Study of Women Entrepreneurs and the Existing Pattern of Micro-Enterprises Taken Up By Them

INTRODUCTION

―Women in business‖ is considered as recent phenomenon in India. Women constitute around half of the total world population. In traditional societies, they are confined to the four walls of the houses performing household activities. Today these women have come out of the four walls to participate all sorts of activities. They have started plugging into industry and running their enterprises successfully. They are ready to face any challenge, to take risks and prove to the world that their role in the society is no more limited. The emergence of entrepreneurs in a society depends to a great extent on economic, social, cultural and psychological factors prevailing in the society.

The micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) sector plays a critical part in the country's development, MSMEs are the second biggest source of employment, agriculture employs a greater number of people. Accounting for over 40% of the industrial

output, 95% of the industrial facilities, 34% of the exports, and producing over 6,000 different goods, they make up the vast majority of the industry.[5] The range of commodities produced by this sector includes food products, beverages, tobacco, synthetic materials, cotton fabrics, wool, silk, wood, furniture, and fittings. Machinery, equipment, appliances, and electrical machinery are also offered. Also, in this sector are expanding service sectors that are going to have a significant number of new workers. [6]

After defining an entrepreneur and the process of entrepreneurship, why is there a need to understand the women entrepreneurship as a separate category, Entrepreneur is a gender neutral term and the characteristics of an entrepreneur should hold true for both the genders. Unfortunately, this argument is not valid. Both the process and the study of the process have an explicit or implicit gender bias. Despite the claim of being universalistic, the common gender neutral understandings of entrepreneurship have severe constraints.[7] The commonly mentioned characteristics of an entrepreneur are: risk bearing capacity, creative, innovative, leadership role, changing the economic system. Interestingly all these characteristics are taken as masculine characteristics in the society. Inherently the definition itself becomes biased against women. And all the theories regarding different aspects of entrepreneurship have been

The concept of entrepreneur was generated in the 19th century especially the 'women entrepreneurs‘. In those days their main function was to do the household activities. In rural areas, still women are not recognized properly even though they have necessary qualification. The country can achieve its economic growth, when the women entrepreneurs start rising on the horizon of villages. When the women entrepreneurs are more in rural area, they can provide better employment opportunities to the public. As a result per capita income of the country will increase; it will lead to overall economic growth.[9] Women entrepreneurs are the woman or a group of women who initiate, organize and operate a business enterprise. The Government of India notes women entrepreneurs as, ―an enterprise owned and controlled by women saving a minimum financial interest of 51 percent of the capital and giving at least 51 percent of the employment generated in the enterprise to women. Entrepreneur is a person of who assumes risk and control of commercial enterprise. In every economic enterprise which as per the study brings together an extensive amount of information on various entrepreneurship and women's development programmes introduced in India. There is an assessment of the current position of women entrepreneurs, as well as of the existing support programmes such as credit, training and marketing support, for women to establish their own enterprises. The study looks at the socio cultural, educational and legal barriers to women's entrepreneurship in India. It also includes profiles of most of the key agencies involved in promoting women's entrepreneurship and recommendations for policy-makers aimed at enhancing the economic empowerment of women throughout the country. The dictionary meaning of entrepreneur is a ‗bold undertaking where there is an element of risk, whether the enterprise is on small scale or large scale, whether it is carried on by an individual as proprietary concern or takes any other form of business organization, such as partnership, corporate sector in private or public ltd. enterprise and also it is established by male or female entrepreneur‘. [10] It is the degree of risk, which may vary according a number of factors. most significant inputs utilized in establishing new businesses. They also provide the most important contribution to encouraging the introduction of new economic technology in the markets, thereby improving the rate of development, different job possibilities, and a rise in many other economic factors. Women's involvement in the social and economic development of any country may be detected if they are visible. The women of traditional India were restricted to their houses while they were still part of traditional development, but in contemporary India, the women have grown to embrace the burdens of increased responsibility and growth. In every enterprise sector, women are establishing their firm foundation while training other women to build successful industries. Women are coming to terms with their participation in a society dominated by men. This article is devoted to the women who started their businesses. The primary goal of this research is to comprehend the percentage of women in business industries and to examine women's involvement in SSI in the vicinity. This article discusses Government of India initiatives and campaigns designed to help women entrepreneurs.

