10Oct

Hello, dear readers of my site. Today’s article is for you and we’ll talk about business for women! Now I will explain why. One of the frequently asked questions to me is “Nikolai, what should I do? What business should a woman open? Well, the time has come to prepare a full answer to it.

Business for women

For some reason, we have an idea in our society that a woman should work either as a salesperson or a manager, and a man should build a business. All this, of course, has little justification, because women manage businesses no worse, and sometimes even better, than men. In addition, today there are a huge number of business ideas that a woman can easily implement, but a man will be less successful in this.

For a woman, having your own business is an excellent opportunity to realize your professional skills.

In general, the goal of today’s article is to encourage you, dear girls and women, to open your own business. It's not as scary as it might seem. I wanted the types of business for women presented below to inspire you, perhaps you will take one of them into service, or perhaps come up with something new and unique.

So, today I will share with you 40 business ideas for women and talk about what kind of business a woman can start.

Business Idea No. 1 – Opening a Yoga Studio

The initial investment is 350,000 rubles.

The main task is to open a specialized hall for yoga classes. Various areas of this beautiful and flexible sport are popular among people of all ages (kids, teenagers, young adults and the older generation). Classes for children, pregnant or elderly clients are promising.

Implementation of the idea

Opening a yoga studio begins with selecting premises near bus stops or in densely populated areas. It should have a sufficiently bright and warm room for classes, connected communications for locker rooms and showers. The absence of competition in the vicinity of a new sports facility is of great importance for success. In addition, it is necessary:

• carry out repairs and refurbishment of the interior in a certain style;
• purchase equipment, rugs and furniture for locker rooms, decorative items;
• organize an active advertising campaign in various ways.

The average income of such a studio starts from 2 thousand rubles per day. With a monthly profit of 60 thousand rubles, the project can pay for itself within a year of work. It can be further increased by attracting clients with interesting promotions, gift coupons and seminars with the participation of professional trainers from other studios.

Business Idea No. 2 – Selling trending products from one-page sites

Initial investment of funds – from 20,000 rubles.

This new business idea isn't just for women. It consists in the fact that you choose a product that you will sell, make a one-page website for this product, launch advertising and sell the product to your customers. But it only seems simple in words. In fact, this business has many nuances, mastering which you can achieve great success.

Business idea No. 3 – Opening a fitness club (club) for mothers with children

Initial investment of funds – from 500,000 rubles.

Opening a fitness room is an expensive business for a woman. The essence of the new idea is to equip a small hall or club for mothers and babies to practice certain sports together. This is a new sector in the fitness industry that does not have much competition and does not require huge investments. General classes are in demand among mothers who, for various reasons, do not have the opportunity to leave their child unattended.

This is a great business idea for a woman with children, because you can always take them with you to work, where they will be supervised and can always communicate with other children.

Implementation of the idea

If you have a limited budget, it would be optimal to open a circle in one rented room. Creating a non-standard fitness club must begin with organizational issues:

• choosing the optimal size and location relative to transport stops;
• decide on a work option (franchise or independent start);
• select staff who have experience working with children;
• decorate the premises and purchase high-quality sports equipment.

With the cost of one group hour of classes being 100–200 rubles, daily income can range from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles. Additional private lessons or activities will increase profits. When investing in advertising, a business project with a sports club will recoup all investments and costs in a few months.

Business idea No. 4 – Opening an online store

The initial investment amount is up to 300,000 rubles.

An online store is a great business idea for a woman with minimal investment; in addition, it is a modern way of selling most goods. According to statistics for 2016 in America, every 3 citizens make purchases via the Internet. In our country, following the West, this figure is also gaining momentum.

The idea for a woman to open her own online store is to launch a website and organize sales to customers online. A new type of purchasing popular goods quickly caught the fancy of active and busy people who do not have time to visit shopping centers in search of what they need.

Implementation of the idea

The main costs for this business project consist of the following items:

• payment for the creation of the site, its design and filling with content;
• purchase of goods;
• organization of an equipped administrator's workplace for receiving orders;
• Administrative expenses;
• costs for advertising campaigns, contextual advertising.

The simplest form of work may be one that does not require premises for storing goods. Otherwise, this will significantly increase the costs of warehouse rental and transport. When ordering 5–7 product items per day, you can do this work yourself. With an average check of 3,000 rubles per day, you can receive up to 200,000 rubles monthly. This will help you recoup your investment in just two months. To maintain a stable influx of visitors to a store’s website, constant costs are required for various promotion methods and optimization.

Business idea No. 5 – Maintaining a beauty blog on YouTube

The initial investment in the project is 100,000 rubles.

Another great business idea for a woman with minimal investment, and it’s also great as a business for a woman in a small town. To build a business in the blogosphere, you don’t have to live in a big city.

An extraordinary business project for maintaining your own video blog about the secrets of beauty and attractiveness is ideal for self-realization for creative girls. The idea is to record and present your own videos on a specific topic on YouTube. A large number of video views makes it possible for the owner of this Internet channel to make very real profits. Despite the fact that there are quite a lot of beauty bloggers, answers to many queries are still difficult to find on the Internet. Therefore, there is still a lot of room for earning money.

Implementation of the idea

A woman’s knowledge of beauty and fashion will help her start this business.

If a girl decides to engage in such a business project, she must:

• solve technical issues of high-quality video shooting;
• ensure active advertising and promotion of the channel.

A beauty blog is a kind of video diary of the author. The number of channel views depends on the quality of the footage, the relevance of the topic for visitors and interesting content. At the initial stage, you can resort to the services of a professional who will help attract your first subscribers and organize an advertising campaign on the Internet. To maintain activity, you need to release at least one or two videos a week. Famous beauty bloggers have a decent monthly income from views and advertising of certain brands, which reaches several thousand dollars.

Business Idea No. 6 – Opening your own restaurant

Initial capital investment – ​​over 1,000,000 rubles.

An expensive business idea is to open a restaurant establishment on a franchise basis or independently. The combination of original or classic cuisine, excellent service and an interesting concept for entertaining visitors can help create a profitable and sought-after business project.

Implementation of the idea

Opening a restaurant is a troublesome and difficult task, which requires the future owner to take a balanced approach to solving many organizational problems:

• selection of a comfortable and large room in a busy place in the city;
• choice of style in design and decoration, repair and purchase of furniture;
• purchasing the necessary equipment to equip the kitchen;
• selection of qualified personnel.

Restaurants are a rather risky business that requires strict cost accounting and analysis of each item. Given the huge costs of opening it, you can get a full payback no earlier than in a year. An average check of 700 rubles when the restaurant is at 50% capacity can bring up to 1 million rubles per month. But a significant part of the income will go to cover fixed expenses (groceries, wages, advertising and utility bills).

Business idea No. 7 – Opening a coffee shop

The minimum investment is 1,300,000 rubles.

The popularity of such establishments makes new business projects in demand in large cities. This is a good business for a woman. The essence of the “fragrant” idea is to open a beautifully decorated coffee shop with a minimum number of seats. In addition to several types of coffee and tea, such establishments offer an assortment of sweets, snacks and light dishes.

Implementation of the idea

The most optimal would be to design a small cozy hall with 20-30 seats, for which you will need to rent a suitable room in the busy central part of the city. In addition you will need:

• purchasing furniture and renovating premises;
• purchase of equipment for making coffee, snacks and desserts;
• personnel search;
• development of an advertising campaign.

If you are on a limited budget, you should give up your own kitchen in favor of suppliers of ready-made desserts and sweet pastries. The optimal solution would be to work under a franchise from a well-known company, which will eliminate many problems with organization and registration. The average bill for such mini-coffee shops is 300-500 rubles. This gives a monthly stable income of approximately 500,000 rubles. The full self-sufficiency of the project can be judged after the first year of operation.

Business idea No. 8 – Opening a private kindergarten

Initial investment – ​​1,000,000 rubles.

This is another great business idea for women with children. Most often, this business is opened by mothers who were unable to enroll their child in kindergarten and decided to open a private kindergarten in their area. There is practically no competition among private institutions for preschoolers, given the high demand. The basis of the project is the opening of a licensed institution for young children, which is aimed at the middle class. It involves full-fledged care and classes of teachers, recreational and entertainment activities.

Implementation of the idea

Naturally, here too, initial capital will be required to open; this business cannot be built without investments. Opening a private preschool requires solving many important organizational issues:

• searching and renting premises that meet standards and sanitary norms;
• renovating rooms and re-equipping them to suit the needs of small clients and employees;
• purchase of kitchen equipment, furniture and necessary accessories;
• search for qualified personnel and teachers;
• ensuring a high degree of safety and comfort for children.

At the initial stage, you cannot avoid visiting numerous commissions and representatives of inspection services, and the costs of obtaining licenses. This will be more than paid for by the income after opening. Most parents in large cities are willing to spend up to 50,000 rubles in one month on such an institution. A minimum number of 20 children attending the kindergarten will cover all expenses and generate a stable profit.

Business idea No. 9 – Opening an agency for organizing events

Primary capital investment – ​​100,000 rubles.

Regarding other ideas, this one is also classified as a business idea for women with minimal investment. In my opinion, a holiday agency is a women's business because it is ideal for a woman. Such agencies are becoming increasingly popular when organizing birthdays for children and adults, weddings or themed events. The basis of the business idea is the creation of a small company that develops scripts and offers holiday productions at the request of the customer.

Implementation of the idea

Opening such an event agency at the initial stage requires costs for making costumes and purchasing festive equipment. There is no need for office space: you can accept orders through your own website or group on social networks. The owner needs to resolve some issues:

• organization of an active advertising campaign;
• searching for talented personnel for performances;
• provision of transport for travel to the place of order fulfillment.

