Top Business Ideas for Women Looking to Break Free From their 9-5 | Ep #155

Welcome to the Business Brainstorm Mini Series on the Second Act Success Career Podcast! In this episode, host Shannon Russell dives into the surge of women-owned businesses in 2024. Discover the top 5 business ideas women are pursuing today, from consulting services to e-commerce, freelance writing, health coaching, and event planning. Shannon also addresses the common challenges women face when starting their entrepreneurial journey, such as balancing work and family, overcoming fear of failure, and securing funding. Get inspired by the success stories of iconic women entrepreneurs like Oprah Winfrey and Sara Blakely, and learn practical tips to launch your own business with confidence. Join us and take the first step towards your second act success!

Tune in to this insightful episode and don't forget to catch up on the previous parts of this mini-series. Sign up for Shannon's free Business Brainstorm Bootcamp happening from July 30th to August 1st at secondactsuccess.co/brainstorm.

Listen, subscribe, and share with a friend who's ready to embrace their entrepreneurial journey!

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Top Business Ideas for Women Looking to Break Free From their 9-5 | Ep #155
Episode - #155
Host: Shannon Russell
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] Shannon Russell: Hey there and welcome back to the business brainstorm mini series here on the second act success career podcast. 

This is a four-part podcast mini series, all about business building, and it started with episode 1 52. 

So, If you are just joining us, I suggest you press pause and go back and listen to episodes. 1 52, 1 53 and 1 54. It all leads up to where we are right now in this episode. And the series is leading into my free Business Brainstorm Bootcamp happening July 30th through August 1st. 

[00:00:33] Shannon Russell: Sign up now at https://secondactsuccess.co/brainstorm. 



[00:00:38] Shannon Russell: You will join me for two, one hour online workshops and a live Q and a session where I will answer all of your business startup questions. Plus you will receive a free business startup checklist to help you plan your next move as well. It's all over at secondactsuccess.co/brainstorm. 

Now it's onto the episode. 

[00:01:00] Are you ready to quit your nine to five job and start a business of your own? Well, you're in the right place, my friend. Welcome to the second act success career podcast. I am your host, Shannon Russell. I am a former television producer turned business owner, career transition coach, and boy mom. My mission is to help you produce your best life.

This podcast will teach you how to get from where you are now to where you want to be and how to build a business that fits your life and lights you up. Let's get started.

Welcome back to the second act success career podcast. My friend, I'm your host, Shannon Russell. If you've listened to past few episodes, we have been doing a little mini series. That's all about starting a business. Today's all about women business owners and what kind of businesses women are actually starting right now in 2024.

Whether you're dreaming of leaving your nine to five, or just curious about entrepreneurship, you will [00:02:00] love this episode. Listen in for some inspiration about women in business. 

I don't know about you, but over the past decade or so women business owners have taken over the world. 

There has been such a significant rise in women starting their own businesses. And according to the latest data, women owned businesses are growing at twice the rate. Of all businesses nationwide. 

I don't know about you, but I know so many women business owners. In my personal and my professional circle and it's so inspiring, it really is so cool to see. 

According to the 2023 impact of women owned businesses report. They suggest that the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 virus. Really allowed women, the opportunity to launch their businesses and grow any existing businesses. 

Right now 14 million, 14 million women owned businesses make up 39.1% of all us [00:03:00] businesses. 

That is a really incredible to see, 

what's even cooler is that these businesses. I employ over 10.7 million workers. That is the impact that these women are having. All over the United States 

More than six in 10 women business owners started their businesses within the last four years. And that's compared to five in 10 men. So it's pretty cool to see the impact that these women are having on US-based businesses and abroad. A lot of these businesses are online businesses, serving people everywhere. 

women are breaking barriers that is evident in these statistics. I just read 

today we're going to discuss why women are choosing entrepreneurship. What industries they're choosing to move into and how they're getting started on their journey.

When doing my research for this podcast, I was interested to know what the most popular women owned businesses are. What industries are women thinking about going into. [00:04:00] Me personally, I went into a children's based franchise business for my first business. Then my second business, I chose to work with women and help them change careers. 

In my third business is a digital marketing business that serves anyone online, but I do tend to focus it towards other women like me. 