Dr. AmanDeep Singh (2013) For the most part, women are thought of as stay-at-home moms with little involvement in economics and business. Both in society as a whole and the social sciences, there have been a widespread and marked lack of attention paid to women's participation in entrepreneurship. Women typically establish and run businesses in different industries than men, and their involvement in entrepreneurship is lower than men's. While the shift from housewife to sophisticated businesswoman is not easy, the transfer from homemaker to a low-skilled employee is much harder. However, this photo is transforming. One of the most noticeable changes in Modern India has been the increase in the number of women participating in entrepreneurial activity, particularly in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Across India, women are expressing a desire in having an autonomous economic status. People like Indra Nooyi, CEO–Pepsi Co., and Ekta Kapoor, Creative Director–Balaji Telefilms are inspiring figures., gorgeous showpieces such as Indian women are no longer favored. They have created a specific place for themselves in the world of males, which is heavily

• To understand the concept of Women Entrepreneurs in Micro Enterprises. • To study and analyze problems that women entrepreneurs have to face when running their businesses • To discover the difficulties women business entrepreneurs face in micro industries, • To provide advice on how to promote women's business initiatives in Kanpur.

Kanpur district were chosen to create a sample of 80 women entrepreneurs, only women business entrepreneurs were studied. Among the factors found were age, education, the amount of time the respondents had spent in business, and the money they had invested in their micro-businesses. This is a summary of the demographics of the sample selected.

46 percent of women entrepreneurs were above 40 years of age, as shown in the table above. This suggests that most of the women company entrepreneurs entered their field in their mid-to-late forties. This is one of the key reasons why women often remain focused on their current business

This research looked at the issues faced by women entrepreneurs and the micro-enterprises found in Kanpur district. It was a qualitative study, using a survey as the main source of data. Secondary data was gathered from publications and government documents. A sample of 80 rural women entrepreneurs was chosen at random and given questionnaires so they could complete the necessary surveys. With the assistance of our goals, we will get an understanding of Micro-Enterprises targeted by women entrepreneurs. Following the survey, the store managers and production managers visited the locations to have a better knowledge of the operations. Primary data was gathered using a questionnaire, but additionally, qualitative data was collected. In this instance, a basic percentage calculation was used to examine the data obtained.

In conclusion, of all the women entrepreneurs surveyed, 76% were educated up to Secondary school level only. A majority of people in rural regions still have average to average incomes, meaning they barely earn enough to cover their economic needs. Rather than emphasizing their families, these people are focused on more of a work-oriented lifestyle that will provide some kind of money for the family. Even females who succeed in high school and go on to get advanced degrees tend to lack secondary knowledge of the world around them. The great majority of the women entrepreneurs have started their businesses with a business of less than 50,000 rupees. The data shows that the women's financial status is average. This shows that these individuals are members of Micro Rural Entrepreneurs. Less than two-thirds of them have invested over Rs.50,000 and less than Rs.2,000. Women who want to get into business, but don't have the money, lack, or status may face substantial roadblocks. The number of women entrepreneurs who have been in business for 8 or more years is 46 percent. The women, while burdened by difficulties, have put on a brave front and carried the business ahead.

The results in the study region were supported by the research performed in the area. • Although the domestic market is the sole place where business may take place, doing business in the rural jurisdiction is acceptable. • People use technology the least and are using the newest technologies the least. • Only 16% of the poll respondents had cars, while the rest of the participants relied on other sources for mobility. • Business is not completed in places that are the correct environment. • Skilled workers are in short supply. • Women entrepreneurs have very limited mobility. Generally, moving to a new business is done by someone in the family. • Fewer women-owned entrepreneurs know industry developments and market preferences. • It's often true that women-led business entrepreneurs lack management expertise. These findings were grouped as follows-

As far as the government is concerned, women entrepreneurs are finding it tough to handle their business.