Savings at the initial stage will come from renting costumes from theater studios. Additional income will come from writing scripts for school or student events, collaborating with shopping centers and children's institutions, decorating a festive table and providing services for decorating the hall for special events. Profitability depends entirely on the quality and originality of the holiday organized. Active advertising will help pay for such a non-standard project in a few months and make a good profit.

Business idea No. 10 – Providing toastmaster services

Primary costs for the project are 100,000 rubles.

The job of providing toastmaster services at special events is perfect for creative, enterprising business women. The project does not require huge financial investments, but can bring good profits. Even in highly competitive conditions, a talented presenter will always be in demand among clients.

Implementation of the idea

Such extraordinary work is good for graduates of theater or music universities, for whom this is an opportunity to easily realize their talent. Main tasks when opening a business project:

• preparation of documents for work;
• purchasing or manufacturing props and several sets of original costumes;
• purchase of ready-made scripts (if necessary);
• acquisition of a set of equipment, studio soundtracks;
• creating your own one-page website to view your work.

Toastmaster services depend on the scale of the event (wedding, birthday or bachelorette party), the number of hours of service and the wishes of the customer. The average cost of work starts from 5,000-7,000 rubles, so monthly income can reach over 100,000 rubles with minimal time investment. At any stage, cooperation with entertainment establishments will be effective.

Business idea No. 11 – Opening a wedding salon

Initial costs – 300,000 rubles.

A wonderful and pleasant business project is ideal for women with good taste. The basis is the opening of a showroom for rental or sale of wedding dresses and accessories. This service is in constant demand and allows you to earn a good income.

Implementation of the idea

After registering all the necessary permits, you must:

• find premises in a shopping complex or in a busy area;
• purchase a consignment of goods for rental and sale;
• organize advertising in different ways;
• purchase the necessary trade and exhibition equipment, furniture for visitors.

As an additional service, you can offer rental of evening dresses for women or girls, which are suitable for proms or special occasions. The profitability of such a beautiful business is high. The trade markup on individual models can exceed 200% for outfits and up to 500% for small accessories. Advertising services on social networks, the Internet or local channels is of great importance. The return on investment depends on turnover and season. Minimum monthly incomes start at 100,000 rubles and increase during weddings and school graduations.

Business idea No. 12 – Opening a design studio

The initial investment amount is 300,000 rubles.

What kind of business should a girl with good taste start? Very simple! Monetize your talent, open a design studio: decorating rooms and apartments, home and office spaces, house plots and wedding banquet halls. The services of interior and countryside designers are becoming increasingly in demand among the middle class. The project involves the opening of a company offering decoration and design services for premises of any type, areas of country cottages and dachas.

Implementation of the idea

You can’t do this without investments! First, you will need a small, comfortable room for designers to work and communicate with clients. The ideal location would be a small office in a business center located in a fairly busy part of the city. To ensure the creative process and open a studio, the owner will need:

• purchase technical equipment and necessary software for project development;
• purchase furniture for employees and visitors;
• hire competent designers, on whose skills the success of the business depends.

It is recommended to open such design studios if the owner himself is an experienced designer. This will allow you to properly conduct your first projects and receive good reviews. Advertising and cooperation with construction companies are of great importance. The development of a standard project starts from 2000 rubles per meter. This makes the studio profitable even when handling 5–10 orders per month.

Business idea No. 13 - Opening a women's clothing store showroom

Preliminary investment of funds – 200,000 rubles.

This type of business is ideal for girls with a pronounced delicate taste and the ability to choose original things. The project is the opening of an online store or a permanent outlet with beautiful and fashionable things. Presented in several copies, stylish dresses or jeans will be in demand among fashionistas of the city.

Implementation of the idea

With limited initial capital, you can limit yourself to an online store and offer fittings to clients at home. After receiving the first stable profit, a good option would be to rent a room or area for a full-fledged store with fitting rooms and stands. The features of running such a business depend on financial capabilities:

• clothes can be purchased on well-known sale sites;
• Chinese stores with inexpensive, high-quality collections can be a good supplier;
• Constantly work on advertising the store, attract customers with promotions and discounts in order to create a base of regular customers.

The profitability of the project depends entirely on the level of sales. The markup on various products can easily reach 200%, which will help to fully cover all investments in just three months.

Business idea No. 14 – Opening a lingerie store

The initial amount of expenses is 300,000 rubles.

An excellent option for an elegant “female” business is the sale of beautiful underwear. The general essence of such a project is the design and opening of a specialized boutique store offering a large selection of linen products for different tastes and incomes. The demand for this category is noticeably constant, not subject to seasonality, and the project itself can bring good profits.

Implementation of the idea

It is better to select premises for a store on busy streets and in shopping hypermarkets. To open you need:

• decorate the premises with furniture, mirrors and display cases, purchase equipment and furniture;
• hire experienced staff, preferably female (for the comfort of most clients);
• purchase a diverse range of goods, focusing on different price levels;
• carry out an active advertising campaign to attract the first buyers.

If you choose the right place for trading, a lingerie store will quickly begin to make a profit. Many owners successfully work with a markup of 100 to 300% on individual models. Statistics show average monthly turnover at over 300,000 rubles.

Business idea No. 15 – Opening a bed linen store

The initial investment is 800,000 rubles.

The relevance of such a business idea lies in the popularity of the product and the constant demand for it among buyers of different price categories. The basis is the opening of a small cozy store selling various types of bed linen and any bedding accessories. In addition to sets, the assortment should include bedspreads, blankets and pillows, and home clothing sets.

Implementation of the idea

The opening of such a store must begin with the selection of premises in areas with good traffic from potential buyers. Most of the expenses will be spent on the following items:

• purchasing goods from direct suppliers (will help create a low selling price);
• purchase of several types of commercial equipment and furniture;
• advertising the store at the initial stage, spectacular external design;
• possible costs of organizing trade via the Internet.

On average, the trade margin on many products will vary from 100% and above. During the first months of operation, the store will generate low and unstable income. An analysis of similar bedding stores shows an average turnover of 200–240 thousand rubles monthly. You will be able to fully recoup your project no earlier than six months.

Business idea No. 16 – Opening a cosmetics store

The amount of capital investment in the project is 1,000,000 rubles.

A cosmetics and perfumery store is an excellent business project for a woman. The essence of such a financially profitable idea is to create a specialized store offering a large assortment of cosmetic products. Despite the high degree of competition, the project can become very profitable and successful. The demand for this product remains high even during a crisis, so the cosmetics market is showing stable growth.

The main task is to select a room that should be located in a busy and accessible place. Ideal for:

• area in a shopping center or grocery supermarket;
• a place near a bus station, market or bus stops;
• central area of ​​the city.

The largest expenses will require renting premises and purchasing various display cases and shelving. Cooperation with representatives of famous brands will allow you to receive fully decorated branded display cases for free. A small amount will be required for wages to sellers and the purchase of goods.

Even with high turnover, the store will be able to reach self-sufficiency no earlier than in a year. With monthly purchases worth 1.3–1.5 million rubles, the profit after deducting expenses can be only 150–200 thousand rubles.

Business idea No. 17 – Shop for pregnant women and newborns

The minimum investment is 1,000,000 rubles.

With the constant increase in the birth rate, the demand for products for pregnant women and newborn babies is only growing. The business project is to open a specialized sales point with clothes and accessories for expectant mothers. Their delicate situation involuntarily forces them to change their wardrobe and buy things for their newborn children.

Implementation of the idea

Such a store should be opened in a busy area or shopping center. It is most rational for a retail outlet to choose the first floor in order to make the visit for expectant mothers as comfortable and simple as possible. In addition to renting and decorating the space, the owner needs to resolve the following issues:

• purchasing high-quality and inexpensive things, toys and additional accessories;
• purchase of commercial equipment;
• opening an online store website;
• expenses for active advertising.

Bulk products such as cribs or strollers can be delivered to order. With a turnover of 1 million rubles per month, a considerable amount will be required for direct and indirect expenses. Therefore, a business woman should count on a net income of no more than 200,000 rubles. The self-sufficiency threshold will be overcome no earlier than after 5 months of stable sales.

Business idea No. 18 – Children's goods store

Initial investment of funds – 1,000,000 rubles.

The demand for any goods for children does not fall even in crisis conditions. Therefore, opening a store with various products for babies can be an excellent investment. The business project consists of equipping a trade pavilion that specializes exclusively in the sale of goods for children. The range can include clothes and shoes, gentle care products, feeding accessories or toys.

Implementation of the idea

Many parents deliberately buy expensive and high-quality products for their children. The level of turnover is influenced by the correct location of the store:

• in a large shopping or grocery center;
• near a children's clinic, preschool;
• on a busy city street.

In the first months of operation, you should not expect more than 6% profitability. You can increase your income by offering products online, running profitable promotions, or introducing a system of discounts for active buyers. Trade margins can vary from 20 to 100% depending on the product group. With active trading and proper marketing, the monthly turnover of the outlet exceeds 500,000 rubles. After full deduction of all expenses and taxes, the store can bring in 1.6 million rubles annually.

Business idea No. 19 – Tea and coffee shop

The initial investment is 500,000 rubles.

The implementation of the project involves the opening of a small store or outlet selling a wide range of tea and coffee. This product does not need advertising. Various types and varieties will be in good demand among buyers of any income. This is a smart investment that will quickly bring income.

Implementation of the idea

The positive aspects of such a business project can be called:

• the need for a small area for work, minimal rental costs;
• high demand for goods regardless of seasonality;
• no need to buy or rent special equipment;
• ease of compliance with storage conditions.

The main expenses at the first stage will require setting up a store and purchasing a batch of goods. The project itself is easier to implement in a busy place: near a metro station, bus stops or a grocery supermarket. Additional income will come from selling gift sets or sweets.

The monthly turnover of a small tea shop can reach 200,000 rubles in profit from sales. If you take into account all fixed expenses and purchases of new goods, net income can be up to 100,000 rubles. Calculations show that the project can be repaid no earlier than 12 months of stable operation.

