47+ Business Ideas for Women You Can Scale

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Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, working mom (woman), looking for a side hustle, or just want the flexibility to work for yourself- you’ve come to the right place to find business ideas for women. If you’re new to working from home, this article is a great place to start browsing for ideas. If you find an idea you like, you can dig a little deeper and see if it fits your interests, hours, and is scalable the way you’d like for your future goals.

If you’re ready to ditch the 9-5 or dabble in extra income, this list of ideas will inspire you. We’ll cover options with low-start up costs that are easy to start and beyond.

Why Work from Home and or Yourself?

When browsing our business ideas for women, think about never having to…

✿ Work for someone else.
✿ Put up with annoying coworkers.
✿ Commute far distances.
✿ Only earn small raises.
✿ Deal with a grumpy boss.

And, above anything else, working from home and having your own business is FUN (creating a small home office, making your own schedule, and taking on work as you see fit is your kind of fun).

Plus, the earning potential is quite good with your own business because you’re in control- your work-from-home business can grow into something large or stay small – it’s really whatever you desire. These are all small business ideas for women you can start building asap and then potentially scale in the future.

RELATED READ: 40 Side Hustle Ideas for Moms

Business Ideas for Women: The Full List

Let’s review all of your options for starting your own business, including online business ideas, certifications, service-based, and product-based business ideas.

Online Business Ideas for Women

1. Virtual Assistant

Virtual assisting is the new way to help business owners with administrative tasks such as invoicing, data entry, email management, and much more. This work-at-home business idea is perfect for someone with a lot of administrative experience but who wants to start working remotely. These days, many businesses want to train their assistants anyways- so you could land a job with no experience too.

2. Pinterest Virtual Assistant

Do you spend time on Pinterest? Starting a Pinterest virtual assistant business is a booming business idea but is a good example of niching down as a virtual assistant. A PVA helps entrepreneurs grow their businesses using Pinterest.

3. Teach Online

If you have a skill set, you can consider teaching online. For example, you might have a strong command of the English language and could teach it online to children. I have friends that teach “circle time” for preschoolers via Zoom too (making more than they did as full-time teachers).

4. Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is a great business idea to start working from home on your own terms. Bloggers, brands, and businesses hire freelance writers for different reasons. You can set your rate and create a fairly profitable business from the comfort of your home. Companies might hire you in-house as a writer or content manager too.

If you have experience in a certain field this can improve your chances (for example, I got started writing in the medical field with my background as a physical therapist). Plus, these days you’ll want to keep up with the trends of AI writing for both scaling your freelance writing business and setting your rates.

5. Ghostwriting 

Similar to freelance writing, ghostwriting is when someone hires you to write pieces in their tone and voice. Bloggers will often hire ghostwriters to churn out more content quickly.

6. E-book Writer

If you have knowledge to help people solve a problem, you could consider writing ebooks and selling them for income on platforms like Amazon.

7. Blogging

Sharing useful info with a blog to an eager audience can be lucrative if it’s treated as a business and not a hobby. Blogging is a long-term income profitable business idea with low initial costs as long as you are willing to work and wait for the rewards.

8. Data Entry

Whether you want to find an entry-level data entry job or beyond, this is a great market for

9. Podcasting

Podcasting has exploded in recent years, and for good reason. Like blogging, podcasting is a way to express yourself and reach an audience online. You can use ads to monetize, and if you’re successful, it might lead to more opportunities.

10. Start a YouTube Channel

Start a YouTube channel and build followers and connect it to Adsense to make money.

11. Sell Printables

People love printables and there are numerous prints that you can create and make money with. Everything from planners to invitations to health trackers. Printables are perfect for someone who loves to create pretty things online but isn’t necessarily a graphic designer.

12. Social Media Manager

Love spending time on social media? Why not make money helping businesses streamline theirs.

13. Life Coach

If you love the idea of helping people do more in life, becoming a life coach just might be your ticket to your own work-at-home business. What does this kind of coach do? They advise clients about different areas of their lives, such as health, career, and goals. Most importantly, they hold their clients accountable to reach their goals.

14. Business Coach 

Like a life coach, a business coach helps clients pursue and achieve their business goals.

