The Best Business Ideas for Women in 2022

Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, and Ariana Huffington are just a few examples of successful female entrepreneurs.

These women and others like them currently employ up to nine million people and generate an annual sales revenue of $1.7 trillion. It's no surprise that they're inspiring women all over the world to follow in their footsteps.

Unfortunately, women's business ideas can still be frustratingly difficult to realize.

After all, any woman can start any type of business, but 50 percent of all businesses fail within the first five years. While things have improved, particularly in the United States, where female entrepreneurship is thriving, women continue to face unique challenges in their side hustles and entrepreneurial endeavors, such as discrimination and difficulty being taken seriously.

It emphasizes the importance of deliberate, well-chosen female business ideas. In this article, we will look at how to choose the best option for your skillset in the most female-dominated fields right now.

Questions All Female Entrepreneurs Should Ask

If you make a hasty decision or take out a small business loan without a solid business plan, you risk losing a lot of money as well as the confidence to build something you can be proud of. As a result, all business owners must ask the following questions before considering their options:

1. What abilities do I have?
2. What do I care about the most?
3. How much money do I need to start a business?
4. How are other entrepreneurs faring in my chosen field?
5. What skills would I need to master to become an expert in my chosen field? (Return to college on a part-time basis, take skill courses, etc.)

When it comes to juggling female business ideas with family life, it's important to consider how much time you have to devote to this task. After all, small businesses require hard work and dedication for up to three years before profits are realized.

As a result, carefully selecting opportunities increases your chances of success significantly.

The Best Fields for Female Entrepreneurs

There are now 40,000 women-owned businesses in the United States alone, implying that a good number of good ideas have gotten off the ground. As a result, we'll look at areas where women-owned businesses are already making a lot of money and getting a lot of attention, so chances are you can too.

Creative Work

The arts and entertainment industries account for nearly 5% of all female-owned businesses. Female entrepreneurs with an eye for the arts or a broad range of knowledge in this field have a good chance of success.

In fact, according to a recent study, female artists are more prolific than their male counterparts. Within the creative sphere, there are some fantastic and realistic small businesses for women:

Interior Design

To date, women account for up to 69 percent of interior designers, making this a fantastic field for any female entrepreneur with a flair for home styling.

Top female designers such as Zaha Hadid have significantly altered the face of interior design in recent years, paving the way for even more trailblazing debuts by determined women.

It is worth noting that some states (for example, Florida) require specific licenses before starting a business of this type, which can raise the initial costs slightly.

However, it is possible to get started in interior design for as little as $500 or, more commonly, a few thousand dollars. Interior designers with experience can expect to earn a median salary of around $82,281 per year.

Graphic Design

Women who are familiar with critical tools such as the Adobe creative suite and other digital imaging techniques can build a small business around those skills. Women hold up to 60% of graphic design degrees, with many of them aspiring entrepreneurs.

Graphic design is particularly appealing because of its flexibility in terms of execution and timing: Your company can take on projects ranging from logo design to ad campaigns to web design and beyond.

Startup costs in this field typically range between $2,000 and $10,000, depending on the software you intend to use and whether additional training is required. On the plus side, as the principal designer for your firm, your median salary can reach $91,144.

Photographer

Photography is one of the best female business ideas, whether you want to cover events, editorial, and fashion shoots or apply your creative eye to global destinations.

To be sure, getting started here can be difficult, as your primary business drivers will be things like social media exposure, word of mouth from your clients, and the strength of your skills. However, if you are driven by a strong desire to succeed, this can be an extremely rewarding job opportunity.

To compete as a professional photographer, your equipment and editing software must be quite sophisticated, which is why starting a photography business can cost more than $12,000. Fortunately, because you can grow at your own pace, you should be able to spread out those costs and eventually start earning between $42 and $80 thousand per year once you find your target audience.

Writer

Starting your own content-creation company is one of the small business ideas for women that has grown in popularity in recent years if you're a writer or blogger.

The shift to the online space is stronger than ever, so even if you don't have a blog idea of your own, multiple publications are looking for this type of service for their own website content.

Freelance writers can, of course, become bloggers themselves by creating a simple site on platforms such as Blogger.com. Building a decent following through original and informative articles can help you attract publishers, affiliate programs, and other opportunities.

Even better, you can start a writing business for free if you have a laptop and an internet connection, but your salary can still exceed $63,000.

Crafts

Crafting has become one of the best business ideas for women at home with a creative streak since the introduction of DIY-oriented eCommerce sites like Etsy. Even simple crafts can now be turned into a source of income with relatively few resources and expertise.

A craft-based business can earn you up to $51,661 per year on average, often with little to no overhead. The most important thing to remember here is that you must be passionate about your chosen craft and constantly strive to improve.

You must put in the necessary hours to keep up with orders as they arrive. Here are a few craft side business ideas to consider:

• Knitting
• Soap making
• Candle making
• Baking
• Jewelry making
• Woodworking
• Pottery

Education Services

According to studies, up to 76 percent of public school teachers in the United States are female, making education a predominantly female-dominated field with some fantastic self-employment opportunities for women.