Business idea No. 20 – Providing tutoring services via Skype

The initial investment in the project is 100,000 rubles.

An interesting and inexpensive business project involves providing tutoring services to clients via the Internet. The development of technology makes it possible to teach any discipline online or give consultations without leaving home. This option for additional or main income is perfect for many women. In particular, it can be qualified as a home business for women. After all, a 100,000 ruble investment is a start that will help you launch a business on a larger scale and start making a profit faster. But in general, a friend of mine started this business at home with absolutely no investment and is now succeeding in it and even hired several assistants on her staff.

Implementation of the idea

The services of an experienced psychologist, language teacher or tutor of some school subjects are most in demand. They can be one-time or permanent. The teacher plans the working hours and cost of the service independently. To organize a workplace you will need:

• purchase of special equipment for conducting consultations (camera, microphone);
• installation of online communication programs for work (Skype);
• opening an account or electronic wallet to pay for services.

Your services should be offered on advertising Internet portals and exchanges, well-known advertising sites. Even posting leaflets near educational institutions and schools can have a good effect. The cost of the service can be calculated by time (minutes or hours) or per consultation. The price for language classes starts at 200 rubles, so one day of work can bring more than 1000 rubles in additional income.

Business idea No. 21 – Opening a handicraft store

The amount of initial capital is 300,000 rubles.

The passion for handmade crafts has provoked a sharp increase in demand for materials for handicrafts. A good business idea might be to open a retail outlet selling goods for various types of handicrafts. Competition in this sector is quite low. A well-designed store with affordable prices will have a circle of regular customers and consistently bring a decent profit.

Implementation of the idea

At the first stage, you can open a small point on space rented in a shopping center. The entire amount of the initial investment will be spent on the following items:

• purchasing a set of retail furniture for displaying goods;
• purchase of the first batches of materials for needlework;
• advertising about the location of the store.

It is ideal if the owner of a handicraft store handles sales and purchases of goods herself. This will help to significantly reduce the labor costs of the salesperson. Additional passive income can come from sales of finished products accepted for sale from craftsmen for a certain percentage. The profitability of the project depends entirely on turnover and can show a profitability level of 30%. It is possible to fully recoup the investment within 6 months of active and stable sales.

Business idea No. 22 – Providing nanny services, opening an agency

Initial capital – 100,000 rubles.

The growing demand for the services of qualified nannies makes business in this area very popular and relevant. A business idea can be developed in two main directions: providing private services or organizing a nanny recruitment agency. The latter option requires small investments, but a very high degree of responsibility from the manager. In a small town, a private nanny who works directly with parents will be more cost-effective.

Implementation of the idea

The main cost when opening an agency is renting office space. For convenience, you can pay attention to apartments on the ground floor and inexpensive business centers. Meetings with potential employees and customers will be held here, and some documentation will be stored.

Personnel selection is of great importance for profitability. You should carefully check the documentation of the future nanny, conduct testing if necessary, and collect additional information from previous employers. This will help avoid unpleasant situations and increase the level of the agency, which will have a positive impact on income. Such a project can pay for itself in just a month and become a successful investment.

Business idea No. 23 – Opening a cleaning company

The minimum investment is 1,000,000 rubles.

Professional cleaning services have recently appeared on the market, but have immediately become relevant. A new business project involves opening a company that professionally provides various types of cleaning and furniture cleaning based on a contract. Marketing analysis shows that the project will be more profitable if implemented in a large city.

Implementation of the idea

To open a clearing company, several main tasks must be solved:

• rent a room that should combine the functions of an office and storage space for equipment;
• purchase specialized equipment for different types of cleaning and dry cleaning;
• hire and train staff;
• solve the problem of transportation to the place of order fulfillment.

Advertising is of great importance, which may require posting advertisements and creating a one-page website. The number of services provided depends on the technical capabilities of the company, but affects the volume of orders. The profitability of many successful clearing companies ranges from 22%, which helps to recoup investments relatively quickly and receive good, stable profits.

Business idea No. 24 – Opening a dance school

The initial investment is 400,000 rubles.

Dancing is an increasingly popular option for leading a healthy and active lifestyle. The business idea is to open a school for adults with various dance styles. The most relevant is the combination of weight loss programs and modern dances, which are popular with clients of all ages.

Implementation of the idea

The main problem when opening is finding a spacious and comfortable room. To reduce rental costs, you can pay attention to densely populated residential areas. The best option may be the Palace of Culture. Requires small investments:

• refurbishment and decoration of the hall, locker rooms and showers;
• purchase of equipment (if necessary) and sound equipment;
• search for qualified dance teachers;
• active advertising at the initial stage.

To quickly recoup your investment, you can additionally provide individual lessons and dance choreography for weddings or holidays. With an average price of a general lesson of 300 rubles and an individual lesson of 500–600 rubles, the monthly turnover will be 250,000 rubles. It is possible to fully justify the costs in just a year of active work of the dance school.

Business idea No. 25 – Hairdresser and makeup artist services

The initial investment is 100,000 rubles.

The beauty industry is experiencing a big boom. Professionals working in this industry can earn a high income. The business idea of ​​providing eyelash extension, nail extension or permanent makeup services is becoming relevant. A good specialist will be in demand in a city with any population size. The most optimal is to combine several professions (eyebrow artist and makeup artist).

Implementation of the idea

You can implement your project in several ways, the choice of which depends on the amount of initial investment:

• work from home or visiting a client;
• renting a workplace in an existing beauty salon;
• opening your own office.

The last option is the most expensive, but it helps to create your brand. At the initial stage, you should take into account some expenses: professional skills courses, purchase of tools, rental and renovation of premises, purchase of materials.

With a price for eyelash extensions of 900 rubles, the master has a net income of 400 rubles. The daily profit amount can reach 2,000 rubles and show the high profitability of the business idea after the first weeks of work.

Business idea No. 26 – Organization of courses (hairdresser, manicure or makeup artist)

Initial capital investment – ​​300,000 rubles.

The task of implementing this business project is to open private training courses for professional hairdressers, manicurists or makeup artists. Workers in these specialties are in demand, and the demand for such services is steadily increasing. Many women acquire new popular professions through private courses, changing their usual activities.

Implementation of the idea

The implementation of such a “training” business project will require large investments only at the initial stage. The main amount of costs will go to the following items:

• renting a premises with an area of ​​at least 50 m2, which should be located near convenient transport stops, the metro or in a busy area of ​​the city;
• purchasing tools and supplies for groups;
• advertising a new educational institution.

Additional income can come from original master classes for professionals, demonstrations of new techniques and advanced training. More expensive one-on-one training can be offered. With an average cost of courses of 25,000 rubles, a group of 10 people brings in 250,000 rubles monthly. Actively promoting courses and recruiting several groups will help pay for such a project with private courses in just a couple of months.

Business idea No. 27 – Opening a mini-confectionery shop at home

The initial investment is 30,000 rubles.

The housewife’s ability to create sweet masterpieces for her household can be turned into a profitable business project. It involves opening a mini-pastry shop at home that produces designer cakes, gingerbread cookies or cupcakes with exclusive decorations. Such non-standard cakes with photographs made of jelly and fairy-tale characters made of mastic are in great demand. Despite the competition, a master with the ability to combine taste and beauty will have many expensive orders. This is an excellent home business for women, which is gaining momentum both in large cities and in the provinces.

Implementation of the idea

Organizing a project at home requires certain investments:

• purchase of equipment and accessories for work;
• purchase of special food components;
• attending advanced training courses;
• creating an online store or group to accept orders and demonstrate decoration options.

The cost of a beautiful and tasty cake weighing 2 kg starts from 900–1000 rubles. The price depends on the composition of the ingredients and the complexity of the decor. A reputable confectioner with an established client base fulfills at least 20 orders a week and can receive more than 10 thousand rubles in net income for the same period.

Business idea No. 28 – Opening a tailoring and clothing repair shop

The initial investment is 420,000 rubles.

Original clothing models are always in demand among ladies with non-standard shapes. The basis of the business idea is to open a studio that provides tailoring and repair services for various types of clothing. Most of the income comes from alterations and minor repairs, fitting models to fit.

Implementation of the idea

To implement the chosen business project, the owner will need:

• register a company and receive documents;
• rent space for a studio;
• purchase sewing equipment necessary for many operations;
• select qualified personnel;
• organize an active advertising campaign using different methods.

The premises should be selected in a busy part of the city to ensure an influx of customers from shopping centers and fashion stores. A non-residential premises on the ground floor, which faces the street with good traffic, is suitable.

The payback of the studio depends entirely on the volume of orders and the average amount in the receipt. If most of the work involves minor repairs, then the profitability is no more than 12-15%. If orders for tailoring increase, the payback may be less than a year.

Business idea No. 29 – Opening a nail salon

The initial investment is 500,000 rubles.

Opening a salon providing manicure and pedicure services can be a profitable and interesting business project. This type of activity is in high demand due to the emergence of new technologies for decorating and caring for nails. Opening such a salon with affordable prices can bring good income to its owner.

Implementation of the idea

A good location for a nail salon is the central part of the city. You can rent premises in a multi-storey building (converted apartments on the first floors), in shopping centers or office complexes. In addition to solving the issue of space for the salon, you need to:

• carry out repairs and decoration to create an atmosphere in the salon;
• select qualified personnel or offer a professional master to sublease a workplace;
• purchase furniture for clients and procedures;
• think over and organize an active advertising campaign.

Profitability depends entirely on the level of professionalism of the salon masters, prices for their services and the volume of services performed. Many similar projects show payback during the first year of operation with active advertising and various promotions for clients.

Business idea No. 30 – Opening a depilation office

Initial investment in the project is 200,000 rubles.