15. Create Online Courses

If you’re savvy in an area you think people will be interested in, create an online course and teach it to them. This can be anything from creating a course about baking a cake to postpartum recovery or building a 6 figure business selling flowers.

16. Consulting

Are you an expert on a topic? Consider offering consulting services to businesses and help them make important decisions with your guidance!

17. Proofreading/Editor

Content creators are busy and don’t always have the time to proofread their stuff. Offer to do it as a service, and you’ll literally get paid to read all day.

18. Transcriptionist 

Offering to transcribe videos for business owners is easy home-based work. There are also companies that offer compensation for this type of work too. While there is software that can do this, it is nothing like a human would offer.

19. Web Designer

If you have an eye for design and like the idea of creating websites for businesses, consider becoming a web designer. There are website builders available now that make designing a website relatively easy. Become an expert with one of them and offer your new talent as a service.

20. Online Marketing

Online advertising takes time to learn, and businesses know they need to be using it. Many of them are willing to pay someone else to take care of it. Consider learning about FaceBook ads, YouTube ads, PPC, and any other online ad form.

21. Sell Products Online

Want to sell a product online? Consider starting an e-commerce website. Just make sure to do niche research so that you choose the right market and see success. (See more specific ideas below!)

22. Meal Plan Service

People are busy, and solving what to make for dinner is something people will pay someone else to do. Offer a healthy meal plan service, offer it online for convenience, and you can build a successful business from home.

23. Find a Remote Job with Amazon or Other Large Company

These days, you can find a work-from-home amazon job in areas like customer service, delivery, supply chain, and beyond. Other large companies that offer remote work options include Disney, Indeed, Walmart, and beyond (really anyone these days will consider it!).

24. Build an App or Software Program

If you know how to code, create your own app or software that addresses a pain point in a specific niche. Don’t know anything about coding or computer engineering but have a killer idea? Work with someone to develop it!

RELATED READ: How to Start a Business When You’re Pregnant

Get Certified in Something Meaningful to You

Is there something you’re passionate about? A sport, hobby, profession, part of motherhood? Chances are there’s a way to turn it into a job. Plus, the passion you have will greatly increase your chance of succeeding. Here are some examples:

1. Certified Sleep Consultant

Become a certified sleep consultant in 4 to 6 weeks and help tired parents (and their kids) get more sleep. Talk about a lucrative business idea!

2. Doula

Become a certified Doula with a reputable company to support moms through pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond

3. Breastfeeding Counselor

Become a breastfeeding counselor or certified breastfeeding consultant (IBCLC) and support nursing moms. To be an IBCLC, you will need a background in the medical field, such as a nursing degree.

4. Health Coach

Become a health coach and support others in their health journeys. This can include support for weight loss, better eating, better sleep, stress management, and beyond

5. Dance Instructor

Train to be a dance instructor (so many choices like Zumba, Oula, and beyond) and teach at a local gym, in your home, or virtually.

6. Yoga Instructor

Get certified as a yoga instructor to help others learn to breathe, stretch, move, and live mindfully.

7. Personal Trainer

Get certified to help others with their fitness journeys. You can work at a gym, from home, or even start a mommy-and-me fitness group at the park.

8. Realtor

Become a realtor in your local area and help locals find their dream homes, sell properties, and make investments.

9. Other Health Related Certifications

Pursue a certification related to holistic health (a growing field), such as Reiki healing and massage therapy.

Service-Based Business Ideas for Women

People are always looking to pay others for a service, so they don’t have to do it themselves. Here are some service-based work-at-home business ideas for women to look into starting today.

1. Bookkeeping 

If you love working with numbers and like to stay organized, starting a virtual bookkeeping business might be your ticket to working from home on your own terms. You can also offer bookkeeping services to brick-and-mortar businesses.

2. Graphic Design

If you have an eye for design and think creating graphics for businesses to use to grow their business sounds good, starting a graphic design business might just be your ticket to working at home.

3. Cleaning Business

We live in a busy world and there are many people who have a hard time fitting it all in so cleaning can fall by the wayside. Offer cleaning services, and you can make your own working hours.