A passion for learning and sharing knowledge is required, but educational options that are available during school hours can be extremely beneficial to mothers looking to reduce their childcare needs and costs. In this field, you should think about the following options:

Tutoring

While you'll almost certainly need academic credentials to get started, online and in-person tutoring services can be a lucrative business for women looking to supplement their income or start a flexible business.

From elementary school to college, tutoring is beneficial to children and young adults of all ages. If your students are older or require assistance with advanced subjects, you will typically require more qualifications.

Again, word of mouth and a portfolio of successful students are likely to be the most effective ways to advance in this field. Sites like Wyzant.com provide a fantastic way to directly contact suitable students. All you'll need is a laptop and a camera if you're offering your services online or teaching materials and stationery if you're tutoring in person.

Overall, the costs here won't exceed $100 ($500 if you plan to rent a tutoring space), and doing this full-time could earn you $51,734 per year on average.

Course Creation

When you combine technical expertise with an educational focus, you can create online courses that, because of their shareability, can often generate far more revenue than they took time to create.

Even if you don't have time for one-on-one sessions, one-time high-quality videos or complete video-based course modules can help keep large groups of students engaged.

You lose some of the personal aspects of teaching here, which may or may not be a good thing for everyone, but you can still connect with students by scheduling a time to answer questions or offering webinars and video calls at the end of your program.

To be sure, the costs can add up quickly: you'll need high-quality filming and teaching software, as well as a good camera, which could cost more than $5,000. Having said that, the reach of this option still makes it a fantastic business idea for women, with the potential for a salary of around $50,000 per course, especially as the popularity of e-learning grows.

Care Services

Women constitute the majority of the health and social welfare workforce, accounting for three-quarters of workers in care-related industries.

Full-time care jobs, which frequently require long hours, are unsuitable for many people, but there are care-based side business ideas for women that combine the satisfaction of care work with significantly increased levels of freedom.

Even women who are still at home caring for young children may benefit from looking into care-based businesses:

Childcare

A childcare business may appear to be the ideal compromise for moms, offering the rare opportunity to work and spend time with your child at the same time.

Aside from lowering your childcare costs, childcare entrepreneur ideas for women, such as a home daycare business, can be a huge financial help. You'll simply be applying your existing skills to a larger audience.

People value personal, home-based childcare arrangements in which their children participate in a variety of activities and games in the comfort of their own home – an environment that you already have access to if you have young children!

Of course, as with any other care-related role, any woman looking to break into this field will need to consider licensing and building a trustworthy reputation before she can enjoy true success.

However, once the technicalities are taken care of, starting a childcare business can cost as little as $400 and as much as $340 per child per month.

Animal Care

Although it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase "care services," animal care is an important part of this industry. It's also a great place for aspiring female entrepreneurs looking for more flexibility.

A job like this can be especially rewarding for people who enjoy spending time with their four-legged friends, and it can include a variety of services, such as:

• Pet sitting
• Dog food sales
• Dog walking
• Grooming services

Related: 6 Most Influential Women Entrepreneur of India

Financial Services

Finance and insurance companies account for up to 2.6 percent of all female-owned small businesses. In this industry, some options include:

Accounting

Finding work as an accountant is one of the best business ideas for women who love numbers. You could assist various businesses and entrepreneurs in ensuring that profits remain on track.

Because of the rise in self-employment over the years, particularly during the pandemic, there is a growing demand for accountants, many of whom can work seamlessly from home and independently.

As a result, this is an excellent small-business idea for anyone looking to go it alone. To be sure, you'll need some experience in this field, preferably in the form of an accounting degree or a few courses under your belt.

If you're familiar with the accounting world and know which software to invest in for quality services, it shouldn't be too difficult to impress your customers with your knowledge and ensure that their accounting needs are met.

Best of all, you can expect to earn up to $78,000 per year.

Bookkeeping

A bookkeeping business could also be a good side hustle for women who want to help people with their finances on a more personal level. An eye for detail and the ability to see the big picture, as well as a grasp of profits and potential areas for financial improvement, are essential.

Clients and other accounting professionals require close relationships with bookkeepers. It, in turn, necessitates extensive research as well as a great deal of patience.

The ability to develop quality and lucrative close relationships with a select few clients, on the other hand, should provide a perfectly manageable workload that could pay as much as $40,000 per year.

Your Skills Define Your Options

The positions listed above are just a few of the most popular options for women who want to start their own businesses. The truth is that business ideas for women are just as diverse and exciting as those for men.

Related: 9 Women Founders and Tech Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2022

Indeed, once you set your mind to finding the perfect job, you'll discover that women can do almost anything they want, with a surprising number of jobs now available from home.

A business plan, the right technology, and a desire to use what you know to make a difference could lead to a variety of exciting industries:

• Social media
• Event planning
• Food service
• Virtual assistance
• Amazon selling
• Proofreading
• Plenty more

Being your own boss is an undeniable benefit of pursuing any small business idea, and it's never been easier for women of all abilities to achieve this reality.

All you have to do now is think about some of the best options on this list or find something that interests you. Then, with funding, guidance, hard work, and a healthy dose of confidence, plan to make those dreams a reality.