Depilation refers to cosmetic hair removal procedures, so opening an office does not require medical education or licensing. The business idea is the organization of a workplace to provide hair depilation services in different ways. Sugaring based on safe sugar paste is most in demand.

Implementation of the idea

The main point when creating an office is the choice of room for work. A rented apartment in a multi-storey building or a room in an existing beauty salon would be suitable. With any option, the location convenient for customers relative to transport should be taken into account. Other expense items include:

• renovation and decoration of the office;
• purchasing special furniture or having it made to order;
• purchase of cosmetic consumables;
• advertising in several ways;
• advanced training at master classes.

The business will begin to pay off after a few months of active advertising and work. The average income of an experienced master reaches 30,000 rubles every month.

Business idea No. 31 – Opening a spa salon

Initial investment – ​​from 1,000,000 rubles.

Professional body and facial skin care is very popular. Opening a salon that provides such services by real specialists can be a very profitable business project. Competition among spa salons is low, and demand is constantly growing. Various types of massages, oil treatments and wraps are popular with women of all ages.

Implementation of the idea

Before opening, it is necessary to carefully study regional legislation and, if necessary, obtain a license for certain types of procedures. A large amount of initial investment will be spent by the owner on:

• purchasing equipment and tools, ordering professional furniture for work;
• carrying out high-quality repairs and interior decoration;
• training employees in new work methods;
• active advertising campaign.

The most inexpensive option would be premises in the central areas of the city, which will be located near a fitness center or in large shopping malls. Considering the large costs at the first stage, the spa salon will fully pay for itself no earlier than in 12–18 months. You can attract customers and increase income by holding promotions and selling exclusive cosmetics.

Business idea No. 32 – Opening a hair salon

The initial investment in the project is 300,000 rubles.

A hairdressing salon can become a profitable and interesting business project that will be relevant even in a small city. Given the high percentage of competition, emphasis should be placed on popular procedures for hair care and coloring, and qualified professionals should be selected. A skilled hairdresser is able to attract many clients thanks to reviews and make the salon in demand.

Implementation of the idea

The main task is to find a hall, which must have all communications and a good location. A non-residential converted apartment may be suitable. Ideally, the “neighbors” will be famous shops or supermarkets, or a sports club for women. After decorating the salon and purchasing the necessary furniture, you should decide on the staff. The most popular options now are:

• full registration and payment 50/50 (piecework payment);
• renting out a workplace to a hairdresser under a sublease agreement.

In the latter option, the amount becomes fixed regardless of revenue. Analysis of such salons shows payback no earlier than in a year with an active advertising campaign. The average monthly profit of a hairdressing salon with 5-6 jobs can easily be from 150,000 rubles.

Business idea No. 33 – Opening a solarium

The initial investment in the project is 500,000 rubles.

Among the business ideas related to the beauty and body care industry, one can highlight artificial tanning. The basis of such a project is the equipment of a small salon, the specialization of which will be the provision of solarium services. The optimal place to open will be large cities with a small number of warm and sunny days.

Implementation of the idea

Particularly difficult is the selection of premises for work. A good and profitable option is cooperation with beauty salons, sports clubs or shopping malls. It is necessary to focus on young women who will be the main clients of the new solarium.

To get started, you should purchase equipment and furniture for staff, a vertical and horizontal solarium, and create a comfortable environment through decoration. Additional income can be generated by the sale of body care cosmetics, which are relevant after a pleasant procedure.

With active advertising and moderate prices, the project will be able to generate good income after just a few weeks of work. Carrying out promotions and discounts for regular customers will only increase the flow of customers. But a full return on investment should not be expected quickly: the optimal period is 10–12 months.

Business idea No. 34 – Opening a massage parlor

Investments at the opening stage – 400,000 rubles.

The services of an experienced massage therapist are always in demand. In addition to therapeutic massage, clients are increasingly resorting to its cosmetic options. This is an ideal way to relax and improve body contours. Opening a salon can be an excellent business and investment of available funds.

Implementation of the idea

It is better to organize the work of a massage room on the basis of a gym or beauty salon. You need to choose a small but warm room, which is located near bus stops. To open a project for 2 jobs you will need:

• purchase special tables, couches and furniture for clients;
• organize a convenient place of work for the administrator;
• purchase consumable cosmetics, towels and linen;
• develop an advertising campaign.

Most massage parlors in large cities show stable profitability of 20–30%. The average period for full return of investments depends on many factors and can reach from 4 to 12 months. For a month of operation at 70% occupancy, one salon may well generate net income in the amount of 80,000 rubles.

Business idea No. 35 – Opening a beauty salon

The initial investment is 500,000 rubles.

Almost all services in the beauty industry are in high and stable demand. Opening a new salon with more staff and modern equipment can be a very profitable business project. The most popular are beauty salons that offer clients comprehensive care and services from various specialists.

Implementation of the idea

The choice of premises is an important component of a new project. It must have all the necessary communications and be located in a busy place near transport stops. You can pay attention to non-residential apartments on the ground floors or areas in office centers. The main costs will be distributed over several items:

• renovation and decoration of premises;
• purchasing or manufacturing special furniture for craftsmen and visitors;
• purchase of various equipment, cosmetics and accessories;
• development of a “bright” advertising campaign, creation of a website.

The success of a salon directly depends on the skill of its staff. After the first few months of breaking even, a “beautiful” business project can consistently bring the owner at least 100,000 rubles per month.

Business idea No. 36 – Flower shop-salon

The initial investment is 200,000 rubles.

The stable demand for fresh flowers and indoor plants makes business projects for their implementation quite profitable. Opening a salon-shop that offers a large assortment of flowers in bouquets or pots can be successful. Such a store can be an ideal project for an active business woman and will not require huge initial investments.

Implementation of the idea

It is necessary to select a premises in a busy area, near offices, a wedding palace or a major transport interchange. It must have all the conditions for storing and placing “delicate” goods. To have a large flow of customers, you can include in your assortment:

• fresh cut or indoor flowers;
• various accessories, pots for indoor or outdoor plants;
• seeds and seedlings;
• gift and bouquet packaging services.

The main costs will be for renting a store, repairs and purchasing the first batches of goods. The standard markup on different types of plants and flowers reaches 200%, and brings a good profit. The project will easily pay for itself after the first active sales. Don’t forget about advertising, discounts for regular customers and interesting promotions that will bring popularity to the store.

Business idea No. 37 – Opening a creative studio for children

A creative studio for children is a great business idea for mothers on maternity leave. Many shopping centers increase the flow of customers and profits by placing modern creative centers for children on their territory. Creating such a business project can bring good income and quickly pay for itself. It involves equipping a safe room for creative and active activities for children of different ages.

Implementation of the idea

The best option would be to locate a creative studio in large shopping complexes or a central area. The proximity of a stop or metro station is also important for parents. Before completing the necessary documents, it is necessary to resolve an important organizational issue: work under a franchise agreement or open a project on your own.

Organizing a creative studio requires certain investments:

• repair and decoration of the premises in accordance with safety standards;
• purchasing the necessary tools and materials for different types of work;
• salaries for experienced and qualified teachers.

Now you know what business to start on maternity leave. But that's not all!

Business idea No. 38 – Opening a speech therapy studio for children

The initial investment is 200,000 rubles.

The services of various children's development studios are relevant and in demand. To stand out from similar ones, you can work in one specific direction or with a certain methodology. Considering the popularity and need for the services of a speech therapist, a specialized speech therapy studio would be a good business project. It can combine entertaining and educational activities. This is a good business idea exclusively for women.

Implementation of the idea

Opening such a studio does not require special licenses or constant investment of funds. The main costs required at the initial stage:

• rental and renovation of classroom space;
• purchasing furniture for classrooms and play sets;
• design of a waiting area for parents;
• purchase of necessary educational and creative materials;
• salaries of teachers.

Active advertising on the Internet and posting notices near children's educational institutions will attract the first customers. With an average cost of one hour lesson of 100–150 rubles, such a studio can bring in from 6,000 rubles per day. You can increase your income through individual lessons, increasing the number of groups and creating directions with various innovative techniques.

Business idea No. 39 – Opening a hand-made project

The initial investment is 100,000 rubles.

The demand for handmade products and clothing remains consistently high. For women who have a certain talent, a business project for the production and sale of hand-made items may be a good option. In addition to knitting and embroidery, the making of postcards and sewing toys, the production of jewelry and costume jewelry are very popular.

Implementation of the idea

A modern handmade project can be implemented in two different ways:

• produce and sell only your own products and goods (through an online store or by giving them away for sale);
• open a specialized store selling products of various creative styles from several craftsmen (macrame, knitting, quilling or felting).

In the first option, you can limit yourself to an inexpensive website. Additional income and reduction of expenses will come from cooperation with other masters. The profitability of the project will depend entirely on the prices set for handmade products. Most often the markup is 100–150%. It must take into account material and indirect costs, taxes and payment for advertising the store or website of the master.

Business idea No. 40 – Franchise business for women

You can also get business ideas from franchises or open a franchise business altogether. Franchising has many pros and cons, but overall it’s a great idea for a woman to open a business.

In order to choose a franchise, you can go to ours. There are many options out there and new ones are added frequently.

I started taking my first steps in business at the age of 17. Then I opened courses to prepare for the Unified State Exam. The organizational work was done perfectly, there was a room, a methodology, teachers, a website... but there were no students. This was the only business for which I wrote a business plan. He's the only one who's completely failed.

Then I transported goods from China, quite successfully. She sold children's clothing wholesale in Moscow stores and developed her own toy store. Then, having sold several projects, I delved into selling businesses. This is a very large turnover and profit. But irregular transactions and great responsibility. I started to get overworked, sit late at the office, and eventually decided to give it up and do what I really like and excites me - skydiving. The idea appeared in August 2014, the initial investments were very small - less than 30 thousand rubles, and then the money was taken from circulation.