Women need to network with many stakeholders, marketing agents, bank officials, consumers, workers, and others to be successful in a competitive business environment. A business needs knowledge of the availability of alternative raw resources and negotiating abilities. The main contributor to profit margin is the fact that we get our raw materials at a reduced price from many suppliers. Those issues, in addition to a lack of understanding of available raw materials and poor negotiating and bargaining abilities, impact the business endeavors of women.

This group of women comes from rural areas, where male contacts are minimal and consist mainly of relatives. Due to this, they are having difficulties with the male men, who are the primary men people in their area. Many of these female entrepreneurs, both directly and indirectly, are strained by the male men

It is difficult for women entrepreneurs to interact with wholesale dealers because of their lack of aggressiveness. Since produce, their earnings are negatively impacted as they tend to offer their products at cheaper prices, as compared to the male-headed entrepreneurs.

Conversing with customers: It is more often women business entrepreneurs who seal agreements in favor of customers since they are assumed to be available,

The women entrepreneurs' skills to market their products aren't particularly good. Due to this, one of the primary causes is a lack of knowledge. The majority of these women have just a high school education or less. As a result, these women demonstrate average levels of awareness and competency. The measurements and accounting expertise they don't have is also a shortcoming.

Multi-tasking by women entrepreneurs: A family responsibility means it is difficult for women to accept work that requires long hours since this results in missing out on competitors to further one's position in the business.

Women who start entrepreneurs are confronted by the competing priorities of organized industry and male entrepreneurs. Because they've all decided to lower their prices, the organized industries go head-to-head by offering their products at a lower cost. Additionally, they would often use the ―No Profit, No Loss‖ approach to increase their investment in the market. While this strategy is easily adoptable by women entrepreneurs who are organized, those who are less organized cannot afford to adopt advantage of it, and as a result, they lose to their competitors.

The De-motivation of women to take up a business is attributable to this issue being one of the main factors. The financial companies don't believe women are skeptical about starting their businesses. In the risk of the bankers, women debtors are riskier than men debtors. Bankers put these loans to

The women entrepreneurs find it challenging to manage their business operations notwithstanding the capital they were given to get their business going. In many cases, the income produced by the business is just enough to keep the business operating or sometimes may not.

Their entrepreneurs have been affected by women around the procurement of raw materials. Additionally, raw materials may not be accessible at the time of production, even if planned. More than 32% of them are now facing the challenge of acquiring resources. The raw materials may become unavailable or the raw materials may be damaged during transportation, forcing them to pay a higher price for the materials. For example: When a specific kind of bananas is in demand, the seedlings for that type of banana are bought at a higher price. There is a high possibility that saplings were damaged because of the transportation company's negligence.

80% of the women entrepreneurs report that they are not facing unhealthy competition. Although 20% of female entrepreneurs deal with the unhealthy rivalry in the form of competing on price while obtaining inferior products and selling them at a lower price, their competitors are themselves suffering from poor quality goods from major cities.

Many women-owned small entrepreneurs are facing a significant problem in a lack of reliable transportation. This is due to the majority of them being dependent on private carriers, which puts them in the position of facing to deal with a lot of practical problems like receiving their shipments at the wrong time. Only 16% of the poll respondents had cars, while the rest of the participants relied on other sources for transportation. production of materials to customers. Negligence to ensure product safety during transportation results in either raw materials or final products being damaged. Having to pay higher expenses, particularly when it comes to circumstances of increased demand, will result in lower earnings.

As rural women lack the majority of the workforce, they are mostly unaware of market and technological trends. This has led women business owners to pay more for the raw materials and sell their completed goods for less.

While the women entrepreneurs are not equipped to improve on their production, they might collaborate with others to make the production growth. A lack of information about the latest technology is one of the major reasons hampering the growth of urban entrepreneurs. Additionally, based on the data in the table, it is especially striking that none of the women business entrepreneurs questioned had information regarding distribution-increasing techniques.

