Business Opportunities for Women - Top 10 List

Recent research by telecommunications giant, Vodafone, says that 30% of the UK’s workforce aims to start businesses by the year 2011 and that more women than men are aspiring entrepreneurs. Census Bureau statistics compiled by the National Women’s Business Council, also shows that the number of privately held, women-owned businesses in the United States grew 14.3 percent from 1997 to 2002. “We are in the midst of the largest entrepreneurial surge this country has ever seen…” says CNN Money, “Nearly 672,000 new companies had employees in 2005; 12% more than the dot-com boom in 1996.”

In a nutshell, nearly everyone wants to become a business owner these days and in most parts of the world, women are rising to the challenge like never before. Are you bored with your job; seeking flexible work that you can fit around your family commitments; ready for a career change? Rather than sprucing up your resume or preparing for a series of nerve wrecking interviews, consider the top 10 business opportunities for women today.

1. Hobby Craft - Nothing beats turning hobbies and passionate interests into a business opportunity. When Denise, a Northampton England native, became a wife and mother, she decided to turn her passion for chocolate into a home based catering business. Word of mouth advertising boosted sales and in less than a year Denise was picking and choosing work.

Life is short and if you’re going to endure long hours and sleepless nights (yes, growing a business is a lot like caring for an infant), then you’re better off doing work that actually means something to you. Every woman’s needs are unique so it stands to reasons that the best business opportunities will vary accordingly. What are your talents? What are you most passionate about? Whether it’s scrap-booking, mountain climbing, face painting or photography, it’s possible to turn your hobby into your dream career.

2. E-commerce – According to wheretowork.com, women are happiest with part time jobs that allow them combine work and family life. Of the 13 million British women with jobs, 44% work part-time compared with 10% of working men. This means that flexibility is a biggie for most women and what could be more flexible than an online business one can run from anywhere in the world?

Caribbean native, Angela Daniels, owns wickedwicker.com - a website where people can create their own bespoke gift hampers. Israeli native, Lilach Bullock, runs a network of virtual assistants via asklilach.co.uk. Both women can work from the comfort of their homes or from laptops hooked up anywhere in the world. More importantly, they can enjoy the things that matter most to them. For instance, Angela can indulge her passion for travelling whilst Lilach gets to spend tons of quality time with her three year old daughter.

3. Care Work – Careeroink.com lists nursing as the number one job employing high percentages of women in the USA. Careers in customer service, pharmacy, education, counselling and social work also made it to the top ten. Surprised? Women have a caring and nurturing side so naturally we gravitate toward careers that allow us render compassionate care. It helps as well when the average annual salary for a pharmacist is $74, 890.

More to the point, business minded women can turn their maternal instincts into a goldmine. For instance, when Tricia could no longer afford the exorbitant child care costs her children incurred, she applied for the necessary permits and set up shop as the neighbourhood child minder – a clever career move that allows her keep an eye on her children and earn good money too. Top nurturing careers also include: (personal, business and executive) coaching as well as teaching and counselling. With low start up costs and high levels of emotional reward, care work makes an excellent business opportunity for the modern woman.

4. ‘Social’ Work – It’s no secret that women have fantastic social skills. For instance, we usually handle holiday bookings, provide a free ‘birthday and anniversary reminder service’, dispatch greeting cards and organise family events. That’s why business savvy women can quickly and easily turn their social graces into a killer business opportunity. Australian born Glenda Stone, a former school teacher now runs a multimillion event management cum business consultancy firm. Glenda also uses her talent for public speaking to inspire members of the Aurora Women’s Network – an association she set up to provide support to new and aspiring business women. If you are the type of woman who likes to socialise and have a whale of a time, event management may be the perfect business opportunity for you.