Yulia Andreeva, Orange FM (Moscow)

I started my business during the difficult crisis year of 2008. At that time, I worked for a company that was the market leader in the production of radio content for regional radio stations. There I headed the sales department. It was not a small company, but a group in which each division was engaged in its own area. And gradually the group began to fall apart: the 2008 crisis “helped” them to disperse. Everyone thought it was right to do their own thing. And my colleague, sound producer Nikolai Grinko, and I decided not to give up the business we knew well, but to continue working, only now for ourselves. Considering that legally we separated from the group of companies and registered an individual entrepreneur, we started with a clean slate. At first they invested personal savings and only over time began to receive income. The main direction of "Orange FM": production of radio programs and broadcast design elements for regional radio stations.

Alevtina Larina, “ABC of Success” (Noginsk)

I started my business in 2003. I invested 6 months of rent, a computer and all the other little things from the house: a carpet, a table, a closet... I offer psychological counseling, classes with children, trainings.

The most important rule is either one leader or five. Otherwise there will be quarrels and mistrust. Therefore, of the two co-founders, I was the only one left. The second co-founder went to work for another company.

Galina Shilina, Sama Sobe.ru (Moscow)

Ekaterina Gimmelreich, personal coach (Moscow)

My interest in coaching began in 2009. Then I realized for myself how important it is to be the one who will reveal a person’s potential and encourage him to do what he is capable of and even more.

To open and develop my own business, I received a subsidy from the state in the amount of 300 thousand rubles.

I am an ICF certified coach and conduct individual coaching sessions on small and medium-sized business development, career and self-development.

My main clients are entrepreneurs with experience, who have been in business for several years and want to increase their profits, and those who come to me with only an idea for their own project and the desire to implement it.

Irina Krasnoperova, Allergstop.ru (Moscow)

A year ago, the company where I worked went through a large-scale downsizing and I was laid off, along with another 60% of the employees. I was paid compensation as a result of my layoff. Plus, of course, I had to invest my savings to try to start my own business.

Education allows me to work in the IT field. It seemed optimal to me to create an online store. I started by studying the market. Not being very confident in my abilities, I bought my first website for selling perfumes... and really regretted it. Large investments (120 thousand rubles) have not yet paid off... The first damn thing is lumpy.

Ekaterina Afanasyeva, LeadLinks (Krasnodar)

Natalya Pantyukhina, NP-ADVICE (Moscow)

Tatyana Keller, Rosy Lea (St. Petersburg)

A little over a year ago (July 14, 2013) I opened my retail tea and coffee store, RosyLea (Rosie Lee). Rosy Lea is an English colloquial expression meaning "tea", without a negative context, sort of like "tea" in Cockney.

The main financial investments were money partially received from the sale of my real estate, approximately 400 thousand rubles. Well, intangible investments: research, study, networking, business modeling, immersion in a subject area... it’s difficult to evaluate, at some point it just became my life. The official start was the opening of the store, the start of sales, which was preceded by long organizational preparations.

Ekaterina Mikhaleva, Helen Doron franchise (Moscow)

I started thinking about opening my own English language school in the summer of 2012, when a friend at the children’s sandbox finally terrorized me with requests to teach her 4-year-old son English. Even though I’m a teacher and know English and have my own children, I still don’t have an age-appropriate methodology, and I’m actually learning French first... I didn’t agree!

Then I miraculously stumbled upon a leaflet of some kind of English for children at my work in the linguistic center. I brought it to my friend, and she said, I know, there are excellent reviews, I really want to, but it’s unrealistic to take a child from Dolgoprudny to the Arbat...

So I got excited about the idea of ​​the Helen Doron English franchise at my place of residence - in Dolgoprudny, where we lived at that time for four years. I thought all summer (no, I didn’t analyze the market, I didn’t weigh the pros and cons), I waited for “I’ll burn out/I won’t burn out,” and by September I made up my mind. I quickly wrote a business plan, borrowed money (500 thousand rubles), bought a franchise, paid for and completed the appropriate training, rented a room in my own house, equipped it with everything I needed from Ikea... And in mid-September 2012, I opened the Early English Studio for children 0+.

Natalia Kudenko, Special Wedding (Moscow)

My business is the wedding agency Special Wedding. It specializes in organizing elegant personal events in Russia and 16 other countries around the world. To be honest, I, like many others, was prompted to the idea of ​​creating it by chance and, of course, by the fact that I had always dreamed of my own business. Before creating Special Wedding, I worked as a lawyer and held the post of deputy head of a department in a construction company. The place was good and, of course, generated income, but I felt that I needed development.

My - now - husband proposed getting married, and we were faced with the question of organizing a wedding. I called several leading wedding agencies, met, but nowhere did I see what I needed: transparency; clear budgeting; wide range of wedding venues. In this regard, I had to do my wedding myself. Upon completion, I helped my friends with their weddings, then I helped friends of friends, and things started to happen.

Margarita Shalaeva, Forus Group (Moscow)

I started running my own business in 2011, having worked as an employee in a similar field for almost 4 years. There were almost no investments, since it offered services. Initially there was a computer, a laptop, a color printer and a booklet maker. The main activity of Forus Group is organizing business trainings for client companies; we also organize consulting projects, for example, assessing company personnel based on competencies, auditing the existing management system, creating an HR unit, etc.

The most correct decision was to take a risk and refuse to work for hire, to try myself in business. I think the second correct decision is to create a sales department and position the company on business resources. At first it seemed that doing everything yourself would be easier and you would earn more. At the first stage this is indeed the case. But when reliable people appear around you, the work becomes more interesting, new facets and opportunities appear (one head is good, but two are better).

Ekaterina Zhukova, JKTravel (Tyumen)

I started my business a year ago, on June 22, 2013. There were few investments, except for the effort and energy spent on registering an LLC. But it was worth it. Travel agency JK travel sells travel packages, magnificent, memorable, impressionable vacations around the world. This is family, extreme, beach tourism. Wedding tours. Tours abroad and within Russia.

Marina Kolesnik (Oktogo, Travel.ru)

OLEG ANISIMOV: Hello, dear viewers. Internet accounting “My Business” continues the series of interviews with entrepreneurs and today my guest is Marina Kolesnik, founder of Travel.ru and Oktogo and CEO of Travel.ru. Marina, hello!

Maria Veykhman, “Skorista” (Moscow)

Analytical agency "Skorista" is my third and most ambitious project. Before him, I had been involved in the creation and development of IT projects in the financial sector for many years, and they were quite successful. For example, the use of our technologies in the Credit-Land.com project allowed us to bring it to a leading position in the US market. To launch the Skorista business, I moved to Moscow, where at that time there were already partners and investors interested in the project. We are just getting started, but our business is already highly appreciated by investors. At the initial stage, we raised about $1.5 million.

Maria Rakitina, ittoys.ru (Voronezh)

My husband and I started the business in 2009, when we were finishing our master’s degrees. There was practically no initial investment. For some reason we registered as an LLC. Now we have an individual entrepreneur, it’s much easier with him. Our small studio is engaged in the creation and promotion of websites in Voronezh.

The best thing to do was just start. Suddenly, awkwardly, at the wrong time, but still start. And it was also right to immediately set a high bar, even without understanding that it won’t be possible to do very well right away, but to strive for high quality from the start. The idea turned out to be successful in starting to focus on relationships with clients, putting their convenience first, without considering that the client is always right. This principle influences a lot, not only the work process itself, but also communication.

Now we have many principles of work, including high response speed, assistance in related issues, and technical/non-technical/any other support. They took a very long time and were difficult to develop, but it was definitely the right thing to do.

Oksana Zheleznova, Serebro Lab (Moscow)

I started a business at the age of 23, investing, in fact, 800 rubles for the state fee for opening an individual entrepreneur. I already had a laptop, so I didn’t have to invest in it. From the start-up capital, I had two salaries from my last place of work, wise parents-entrepreneurs who were ready to help with advice, my own apartment, 5 years of study at the Russian Academy of Economics. Plekhanov and three years of experience in large companies. And a cat. The cat was very supportive and motivated because I had to feed her regularly and buy her litter. The first two years were the hardest. There was intensive training, getting things done, building all the systems, fighting one’s own fears. Then it became easier.

Evgenia Belyavskaya, La Scelta (Moscow)

I have been providing psychological support to people for about 7 years, and during an individual conversation, many asked questions from the field of jurisprudence. I didn’t know how to answer competently and correctly, and suggested turning to legal experts.

Thus, I came to the decision that I could combine psychological and legal consultations, received a lawyer’s education, thereby expanding my horizons in the field of civil legal relations. This had a beneficial effect on the flow of clients: it became easier and faster for them to resolve difficulties. Creating comfortable conditions so that you can get answers to your questions in one place. Thus, in November 2012, the LaScelta Consulting Center appeared. The name is universal, since scelta translated from Italian means “choice” and is suitable for all types of services we provide.

Yulia Kostyaeva, “Planet of Curtains” (Rybnoye)

I opened my business in the summer of 2013. "Planet of Curtains" is engaged in curtain products, sewing curtains, bedspreads and covers, as well as selling curtains and sewing accessories in the Ryazan region. The beginning was made spontaneously. I decided to apply for a free loan from the employment center. We waited for an answer for several months, and we no longer hoped. But at the end of May I was informed that a positive decision had been made on my application.

The start was extremely difficult. We started with little money and a half-empty store. Expenses were growing, but there was no income at all. Thanks to my husband for his support and understanding, he was the one who helped me believe in development.

Svetlana Kotlukova, ArchDialog (Moscow)

The main directions of the ArchDialog agency are PR support for both beginning and well-known interior designers, as well as the organization of business events in a specialized environment: seminars, conferences, master classes, training programs. In short, we help people find their partners. Of course, we also provide various related services, such as website creation, branding, printing, but we get real pleasure from business communication with new people and from those moments when our clients’ projects appear on the pages of glossy publications.

