Marketing isn’t just for big corporations. In fact, many small business owners use the internet to advertise their services and connect with their customers.
Social media management may involve daily tasks of posting and interacting with clients on Facebook, Instagram, and even Twitter. It could also mean creating video content for YouTube channels.
You can start offering services for skills you already have, like growing a large social media following for example. And for sure, you can pick up other skills as you get more experience.
It’s an especially great job for moms because you may be able to fit your social media tasks into your day whenever you have time, instead of working 9-5, depending on your client’s schedules.
Best business to start for women who want to work remotely
If you would like to work remotely or work from home, then starting an online business is a smart idea. Here are some of the best jobs.
6. Starting an online course
You can share your expertise on a certain subject by building your own courses. It’s a highly efficient way to teach others. It’s a lot of work upfront, but once you’ve written the materials or recorded the videos, the bulk of the job is done.
In addition, you don’t have to start from scratch. Because there are a variety of online course platforms where you can build and sell courses.
7. Web design
Web design is one of the best home-based businesses because you can work from your computer. It’s common to see self-taught professionals in the tech industry, so you can easily find resources to teach yourself web design and start seeking clients.
There are several different tech skills under this umbrella, including visual design, UX (user experience) design, and sometimes basic coding like HTML. Your goal is to make websites attractive and also easy to navigate.
8. Graphic design
Use your art skills and graphic design software to make logos, infographics, advertisements, web banners, and more.
Web design and graphic design services are great small business ideas for women at home. They’re an excellent option for women who’ve already worked in a similar industry and are ready to strike out on their own with a graphic design business.
9. Virtual assistance
For many small business owners, virtual assistants are their lifeline—the ones behind the scenes who keep everything running.
Virtual assistants typically perform a variety of administrative tasks like answering emails, organizing calendars, doing research or data entry, etc. You can work this job on your own as a side hustle or scale up and hire other virtual assistants so you can take on more clients.
10. App development
Coding skills are easy to learn for free online and have a wide variety of useful applications (no pun intended). If you want to use them to work for yourself and build projects, you might enjoy focusing on app development programming languages.
You can build any kind of app you want. But if you want to add a female-centric twist, there are plenty of helpful apps built by women for women.
Think about the small problems you encounter each day as a woman and how an app could solve them. Then, you could build one related to personal safety, making new female friends, personalizing skincare based on data, etc.
11. Travel planner
If you love to plan things and have a lot of knowledge about great travel deals and flights, you might be interested in being a travel planner or travel agent.
Help clients book fantastic trips, flights, or transportation, and generally make sure that their vacation goes smoothly.
12. Running an online store
There are tons of online business ideas for women at home, but one that offers lots of flexibility and low startup costs is running an online store. With your own online store, you can leverage the power of the internet.
You can get your products out into the world without renting a physical retail storefront.
You can run your business through an established e-commerce site like Etsy, Amazon, or eBay. But you can choose to build your own website on a platform like Shopify.
The biggest question is what to sell—and that part’s up to you. You can sell your own crafted items, flip garage sale finds, or design clothing—whatever there’s a demand for. To get started, you’ll need an internet connection and some creativity.
13. YouTube fitness videos
If you have a specific fitness skill, like aerobics or yoga, you can make YouTube workout videos. It’s one of the best ideas for women at home because you can work from anywhere.
You’ll need to start a YouTube channel, do research, market your channel, and also be sure to create interesting videos with good lesson plans.
14. Teaching English online
Since English is a global language, there’s plenty of demand from adults who want to learn it and parents who want their children to grow up bilingual.
There are already plenty of companies like VIPKID where teachers can offer their services. Or you can take another route and start your own business as a private teacher if you have the marketing chops or connections.
15. Sell wall art
Have great ideas for decorative wall art? You can create your own designs and then sell them online.