5. Managerial Work – Generally speaking, women are better than men at empowering and motivating staff, responding quickly to calls of assistance (due to our maternal instincts perhaps?), displaying sensitivity towards others, managing diversity, identifying problems, defining job expectations and providing feedback. With such a plethora of leadership strengths, women have what it takes to succeed in businesses that involve managing a variety of people and tasks. Excellent business opportunities for women include: party planning, wedding planning, TV production and virtual office assistance to mention but a few.

6. Creative Work – Although women are highly creative and intuitive, many of us shy away from expressing our creative talent. For instance, it is a well known fact that women buy 68% of books (as reported by Publisher’s Weekly, March 1999) yet, according to a research by Waterstone’s, male authors outnumber female writers by a staggering 66 to 27. If you’re keen to set up a business of your own, why not consider creative careers like photography, painting, fashion design, and writing? Writing careers are particularly appealing because they are incredibly versatile. For instance, you can choose to work as a copywriter, columnist, journalist, historian, children’s book author, travel writer, resume writer, romance novelist, self help writer or fiction author. There’s plenty of room for women in the creative world, but get in early while you can.

7. Domestic Work – By the time I was nine years old I already knew how to cook, clean and act like it was no big deal. The truth is that many women don’t see their domestic skills as anything special. However, with the frenetic pace of modern life leaving little or no time for household chores, now is the perfect time to set up a domestic cleaning business of your own. What’s more, overhead costs are low. All you need for starters are buckets, brushes and mops. A cleaning business can be as big as you want; you can work alone on a part time basis or you can hire people to do the dirty work (pardon the pun).

Initial costs are even lower if you decide to offer catering services because all you need to do is show up and cook - naturally your clients will provide the crockery, the gas and the groceries too. Are you an excellent home maker? Don’t take your domestic prowess for granted, borrow a leaf from Martha Stewart and turn it into a business opportunity instead.

8. Inspired Work – Necessity isn’t always the mother of invention, sometimes painful experiences are. After battling with overweight for many years, Jean Nidetch founded Weight Watchers in the early 1960s. Jean’s efforts have evolved from a weekly gathering of podgy pals to a global brand that makes millions every year through member subscriptions and sales of slimming products.

Inspired by personal experience, thousands of women all over the world have set up foundations that raise money and spread awareness about societal ills like breast cancer, rape, domestic violence and eating disorders. What’s your story? You too can make a difference by turning a painful experience into a profitable venture. The more successful you become, the more effectively you can propagate your noble ideals.

9. Humanitarian Work – Women are givers by nature and studies from the Bank of America and Indiana University reveal that entrepreneurs donate to charity organisations the most – in fact it is said that business people donate twice as much as people with inherited wealth. If you’re a woman and an entrepreneur at heart then opportunities to serve humanity may be the perfect career for you. Why not get involved in your local community (and create wealth for the economy while you’re at it) by launching your own non-profit organisation? You can also help students, artists and other disadvantaged people get access to scholarships and grants by becoming a public funds consultant.

10. ‘Man’ Work – Fairer sex or not, be sure to consider traditional male roles if you want to stand out in a crowded market. For example, in August 2005, the BBC interviewed Sandra Edokpayi, who says she became Nigeria’s first female mechanic when she began working with her father 20 years ago. A successful mechanic, Sandra now runs the “Lady Mechanic Initiative”, a workshop where young girls are trained to become auto mechanics. Closer to home, authors Heidi Baker and Eden Jarrin have launched BeJane.Com a DIY community for ladies who want to learn how to do basic household repairs.

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Many women put their business ambitions on hold because they are uncertain what impact entrepreneurship will have on their family life. However, women who involve their loved ones in their business ventures will find that families who work together become happier and more prosperous. Whether you choose to set up a business part time or dive wholeheartedly into the entrepreneurial world, the secrets to success are: creativity, confidence, passion and persistence.

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Ogo Ogbata is a multi talented writer, speaker and consultant. Founder of the Creativity and Sense Network, she empowers people to create financially rewarding work that allows time and energy for what matters most in life.

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