4. House Sitting or Pet Sitting

House sitting is a great way to earn part-time income on your terms. People will pay you to look after their house and pets while away on vacation.

5. Photographer

Love snapping photos of people? Why not offer a photography service to others. You can offer to travel to photo sites or set up a studio in your home. This work-at-home business idea is relatively easy to get started.

6. Home Daycare, Nanny, or Childcare Provider

If you have children of your own or just love kids in general, you can start a home daycare or offer to watch one family’s kid(s) – a service that is always sought after.

7. Dog Walking

People who commute far distances to work are often gone for numerous hours. Offer to walk their dogs for them. This is a great way to earn some income and get some exercise too.

8. Pet Grooming

Continuing on the pet services theme, if you happen to love dogs, you can offer grooming services out of your house.

9. Lawn Cutting

Offering to cut people’s lawns is a good way to earn part-time income. This used to be a job for high schoolers, but now it seems people of all ages and abilities offer these services!

10. Gardening

If you have a green thumb, offer gardening services to homeowners. A good market to look into would be helping the elderly tend to their gardens. Alternatively, you can help people set up their gardens and give them tips on how to be successful (like a coach!).

11. Wedding Planner (or Any Event Planning)

If you love event planning, consider starting a wedding planning business – you could earn between $5000 to $10000 per wedding. You can also help with other kinds of event planning, such as baby showers, wedding showers, gender reveal parties, birthdays, and beyond.

12. Music Lessons

If you’ve mastered playing an instrument, offer lessons. If you can sing, you could also offer those services.

13. Organizer

Organizing services are in high demand these days, so if you wouldn’t mind helping people out, you can earn quite a nice income from this business idea.

14. Resume Writer

Create eye-pleasing resumes for people, and you’ve got yourself a great work-at-home business.

15. Tutor

If you’re good at a subject, offer to tutor others who need help. This can be online or in person and ranges from everything to a chemistry tutor to a photography tutor.

16. Drive Your Own Car

While this business idea doesn’t mean you’ll be working at home, it can be flexible on hours and lucrative.

Check out the following services that are looking for drivers:

Uber
Lyft
Skip the Dishes
Uber Eats

17. Be a Personal Shopper

Help others buy groceries, clothing, or whatever else they don’t want to leave the house to grab.

18. Baby Equipment Rental Business

You can rent bassinets, strollers, car seats, and beyond. How often do moms have to try 10 different products before their baby finally likes one? This is the perfect way to come to the rescue! Plus, this is a great idea for helping traveling families that don’t want to haul all their baby stuff with them.

19. Invest in a Commodity Business

For any women business owners with some cash to invest, think about these: Landry business, car wash business, coffee shop kiosk. Do your market research and see what other female entreprenurs are having success with.

RELATED READ: How to Set Up a Small Home Office

Product-Based Business Ideas for Women

There are a wide variety of product-based businesses these days that don’t require you to have a brick-and-mortar location. Here are some of the best product businesses you can work from home at.

1. DROPSHIPPING 

If you’re unsure of dropshipping, it’s when you sell products, then order from the supplier and have them shipped directly to the consumer. Dropshipping eliminates the need to have the products on hand yourself.

Read this article to learn more about it.

2. CRAFTS

Do you love making crafts? Have you thought about opening your own Etsy shop and selling them for profit? Going this route could be a very lucrative work-at-home business idea.

3. UPCYCLING

Upcycling what others no longer want is a unique way to start a work-at-home business. It’s also a feel-good business – you’re helping keep items out of the landfill by reusing them.

4. BAKING

If you’re good at baking, consider starting a business. You may want to think of a niche market for this business idea. One example would be to bake cakes for weddings or other special events.

5. PAINTINGS

Have a knack for painting pictures? You can sell your one-of-a-kind creations for profit.

6. PREPARED MEALS

If you love to cook and can package your meals, you could sell them as a service or stand-alone product.

7. MAKE YOUR OWN CLOTHES

Making clothes for others is a unique work-at-home business idea but if you consider yourself a fashionista, there is good money to be made from this venture.