People are always looking for unique ways to decorate their homes, so this can be one of the best small business ideas for women. You can make designs using a computer and then sell the image online, or if you prefer, you can draw or paint unique art.
If you choose to go the computer route, you can use a program like Canva to create beautiful artwork. And if you want to paint or draw your own artwork, you can sell it online or even at a market or a store.
16. Writing/blogging
Did you always get an A on your college essays? You might have a talent for the written word! Use it to start a freelance writing business or run and monetize your own blog on a topic you’re passionate about. This is my career, so I won’t be biased: it can be a hard business to start.
For example, for every great client, you might encounter 10 who want to pay a penny per word. You might get your start writing ultra-glamorous content about water filters and whether asphalt or concrete is better for driveways. It’s all part of the journey!
If you go the blogging route, it takes time to get established in your niche. It takes a lot of work and learning SEO (search engine optimization) before your blog posts start appearing in search engine results.
Only then can you turn your blog into a successful business and a source of revenue. You can make money from affiliate marketing and also by selling products on your blog.
Or you might decide to become an author and instead create an ebook. You can self-publish or publish traditionally, but either way, it’s possible to make an income this way.
Business ideas for women who work full-time or have a busy schedule
Maybe you’d like to start a side business, but you already work a full-time job or are just very busy. The best business to start for women without a lot of free time will be one that can work around your schedule.
17. Woodworking
Do you love to make things? If you’re an experienced woodworker, you can make and sell furniture, decorations, and more.
A woodworking business involves some expenses, such as tools and materials, but if you are thinking of going into the woodworking business, you likely already have a lot of these items.
18. Jewelry making
If you have an artistic eye and love to make things, then a jewelry business could be for you. You’ll need supplies and tools to begin, but once you’ve created a few designs, you can start selling them.
You can do this online or in person, depending on what works better for you.
19. Consulting business or coaching business
You can become a consultant for something that you have a lot of experience with. For example, marketing, business, etc. Clients can hire you to give your opinion and ideas about how they can improve.
Or you might choose to become a coach who helps others achieve their goals. Some common types of coaching jobs are a life coach and wellness coach.
20. Real estate agent or a landlord
If you’re interested in real estate, become an agent. First, you need to obtain a real estate license and take an exam. Then you can sell people their dream homes and make a great income at the same time!
On the other hand, if you’d rather own property, you can purchase a rental house, condo, or apartment and become a landlord. Or you might rent out commercial real estate. It’s up to you, though this approach takes some money because you’ll need to buy a space to rent out.
21. Personal trainer
Personal training can be a great option for anyone who loves fitness. A lot of people want to get in shape and like the motivation of having a personal trainer.
Coach your clients to become their healthiest selves by making workout plans and providing helpful advice and suggestions.
22. Tutoring in-person or online
Women with academic skills can use them to help kids succeed in their subject of choice.
You can offer tutoring for elementary school students, high schoolers, college students, or even adults.
23. Teaching music
This can be one of the best small business ideas for women skilled in an instrument. Advertise locally and have students come to you for lessons in piano, violin, guitar, or whatever your specialty is.
You can also teach virtually. There are requirements to teach music in schools, but anyone can give private lessons.
24. College prep
Due to competitive college admissions, many high-school students need extra help to set themselves up for success.
With a college prep small business, you can offer SAT tutoring. You can also help them write practice admissions essays, give advice on applying for scholarships, help them brush up on the subjects they’re likely to face their first semester, etc.
Best business to start for women who want to be full-time entrepreneurs
If you want to devote the majority of your time to your business, there are a lot of options. Check out these ideas.
25. Skincare & beauty
Despite women comprising the bulk of consumers in the beauty industry, approximately 2/3 of beauty brand executives are male.
But since these products are primarily used by women, it makes sense for them to be created by women as well, right?
To help inspire small business for women ideas, here are 50 female-owned beauty brands spanning lotions, cleansers, skincare for women of color, makeup, and more.