But let's talk about women businesses overall. The ideas and the industries really vastly differ. 

I'm going to dive into some popular business ideas that women have.

And maybe they will appeal to you if you are on the hunt. For the perfect business. So number one is consulting services, providing expertise in whatever service you have experience in. So maybe it's marketing or human resources. Business strategy, finance, accounting. 

If you have experience from your current or past roles that can be created into a consulting services business of your own. That's an [00:05:00] excellent way to go. Consulting can also be done remotely offering flexibility and work-life balance. Plus you can charge the rates that you want 

And take on the clients that you want to work with. Next is an e-commerce store. A lot of women just want to have that balance. And so working online is ideal. An e-commerce store allows women to sell products online through different platforms like Amazon Shopify at sea or their personal websites. 

You create your e-commerce store and you decide what you're going to sell some popular niches for these e-commerce businesses include handmade crafts. Vintage items. Beauty products, home decor. Principals and digital downloads you name it. 

Plus, if you are someone who frequents these shops yourself, then why not get in on the action? 

I know for me, I'm on Amazon at least once or twice a week. And I buy on Etsy for gifts for family and friends. I use it [00:06:00] for decor for my wedding and for both of my children's nurseries when they were babies. So Etsy, Amazon. I love you. And if I were to start an e-commerce site, I would definitely go to you. 

Another popular option that women are taking advantage of is the freelance world. writing or creating content. Writing articles, blog posts, creating digital content on Tik TOK, YouTube, Instagram. These are all creative businesses that you can do online. 

Or you can write or create this content. And submit to other publications or creators. So you're really doing the work that you like, that creative work, and then putting it out there and making money from it through social media. 

Advertising sponsors and affiliate programs. 

Some women are also using this as copywriting or social media management or video content creation. 

Or even SEO strategy with so many of us on social platforms, we're doing [00:07:00] all the work, but we're not sure if it's actually getting to the right audience. So if you have those skills and you want to be creative, then freelancing in any of these areas, it can be a great start to create that independent business for yourself.

So, so far we have consulting services, e-commerce stores and freelance writing and content creation. Next up is number four and that's health and wellness coaching. I've seen health and wellness businesses popping up everywhere. Online. I know quite a few health and wellness. I know quite a few health and nutrition coaches, myself, and offering these services, whether it's a nutritionist. And overall wellness coach, a personal trainer. 

Doesn't matter. if it's health, wellness, nutrition, self-care. There are other women who are going to want those services. This business can be conducted online through virtual sessions. And of course, in person locally. 

To me, this [00:08:00] seems like a business that is great for someone who has a passion for their own health and nutrition. 

If you love wellness, if you've gotten yourself in shape, 

if you've helped overcome a health issue in your life, then why not take what you've learned and share that with others? Who better to do it than a woman who has gone through it herself.

You can also get started at your local gym. At your local Pilates studio. Your local doctor's office set up workshops through local libraries where community colleges in your area, you can really create a business for yourself in the health and wellness space, any way that works for you.

All right. 

Lastly, in this top five list is event planning. Organizing events like weddings, corporate functions, parties. Baby showers, you name it. 

If you are good at organizing planning, networking, dealing with people, then working in the event, planning space, maybe a great business idea for you. 

Chances are they have planned their [00:09:00] own wedding or someone's bridal shower or baby shower or their corporate events or even a girl's trip. 

Right. We've all had our hand planning, some kind of event in our life in some way, shape or form. So why not take that expertise and create your own event planning business. These are just some examples. The possibilities are obviously endless, 

but it's interesting that these are the top five industries that women are flocking to. 

Again, that's consulting services, e-commerce stores, freelance writing, and content creation, health and wellness, coaching and event planning. 

If you are thinking about starting a business. We have been talking all about the different aspects of leaving your job and starting a business, whether it's as a side hustle or full time. Now there's a lot of fears that surround starting a business, especially for women. 

We are dealing with family, home, parents, friends, 

personal life career. There are so many things that we deal [00:10:00] with as women. And there's a lot of fears that go into thinking about changing that status quo. So I just want to touch upon the common challenges that women tend to face when they're thinking about making a big life transition and starting a second act, especially in business. 

Number one is balancing it. All balancing work, family and business. Entrepreneurship offers flexibility, but balancing work and family can still be tough. 