8. SELL INVITATIONS

Designing invitations to big events is something that never goes out of style. This home business idea is similar to graphic design or selling printables.

9. NETWORK MARKETING

There are numerous network marketing businesses around, and if you put in the work, you might have a successful home business. Make sure to research their business model to know what you’re getting into. Popular companies include:

• Pampered Chef
• Arbonne
• Mary Kay
• Tubberware
• Scentsy
• Jewelry
• Health supplements
• And more…

10. Create Personalized Jewelry

If you like to make jewelry from beads, silver, or other mediums, consider opening your own jewelry shop.

11. PRINT ON DEMAND

What is a print-on-demand business? Say you have printable sayings or designs; you would then print them on a product of some kind. A popular print-on-demand business is t-shirts. Do some research to see what the possibilities are and whether or not it’s really a viable business idea.

12. Re-Selling

If you like to treasure hunt on Facebook marketplace, grage sales, or thrift stores, re-selling can be a very lucrative business sidea. Items like name brand shoes and outdoor equipment are some of the best selling products to keep aneye out for. You can sell on platforms like Facebook, Poshmark, Mercari, and more.

RELATED READ: 6 Ways to Become a Work at Home Mom

Business Ideas for Women: FAQ

Now that you’ve reviewed all our business ideas for women, you might have some questions! Here are some of the most commonly asked ones:

What is the best business to start as a woman?

Starting a business as a woman can be an exciting and rewarding endeavor. Depending on your interests, skills, and resources at hand, many different types of businesses may be best suited for you.

Some of the most popular business ideas for women include starting an online store, launching a childcare service or daycare center, becoming a freelance writer or consultant, offering personal shopping services, developing an app or software program, starting a blog or online magazine, creating custom jewelry and clothing designs, and providing virtual assistant services.

No matter what type of business you decide to pursue as a woman entrepreneur, it’s important to remember that you can create something unique and successful with dedication and hard work.

What are 10 small businesses (small business ideas)?

1. Local Bakery
2. Home Cleaning Service
3. Tutoring Service
4. Catering Company
5. Pet Sitting Service
6. Mobile Barbershop or Hair Salon
7. Auto Repair Shop
8. Graphic Design Business
9. Digital Marketing Agency
10. Event Planning Business

What business can I start fast?

You can start a dropshipping business, an online tutoring service, or an online consulting business. These are all relatively quick to set up, and you don’t need to invest much upfront capital. Dropshipping businesses involve sourcing products from a third-party supplier and selling them directly to customers; online tutoring services provide instruction over the web for students of all ages; and online consulting services offer advice to clients on various topics.

What business can I start for $1000?

You have plenty of options! For $1000, you could start a small business such as an online blog or website, a brick-and-mortar retail store, or a service-oriented business such as tutoring, pet sitting/walking, or home repair. You could also launch an eCommerce business by leveraging drop shipping or selling products on Amazon. Additionally, you could try your hand at freelance writing or graphic design to get started with minimal startup costs.

The more important question may be when you will get a return on your investment.

What are the best small business ideas?

We’ve gathered all of the best business ideas for women (and profitable business ideas) here for you. They are all suitable for small business owners and women entrepreneurs.

What are the most profitable business ideas for women?

This is a tough question to answer. Some women have more time and less money to invest, while others have the opposite. Plus, money tends to follow passions and experience (but not always). Figure out which business ideas best fit your strengths and needs, and go for it!

Can these business ideas replace a full-time job?

Absolutely! You might even be able to replace your full-time income with part-time work- how awesome would that be?

Choose an Option That Works Best for Your Lifestyle

As you can see, there are numerous profitable work-at-home business ideas for women that you can start today.

The key is to research any of the business ideas for women that caught your eye to see which ones are viable for you to start. I remember digging around all over the place before I finally landed on trying transcription and writing. Transcription never worked out for me (I didn’t pass the initial exam), but my writing career took off and I’ve never looked back!

Make sure to select the home-based business idea that makes the most sense to your lifestyle and gets you excited – that way, you will stay motivated and do the work needed to start and grow a successful business.

Which work-at-home business jumped out at you?

Which business will you be starting? Did I miss any that you’d add to the list?