A small Etsy shop or a farmer’s market stall are great jumping-off points for these home business ideas for women. Hone your craft with artisan soaps, dry shampoo, body butters/scrubs, or other natural beauty products you can make at home.
Also, consider sensitive and minimalist skincare product ideas when creating your business model since there are fewer of those around.
26. Cleaning company
Cleaning is a great business to start that is practical and lucrative. You can begin by cleaning homes or office buildings and one day expand your business by hiring a team.
While this may take a lot of hours in the beginning, as you get more clients and more people working for you, you can spend less time working.
27. Open a bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast business venture combines a real estate investment (your B&B building itself) with the hospitality industry (offering rooms, meals, and hotel-style amenities). Usually, you can charge a decent rate per night for this kind of boutique experience.
It’s much easier to find a building for a small B&B than it would be to open a full-fledged inn or motel. If you’d prefer to skip the “breakfast” part, you can also host short-term rentals through a platform like Airbnb.
A short-term rental business can help you cover the mortgage and taxes on a property and turn a profit, but it can also be risky during periods of travel uncertainty.
Build a solid business plan, and don’t over-leverage yourself. Your bills for the property will still be due even if no guests stay that month!
28. Interior design
Help people create attractive and functional spaces in their homes, and run your own creative business!
Note that in some states, starting an interior design business requires that you have specific licensing.
29. Tour guide
If you live near a tourist destination area and enjoy meeting new people, you can start your own tour guide company! Show guests famous sites and restaurants, and answer their questions.
While it may take time to get started, this can be an awesome way to earn money for the right person.
30. Event planning
Event planning is another industry that involves a ton of multitasking and coordinating details, and it’s one of the best business ideas for women at home.
You can start a wedding planning business to help brides and grooms coordinate all the things that go into the day. These include flowers, catering, DJs, photographers, and anything else you can think of.
Or you can focus on other types of events. Become an event planner for corporate events, business grand openings, product launches, children’s parties, etc.
31. Baking business
Make cakes for special occasions, take orders for cookies and cupcakes, also bake fresh loaves of bread, etc.
Baking is one of the best small business ideas for women who love being creative with making baked goods. And it can take several forms.
You could get a physical storefront and start an official bakery, offer made-to-order baked goods for pickup or delivery, or even sell them online if you’re confident they’ll ship intact.
32. Catering
You can also start a home-based catering business to prepare appetizers and meals for various types of events.
If you can occupy a niche market that’s rare in your area you’ll be more likely to get attention as a new business. For example, new markets you can explore are gluten-free or vegan catering.
33. Food truck
Take your recipes on the road by investing in a mobile kitchen—a food truck business! These can be costly to start up, so it might be wise to test your recipes and local demand on a smaller scale first.
Of course, they’re still much cheaper than a full-fledged restaurant and can give you more freedom with the business.
34. Makeup artist
If you’re great at makeup and know how to market your services, you might do well as a makeup artist. You can do makeup for theater, events, movies, and more.
For this sort of work, it’s important to keep developing your makeup skills through taking courses, watching videos, and lots of practice.
35. Chef
If you have the training and the time, you might consider becoming a personal chef. You can cook meals for families and plan out the weekly menus.
A chef job is a fun and creative way to start a business, and it may lead to a catering business or a restaurant, eventually.
36. Flower shop
Open a flower shop if you love designing bouquets and have a lot of gardening and plant knowledge.
You can sell flowers, plants, corsages, and boutonnieres, or even handle the floral arrangements for weddings and events.
Try out one of these best business ideas for women!
To start your woman-owned business off on the right foot, take our free business courses on creating a solid brand and marketing strategy. While you are at it, don’t forget to prioritize your self-care as an entrepreneur!
There’s no better time than now to take action on the above-listed business for women ideas!
And remember, there are tons of lucrative businesses and side hustles out there, and you’ll find the perfect one that fits your lifestyle and your finances.