As a business owner, you want to make sure that you set your boundaries, you prioritize self care and you know, when to close the laptop so that you know, when to walk away and know that you are the boss. You can pick up where you left off tomorrow. 

This is still something that I struggle with. Every single day, but it gets easier when you start really putting that into perspective that you are in charge. You're not reporting to someone else. You are in charge of what gets done [00:11:00] today and what gets done tomorrow. I like to set these expectations, these boundaries. With my team, with my customers, with my clients. That I will get back to you within 24 hours. And sometimes when things get a little crazy, I'll put an out of office on my email That says I am out of office. 

I will get back to you within 24 hours. That sets the precedent that you are not immediately answering within two minutes of receiving a request. So you want to figure out what kind of boundaries you need to put in place 

so that you can create the work life harmony that you need.

The next challenge is fear of failure. Imposter syndrome. Right? We all know that feeling all too well. But I want to remind you. That failure is part of the journey. 

No matter what you transition into, no matter what you do for your second act, you are going to fail at some aspects of it. Or you're going to have that misstep. Don't think of it as a [00:12:00] complete flop but it's a challenge. It might not go the way you wanted, but you can pick up. Learn from it and keep going, just pivot and move on. 

What's really cool about being an entrepreneur, is that when you fail, not everyone knows. You can have an idea about the direction that you're moving your business. Or something that you are trying that's new. If you're sensing that it's not really working, you can make that quick change and not everyone is going to be aware, but you're going to use that as a way to learn. And move forward, changing something, even if it's small, to make sure that you can find your success.

Another challenge. We all face is money, right? It's the funding of our dream. How do we secure this funding? How do we figure out how we're going to pay for this business that we want to build? Women often stop like a deer in headlights. At the fear of money, 

we don't want to talk about money. We don't want to discuss it with others. We don't want to admit that we [00:13:00] don't have it. It really is a scary topic. But honestly, the more you learn about it, the more you set yourself up for financial freedom and financial flexibility and financial success. The more money will come to you. 

It's all about changing that money mindset. 

As you are starting out in building your business and developing your future. Think about groups that you can join to help you work through any money mindset issues you might have. There are women focused business networks that you can join. There are resources and support groups locally through the small business association in your area. 



There are incredible women entrepreneurs online that you can follow for more information. 

I love following Susie Orman, tori Dunlap Bernadette joy. They are all really incredible women who have created businesses and teach financial success. So if you're looking at ways to finance your business or just ways to truly monetize and figure [00:14:00] out the money, the number aspect of your business. Go to women who have done it and teach it. 

It really does 

give you that sense of empowerment and that sense of having that knowledge and knowing that you can answer the questions, you can figure out that balance sheet or that profit and loss statement, and you don't have to turn to someone else for help all the time. 

That is a challenge that a lot of us face that fear of finances. 



Now just because these are challenges that some women may face on the road to entrepreneurship. It doesn't mean that this has to stop you in your tracks. Let these be challenges that you are now aware of and you can move forward surrounding yourself with a supportive community seeking mentorship 

and really going after self-improvement and wanting to learn about these areas and learn more about your business as you move forward. Because you're not alone on this journey. 

If you are thinking that starting a business is the right move for you. And keep in mind that [00:15:00] so many women have done it before you, and they have grown their small and humble businesses 

to becoming these huge successful household names. Here are just a few. Oprah Winfrey. Sara Blakely. Arianna Huffington. 

Debbie fields, Tory Burch. 

Estee Lauder. Elizabeth Arden. 

Vera Wang. Betsy Johnson. 

And Martha Stewart. Those are just a few and I bet, you know, all of them. I hope this podcast episode has given you some inspiration. We've talked about the statistics and how amazing women are doing in business right now. Popular business ideas that women are starting each and every day. Challenges to look out for and women who are business founders. 

You can add your name to this list to my friend. I'm excited to watch you take the leap and start your own business if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and leave a review and don't forget to subscribe. So you never miss an episode. 

I am Shannon Russell. And [00:16:00] until next time, keep working towards your second act success.

[00:16:04] Shannon Russell: Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to 2nd Act success. To view show notes from this episode, visit 2ndActSuccess. co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell and this is 2nd Act Success.