Yulia Lavrova, “Mom in Fashion” (Irkutsk)

Alexandra Epifanova, “Fashion Honey” (St. Petersburg)

We have created an online honey store “Moda Honey”, where you can buy high-quality honey from apiaries in different countries: Italy, France, Russia, New Zealand. This is the basis of our business activities. But our main idea is to develop a culture of honey eating. We hold entertainment and educational events, tastings, and introduce people to the honey diversity of the whole world. The most correct thing we are doing is adhering to the chosen strategy for selling pure monofloral honey and the specified quality requirements for suppliers and honey. We are in no hurry to expand our assortment with a dozen varieties of honey with higher margins. We are very careful when choosing suppliers. We do not agree to offers with imaginary benefits if we do not see prospects for cooperation for years. We personally visited all the apiaries we work with to be confident in our product.

Ekaterina Gorlova (MSMedias)

Ekaterina Fedotkina, private webmaster (Moscow)

The idea of ​​starting my own business arose during the crisis of 2008: at that time I was working in the construction industry. In July 2009, the company began actively cutting staff in order to survive. Three months without work made me think about taking my financial well-being into my own hands. During a period of unemployment, I decided to try my hand at web programming. To my surprise, the start was quite successful. The decision to start my own business in the field of programming finally matured by September 2009, and I began to act. I found a job in my old specialty, worked for six months, saved up money for the first time of adaptation, and in August 2011 registered as an individual entrepreneur.

At first she collaborated with web studios, but by June 2012 she had already completely switched over to independent work: she created her own website, started promoting it, and the first orders began to come from it. Since then I have been moving on smoothly. I offer professional services for creating Internet projects of minimal and medium complexity. In addition, my area of ​​expertise includes the development and support of existing projects.

Yulia Deryuga, Doctor Dyuna (Moscow)

Several years ago, when I woke up, I suddenly realized that I was tired of working “for myself and for that guy” for someone else’s “uncle.” I’m also tired of adapting to someone else’s system and following someone else’s not always competent and correct instructions. I am a self-sufficient person, with an established system of values, capable of being responsible for my actions and deciding how to live and what to do.

How to change your life to satisfy your pride, realize your ambitions and create your own system? The decision came quickly. We need to start our own business. What is needed for this? Yeah, nothing at all, a suitable topic and initial capital.

This is where the first difficulties and slippage begin. Where is our place? Where to wedge in? So as not to be pushed out? But we are not afraid of difficulties, because we have an idea, an ultimate goal and a great desire to live.

Ekaterina Mityasova, Brief Group (Moscow)

I opened my market research company in January 2010. At the beginning it was not very difficult: the first orders came immediately, then, due to the lack of fixed costs, we did not lose anything when entering the business. It was interesting to build a new control system from scratch. It was most difficult later, when it became clear that we needed to change, but how was the most difficult question. The business is intelligent, the environment is dynamic. This requires constant investment in additional education. We have implemented market research and financial modeling projects for more than 20 organizations and private investors.

Maria Ivanenko, Outsourcing Trade (Moscow)

Previously, I worked in the international relations departments of Rostelecom and Center Telecom, and decided that I wanted to develop in a similar industry, but act independently. In my opinion, the IT industry is the most progressive and personally interesting for me.

My partners and I opened the company in 2011. At the very beginning there were many difficulties, since the service in Russia was developed at a weak level. Many companies are afraid to entrust technical support functions to outside specialists. We set a goal to create a service that will be available to small and medium-sized businesses, which is why our tariffs are among the lowest in the IT market. For a long time we were promoting the service and finding clients, but only after 6 months our efforts brought results, and this is good news, because we found clients with whom we formed not only business relationships, but also friendly ones, which is important.

OOO "Outsourcing Trade" provides IT outsourcing services (technical support of IT infrastructure). We have created our own program for remote technical support, with the help of which all our clients receive prompt assistance in real time. This allows them to stay focused on important tasks, even if technical glitches occur, since they are resolved very quickly.

Olga Karpenko, “108 spices” (Moscow)

Our online store “108 Spices” offers a variety of aromatic spices from all over the world, as well as eco-products, functional foods, related kitchen utensils and kitchen accessories.

We literally started from scratch. Each stage had its own difficulties. But the hardest thing is when the business is at the level of a hobby and has not yet paid off. It seems to me that most startups fail at this stage, especially if the project is managed by several people.

I decided to move towards my goal, no matter what. I was motivated to become an entrepreneur by making a profit and having social significance: we sell healthy products so that everyone can become a healthy and harmonious person. Every year sales volume increases by 50-80%.

Daria and Alexander Elnikov, elnikova.com (Moscow)

We are a small family studio that designs interiors of residential and non-residential premises: apartments, houses, apartments, offices, cafes and shops.

The business started with a marriage to an architect, and it's no joke. The most important person in our studio is the architect and designer Daria Elnikova, my wife.

We registered our company in January 2014, combining our strengths: Dasha as a designer with extensive experience as an architect and freelance interior designer, and mine as a manager and financier.

We have quite ambitious plans, and we are still at the beginning of our entrepreneurial journey. We really like what we are doing now and this, to a large extent, eliminates some operational “difficulties” that inevitably arise in any business.

We were ready for this and tried to find high-quality services that would allow us to reduce the fixed costs necessary for our activities to a minimum. One of these “magic” services that reduced our accounting costs several times was the “My Business” resource.

Elizaveta and Andrey Ryazantsev, izzdereva.ru (Samara), 26 years old

We sell wooden toys.

We started a year ago with the creation of a website and registration of an individual entrepreneur. We made the first purchase of 20 types of toys. We purchased goods for 20 thousand rubles. We wanted to offer people a product that they would buy themselves. Considering that we are young parents, environmentally friendly, interesting toys are just the thing! It was interesting to study the wooden toys market in Russia.

Irina Solovieva, Solovieva Team (Moscow)

I am a professional branding and communications consultant.

I registered as an individual entrepreneur in March 2011. An individual consulting business does not require serious direct financial investments. But “indirect” requires a lot - you need a good education, extensive experience working in the best company in your field, and constant professional development. It wasn't hard. I have always had a pool of my clients whom I have been consulting for years, 6-7 years.

Violetta Nasibulina, Avtoaks (Khanty-Mansiysk)

We opened a car accessories store "Autoaks".

The business started in April 2013. At first it was an online store; then it grew into a small department selling gifts for car enthusiasts. We purchased goods and equipment for the department. Now there is both an online store and a department.

OLEG ANISIMOV: Hello, Internet accounting presents a series of interviews with entrepreneurs, and today my guest is Alena Ivanova, the owner of the Taiga design hostel. In all three words, someone will find something new for themselves, because we don’t have many design hostels in Russia, I think there were almost none. Alena, thank you for coming. The first question I will ask is: what is it like - design and hostel? Hostel is cheap, design is something expensive. How do you combine it?

P.S. Two years later, I visited Alena’s hostel and shot this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNUih9sLKG0.

Vera Sirotyuk, psychologist, speech therapist (Moscow)

In September 2013, I became an individual entrepreneur, opening a private office where I can receive the services of a speech therapist and psychologist.

I started my private practice as a speech therapist and psychologist while still in college, more than 10 years ago. After working for five years at the state Center for Psychological Assistance, I realized that I wanted to have my own business, my own private office. I began to study the question: how best to legally formalize my activities, whether licenses are needed, etc. I studied - I studied, but did not dare to start.

Irina Kano, photographer (Moscow)

I started working in this field a year ago, although I had been filming for fun and for friends for a long time. Investments, first of all, were associated with the acquisition of serious photographic equipment.

Why photography? I am a journalist by training and have been working in cinema for many years, so story and images are two words that have always defined my interests. Photography made it possible to connect them together: to tell stories through captured images.

It's always hard to start. Especially when you're over thirty. But if you are sure that the chosen business is yours, everything will work out.

Entrepreneurship is the ability to manage your time and plan your life yourself.

Valentina Drofa ("Bustard")

OLEG ANISIMOV: Hello. Internet accounting “My Business” presents a series of interviews with entrepreneurs and businesswomen. Entrepreneurs in Russia are more difficult to find. This is what I encountered when preparing the first episodes. And, fortunately, Valentina Drofa is an entrepreneur whom I found, and not in Moscow, but in St. Petersburg. Valentina founded and runs the Ilearney website. Why such a difficult name to pronounce in Russian?

Maria Koval (Signore Formaggio). European-style artisan cheese in Russia

OLEG ANISIMOV: Hello, online accounting “My Business” continues the series of interviews with entrepreneurs, my name is Oleg Anisimov. Today our guest is Maria Koval, the founder of the Signore Formaggio cheese factory. I mean, Signor Cheese, right?

Estee Lauder was born on July 1, 1908, a woman who built a cosmetics empire from scratch and became one of the most influential business people of the 20th century. Do you still think that a woman's place is in the kitchen? Then the Weekend project comes to you - with a list of business women who, by their example, prove the opposite.

1. Estee Lauder: magical recipes and the boss behind the counter

Estee Lauder, the daughter of Jewish immigrants, born in the slums of New York, went from selling natural homemade face creams to the owner of a cosmetics empire. In 2003, the company she founded, Estée Lauder, ranked 249th on the list of the 500 largest US corporations with annual revenue of $4.74 billion.

Secret of success : anti-aging cosmetics based on Uncle John's recipe plus a successful advertising strategy.

Business Principles:"Once you turn your back on a customer, you've lost him."

Estee Lauder was the first to offer her customers free samples and gifts for purchases and loved to consult clients herself.

“Time is not on your side, but I am!” - just one of her famous advertising slogans.