It has a direct effect on the price of the completed products since some women entrepreneurs buy the raw materials at a higher cost or pay higher transportation costs. There was an 84% study of women-owned business entrepreneurs in which the price of the product was not adjusted above the maximum ceiling limit. A smaller percentage, but 16% of them claimed they had priced the product below the minimum selling price. To compete with and keep their customers, the company put the price of their product well below the floor limit. This often ends in the scenario where one time wins and one person loses. diversify their study. The following are the major reasons: • No fear of losing the business, the burden of financial burdens, a lack of support, or an unawareness of the market go into decision making here; • The revenues from the current business will be enough to operate the current business.

As per the study, the risk for women entrepreneurs was made up of 16% in the form of their time and efforts. Absenteeism among employees particularly skilled ones was a serious risk. Women entrepreneurs are unable of having a greater number of competent employees because of their company's size. These employees were very dependent on them, and their constant absence particularly at crunch times presents significant dangers.

The graph shows the many dangers the women-led entrepreneurs spoke about. The skilled employees' absenteeism amid high demand constituted a serious risk. Festivals were often seen as high-risk since attendance levels tend to decrease significantly when festivals are in time. Over half of them still use the power that is provided by the government, since the generators are beyond the major reach of many. While disasters like floods, droughts, and the like, may happen naturally, particularly for female agricultural entrepreneurs, unexpected hazards are natural catastrophes like these, which especially affect women. Since a large portion of business is done on a credit basis, customers who owe you money represent a genuine risk. Most customers take women entrepreneurs for granted; therefore they have no trouble making the payments on time.

When the rent they paid for the property was expensive and the location of the site was appropriate

• When trying to foster entrepreneurship in boys or young entrepreneurs in metropolitan settings, an Entrepreneurship Development program may be organized to help build the notion that permeates the minds of young men who are entrepreneurs. • This should concentrate on helping the women build their business at a higher level. • Diversification from the current business as a motivation • Banks may contribute to overcoming transportation bottlenecks by offering interest-free loans or loans with low interest. It would boost their manufacturing production. • Due to their lack of administrative skills, women entrepreneurs tend to be less assertive and more subservient. Thus, an EDP plan might be organized consistently, which would make it possible to gain a deeper understanding of the administrative operations and thus help to boost management skills. • To encourage more women to start their entrepreneurs, the Entrepreneurship Cell may be set up in the Gram Panchayat. • To help people understand the new technologies that will inspire and motivate them. • The health of the female business owner/entrepreneur is an important consideration in any training women.

The contributions and achievements of the female entrepreneurs have assisted women in becoming a part of the industrial economy, which is why our country has become richer. We have studied the pattern of microenterprises taken up by women Entrepreneur. Women business entrepreneurs have a significant advantage because of where they are located and the amenities they have access to.

desire to start a business, the women in rural regions have an extremely hard time becoming entrepreneurs. Despite research that shows women have a lower default rate on loans than males, women still encounter discrimination in the banking and informal lending communities, according to a UNIDO study. Due to a dearth of financial resources early on, many women entrepreneurs have difficulties getting their businesses off the ground. The research found that 76% of women entrepreneurs had a lack of money, to begin with. Somehow, though, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have helped a lot here. This study identified the issues that women entrepreneurs have to confront when they are picked from a random sample. This is indeed a difficult and delicate issue, but it can be solved. The government should sponsor initiatives that are helpful to entrepreneurs, especially financial assistance in the form of subsidies. These programs may be used to keep women informed about the newest industry developments, current technological developments, and to put in place a management training program for entrepreneurs. The Government should take the necessary steps to resolve the core problems faced by women's small business ventures and to put to rest the speculation that former Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was correct when he stated that "when a woman advances, the family advances, the village advances, and the nation advances."

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Associate Professor, Home Science, Jwala Devi Vidya Mandir P. G. College, Kanpur