Evil tongues claimed that such a naive “feminine” approach would not lead to good, but the system launched by Lauder very soon bore fruit.

Estee Lauder, 1992, France

"Don't write angry letters"

Lauder preferred to work personally not only with clients, but also with staff: she spent a lot of time behind the counter, inspiring sellers with her example. “My current position is the result not of dreams or hopes, but of hard work,” she reminded her employees.

“If a woman who is engaged in business thinks about the success of her marriage, she must very subtly make her husband feel strong and significant - and then he will actually be strong and significant.”

Her husband Joseph supported Este in all her endeavors, being responsible for the financial affairs of the company; her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren continued the business when she retired at the age of 87. Now Estee Lauder is headed by the eldest of the two sons of Estee and Joseph - Leonard Lauder. He started working for the company as a delivery boy at the age of 10, and is now ranked 131st on the list of the world's billionaires.

2. Veuve Clicquot: champagne worthy of Pushkin

Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot (nee Ponsardin) was born in 1777 in Reims into the family of a wealthy textile industrialist. The father was able to successfully marry his daughter to the son of his colleague, Philippe Clicquot, who, in addition to the textile industry, also had a small wine business. The young couple began to develop their father's business, but in 1804 Monsieur Clicquot died unexpectedly, leaving the business in the hands of his widow. Today, the Veuve Clicquot brand ranks second in the world in terms of sales, second only to Moet & Chandon.

Secret of success : elite champagne created using innovative technologies for that time. Under her, a new production method was invented that significantly speeded up the production of champagne and ensured the transparency of the drink: the bottles were now placed neck down so that the sediment collected in the neck, then they were frozen and the ice cap was removed along with the sediment.

Business Principles: Monitor your competitors

Leon Cognier. "Portrait of Veuve Clicquot", 1860-1862

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot tried to be one step ahead of her competitors - especially the main one - Jean-Rémy Moët. Secretly from everyone, she sent 75 boxes of champagne to Russia, which went “with a bang” in St. Petersburg at a price of 12 rubles per bottle. “...Of all the good wines that have already hit the heads of the northerners,” the manager reported to the hostess, “not one is like the bottling of 1811... This wonderful wine has a killer effect... Your wine is nectar, it is as strong as Hungarian wine as yellow as gold."

Veuve Clicquot or Moët
Blessed Wine
In a frozen bottle for a poet
It was immediately brought to the table.

(A.S. Pushkin, "Eugene Onegin")

Neither the war of 1812 nor trade restrictions stopped the victorious march of the widow Clicquot's champagne - Clicquot champagne was drunk on both sides of the barricades. And even Pushkin could not resist.

"No matter what happens, keep your face"

The only daughter of the widow Clicquot, Clementine (depicted in the picture above with her mother), was indifferent to the family business and was much more willing to marry Count Louis de Chevigne, a womanizer and gambler. At first, the Count happily squandered his mother-in-law’s fortune, and then he went ahead and published a brochure about his love affairs in the 18+ style. While her daughter was burning with shame, the widow Clicquot bought the entire edition and ordered it to be destroyed, but a couple of copies still survived to this day.

3. Helena Rubinstein: The stingy gets more

Helena (Chaya) Rubinstein was the eighth child in the family of a Krakow shopkeeper. Having mastered the basics of the medical profession, without knowing English, she went from Poland to Australia, where she began making face creams from local ingredients. One of the lines, containing herbs from the Carpathian Mountains, cost Helena ten pence a bottle and sold for six shillings - this woman always knew the value of money. Today, the Helena Rubinstein brand belongs to the L’Oréal corporation; its products are sold in 50 countries around the world.

Secret of success : the world's first chain of beauty salons - first in Australia, then in Europe and America, which used an integrated approach to the treatment of skin diseases. Rubinstein was the first to classify skin by type (dry/oily/normal) and came up with a three-step care system that is still used today. By the way, “Beauty Day”, after which the clients beamed (and are now beaming) with happiness, leaving a tidy sum in the salon, is also her know-how.

Business Principles: The stick-and-stick method

Portrait of Helena Rubinstein, a Polish-born woman who built a career in Austria.

Subordinates nicknamed Rubinstein “the tornado woman” and “the tyrant fighter”; she controlled every breath in her salons and continually cut employees’ salaries. Well-trained and hungry sellers ran away from the boss in dozens - straight into the arms of her closest competitor, Elizabeth Arden.

Saving is the path to wealth

One of the richest women in the world, Helena Rubinstein, was known as a real miser: she never dined in restaurants, preferring sandwiches made with her own hands, and bargained for every penny.

Even at the age of 92, Rubinstein could not be broken. She told the robbers who once broke into her penthouse: “You can kill me, but I won’t allow myself to be robbed.”

What Helena never spared money on was art, considering the purchase of paintings a profitable investment. She herself posed for Berard, Sutherland, Dali.

4. Coco Chanel: risk is a noble cause

“Fashion should be accepted, otherwise you will look ridiculous. However, new things should be accepted quietly, in small portions,” said the twentieth-century fashion legend Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel. A girl from a shelter, a seamstress in a ready-made dress shop, a singer in a café - Coco Chanel did not immediately have her own empire. But now the Chanel house is an example of luxury and elegance with an annual turnover of about 1.089 billion dollars.

Secret of success : little black dress and Chanel No. 5

Business Principles: "Don't marry men with change wallets"

Coco Chanel, 1920

Coco Chanel did not hide the fact that talent is talent, and her men helped her get on her feet. The first, Etienne, a wealthy heir and sportsman, put his apartment at Gabrielle’s disposal, where she opened her first workshop. A real support for her was the young Englishman Arthur Capel - Chanel's greatest love. He saw Coco as a promising entrepreneur and in 1910 helped her purchase premises on Rue Cambon in Paris, where she opened her first store. Very soon she opened a fashion house in the fashionable resort of Biarritz.

“I don’t do fashion. I myself am fashion,” said Coco.

Don't be afraid to start a revolution

Before Chanel, women were buried under kilometers of fabric and lace: tight skirts, huge bustles, trains and giant hats. She offered women unprecedented outfits, partly borrowed from the men's wardrobe, and was able to destroy the stereotype that black is a poor and mournful color. For five years, she produced only black, and things flew off store shelves in an instant. Chanel created fashion without paying attention to traditions, regardless of what was accepted and what was not.

Rise from the ashes if you have to

In the late 30s, with the outbreak of World War II, Coco Chanel was forced to close all her boutiques and moved to Switzerland, because in France they hated her for her affair with a Nazi officer - what a serious blow to her reputation!

Only in 1953 did Chanel return to Paris, where she had to rebuild her business. It took three years to return to its former glory, but now Coco began to produce not only women's clothing, but also bags, shoes, and accessories.

Coco Chanel died in 1971, leaving no heirs. In 1965, the son of Chanel's longtime partner Pierre Wertheimer, Jacques, began managing the fashion business. Since 1983, the fashion direction has been led by Karl Lagerfeld, who has “revitalized the brand” and taken it to a new level.

5. Mary Kay Ash: Selling with Love

Mary Kay Ash, the founder of the company named after herself, is considered the most successful female entrepreneur in American history. As of January 2013, Mary Kay has global sales of more than $3 billion, and its products are distributed in 35 countries, where they are distributed by approximately 2.5 million independent consultants.

Secret of success : Mary Kay Ash didn't just start a cosmetics company. She created a new corporate culture, almost a religion, based on motivation, in which each team member has his own role and a magical job title - for example, National Leader. Mary Kay believes she has created a Company “that has a heart.”

Business Principles: "You can do it!"

This is the basis of Mary Kay’s philosophy, because she herself did the almost impossible - she made the whole world believe in the story of Cinderella again. At the age of 17, Mary Kay married, gave birth to three children, and a few years later her husband filed for divorce. For 25 years, Mary Kay worked as a sales agent, but without receiving a promotion (the position was given to a man), she quit at age 45 to write a book about women in business. In the process, Mary Kay realized that her manuscript was like a business plan for the ideal company she would like to work for. Then she decided to create it herself. In 1963, Mary Kay, with the support of her 20-year-old son Roger, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics with a starting capital of $5,000.

American entrepreneur and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Mary Kay Ash

“The basis of a leader is not the mind, but the heart. You can love people and not be a leader for them, but you cannot be a leader and not love people.”

These kinds of business principles, invented by Mary Kay Ash, can be listed for a long time, and in the end this entire set resembles the Bible. However, sales figures prove that this industry of beauty and goodness does not work in vain, bringing happiness, if not to consumers, then to employees - for sure. Here is the “success story” of one of the National Leaders of the company, Angelina Antipenko, published on the Mary Kay website: “Looking back at the path I have traveled, I feel a huge positive change in myself and in the world around me. I learned giving and service at the Company. I opened my heart and “let into him all the love, all the beauty, all the energy that Mary Kay put into the Dream Company she created.”

6. Ruth Handler and the Barbie Universe

A simple American woman, Ruth Handler, worked from the age of 10 and knew exactly what she wanted to achieve in the future - go to college and earn money on her own. In 1945, together with her husband Elliot and his friend, she organized a company producing photo frames and toy furniture, which Ruth made from leftover wood, and then Barbie dolls, Ruth’s main invention. Mattel is now an international leader in the toy and family goods market and is one of America's top 100 employers. Barbie dolls account for a third of the corporation's sales.

Secret of success : a plastic blonde doll with curvaceous shapes, which replaced sexless baby dolls and became the favorite toy of girls all over the world from 1959 to the present day.

Business Principles: If you want to produce a product, watch consumers

Ruth Handler, inventor of the Barbie doll, introduces a special 40th anniversary doll. NY.

Ruth came up with the idea for her Barbie while watching her daughter Barbara play with a paper doll. “I believe that such toys do not contribute to the development of self-esteem in girls - she has no breasts at all!” Ruth later said. Barbie could be dressed in luxurious outfits and hairstyles, introduced to Ken and placed in a toy house - the production of millions of accessories, of course, was taken over by Mattel.

Television is the engine of sales

Even before the creation of Barbie, Ruth understood how best to promote the product - the Handlers for the first time advertised their toys on TV between the showing of Disney cartoons, while other manufacturers acted through the retailer. The company spent 500 thousand dollars on advertising, but two years later it earned 14 billion. Therefore, when adults were distrustful of the blonde novelty “with breasts,” Ruth already knew what to do and again turned to massive advertising on television. The first batch of Barbies in the amount of 351 pieces, costing $3 each, sold out instantly. In the first 10 years, Barbie brought $500 million into the pockets of the Handlers. Subsequently, Ruth Handler proved herself as a screenwriter when creating cartoons about her heroine, in particular, “Barbie and the Nutcracker.”

7. Oprah Winfrey: Everyone will talk

Last week, American TV presenter Oprah Winfrey topped Forbes magazine's list of the most powerful celebrities for the fifth time in her career. Oprah's net worth is estimated at $2.7 billion, a record for a woman in show business. She is the first and only black female billionaire in history and owns the Oprah Winfrey Network, Oprah Magazine and satellite radio station Oprah Radio.

Secret of success : The Oprah Show, the most popular show on American television, ran for 25 seasons from 1986 to 2011. In the white leather chair opposite the presenter sat the great and famous - US presidents, including Barack Obama, Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, Whitney Houston, Sarah Palin, but even more - ordinary Americans with their own stories, problems, tragedies and recipes for happiness. Oprah is able to “split” any guest: even cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to doping on her show, although before that he had been silent for many years.

Business Principles: “Know that you are on the path to success if you do work for which you are not paid.”

From the moment Oprah began speaking, she was always on stage - as a child she interviewed crows on the fence, at school she grabbed every opportunity to show her oratory abilities, and participated in all competitions. At one of them - “Miss Fire Prevention” - she was noticed by the host of the WVOL radio station and invited her to read the news on air. This was her first paid job, Oprah combined work with studying at high school and received one hundred dollars a week.

"You only get in life what you dare to ask for. Don't be afraid to raise the bar."

At the age of 17, Oprah Winfrey became the youngest local media reporter and the first black female television reporter in Nashville, and created her best show in 1986.

"The more you give, the more you receive."

Oprah's childhood was not easy - she lived with her grandmother on a farm, in a house without sewerage. At the age of 9, Oprah was raped by her cousin, at the age of 14 she gave birth to a son, who died after birth. It is unknown what would have happened to Oprah if it had not been for a government program that provided access to a prestigious suburban school. When the TV presenter began earning millions, she committed to paying for the education of poor black children. To date, Oprah has spent more than $400 million on charitable educational programs.

8. Indra Nooyi: business in a sari

Once upon a time, Indra Nooyi could not afford a business suit, so she went to interviews in a sari, and today the CEO of PepsiCo is on the tenth line of the list of the most influential women in the world according to Forbes. The company's revenue grew 1.2% this year to $13 billion.

Secret of success : a good education. Indra realized early that learning is light. In college, she studied chemistry, physics and mathematics, then entered the Indian Institute of Management, after which she put her knowledge into practice at a branch of Johnson & Johnson. At the age of 22, she decided, contrary to tradition, to go to the United States and continue her studies at Yale University. “For a young girl from a conservative family, from the Brahmin caste to go abroad alone - it was impossible to imagine!” - she said later.

Business Principles: Work, work and work

PepsiCo President and CEO Indra Nooyi K. holds a bottle of Pepsi during a press conference in New Delhi on December 18, 2006.

The results of Indra's work speak for themselves. By 1994, the management specialist was being torn apart by giants General Electric and Pepsi, and she chose the latter, lured by the freedom she was given in her decisions. Nooyi managed to turn around its main competitor, Coca-Cola, and played a major role in two of Pepsi's most important deals: the purchase of the Tropicana brand and the acquisition of Quaker Oats. Thanks to her, Pepsi expanded its range and began producing snacks. By the way, Nooyi still often comes to work in a sari.

9. JK Rowling: wealth with a wave of a magic wand

Loser British housewife JK Rowling wrote six books, and this was enough to spend the rest of her life in luxury and wealth. Rowling is ranked 78th on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful women, is Britain's richest woman and can afford to build a mini-Hogwarts in her garden.

Secret of success : the story of the young wizard Harry Potter, written in an Edinburgh cafe, which captivated the world.

Business Principles: “I never set myself the goal of getting rich. Many years ago I received a letter from some organization - I think from America - which wanted to declare me entrepreneur of the year. I replied that, unfortunately, I had to refuse this title because "It's unlikely that I'll ever make a lot of money. That was never my plan. I just wrote a book and thought it was a good book. That's all."

Wealth really came suddenly to Rowling, and at first she didn’t really know what to do with it - she simply spent money left and right. But very soon Joan learned to control and increase the flow of income that her magical world brings - the production of films, souvenirs, publishing books, and so on. In 2012, books in the Potter series became available in electronic form on the Pottermore store, from which Rowling herself receives most of the proceeds: she became the first writer who did not cede the rights to electronic sales to publishers. At the same time, Rowling first published a book for adults, “The Casual Vacancy,” which became a bestseller simply because it was written by the author of “Harry Potter.”

10. Elena Baturina: Moscow, the bells are ringing

In 2010, the former first lady of Moscow and the first Russian billionaire, Elena Baturina, was named one of the three richest businesswomen in the world according to Forbes magazine. In a 2012 interview with The Times, she estimated her fortune at $1.1-1.2 billion.

Secret of success : The Inteko company created by Baturina, which began with the production of plastic products - basins and chairs - under her leadership, became one of the most profitable enterprises in Russia. According to experts, Elena Baturina’s Inteko is a whole era in the real estate market, a company that shaped the market and dictated its development in the early 2000s. Baturina’s activities in the Moscow housing market also caused a lot of criticism - the company was accused of receiving lucrative contracts due to the fact that Baturina is the wife of Yuri Luzhkov.

Business Principles: “It’s very good that I’m a woman. A woman will always find something to do.”

Elena Baturina began building her career even before meeting Yuri Luzhkov. After graduating from the evening department of the Ordzhonikidze Moscow Institute of Management, she got a job as a design technician at the Frezer plant, where her parents worked. Then Elena moved to the Moscow Institute of Economic Problems of Integrated Development of the National Economy, and worked on cooperation in the executive committee, where Yuri Luzhkov was the chairman of the commission. It was there that they met.

“She gave bribes, did not pay kickbacks”

In one of her interviews with the REN TV channel, Baturina admitted that her status as the wife of the mayor of Moscow did not help her get by without bribing officials. “The principle is very simple: you never know that she is the mayor’s wife, what should I lose on this?” said the former owner of Inteko.

“Business is international. You see, this is a purely Russian concept that Russian money should work only for Russia. No, business should work where it is convenient for it. Because when a person realizes himself in business, he realizes his ideas in business. In general, it doesn’t matter where they will be implemented.”

Several years ago, after her husband was fired from the post of mayor of the capital, Baturina sold the company and went to London, where both daughters of the couple study. She continues to grow her business internationally. Its main focus is investments in real estate and the hotel business.

Prepared by Elena Kostomarova

Estee Lauder was born on July 1, 1908, a woman who built a cosmetics empire from scratch and became one of the most influential business people of the 20th century. Do you still think that a woman's place is in the kitchen? Then the Weekend project comes to you - with a list of business women who, by their example, prove the opposite.

1. Estee Lauder: magical recipes and the boss behind the counter

Estee Lauder, the daughter of Jewish immigrants, born in the slums of New York, went from selling natural homemade face creams to the owner of a cosmetics empire. In 2003, the company she founded, Estée Lauder, ranked 249th on the list of the 500 largest US corporations with annual revenue of $4.74 billion.

Secret of success : anti-aging cosmetics based on Uncle John's recipe plus a successful advertising strategy.

Business Principles:"Once you turn your back on a customer, you've lost him."

Estee Lauder was the first to offer her customers free samples and gifts for purchases and loved to consult clients herself.

“Time is not on your side, but I am!” - just one of her famous advertising slogans.

Evil tongues claimed that such a naive “feminine” approach would not lead to good, but the system launched by Lauder very soon bore fruit.

Estee Lauder, 1992, France

"Don't write angry letters"

Lauder preferred to work personally not only with clients, but also with staff: she spent a lot of time behind the counter, inspiring sellers with her example. “My current position is the result not of dreams or hopes, but of hard work,” she reminded her employees.

“If a woman who is engaged in business thinks about the success of her marriage, she must very subtly make her husband feel strong and significant - and then he will actually be strong and significant.”

Her husband Joseph supported Este in all her endeavors, being responsible for the financial affairs of the company; her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren continued the business when she retired at the age of 87. Now Estee Lauder is headed by the eldest of the two sons of Estee and Joseph - Leonard Lauder. He started working for the company as a delivery boy at the age of 10, and is now ranked 131st on the list of the world's billionaires.

2. Veuve Clicquot: champagne worthy of Pushkin

Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot (nee Ponsardin) was born in 1777 in Reims into the family of a wealthy textile industrialist. The father was able to successfully marry his daughter to the son of his colleague, Philippe Clicquot, who, in addition to the textile industry, also had a small wine business. The young couple began to develop their father's business, but in 1804 Monsieur Clicquot died unexpectedly, leaving the business in the hands of his widow. Today, the Veuve Clicquot brand ranks second in the world in terms of sales, second only to Moet & Chandon.

Secret of success : elite champagne created using innovative technologies for that time. Under her, a new production method was invented that significantly speeded up the production of champagne and ensured the transparency of the drink: the bottles were now placed neck down so that the sediment collected in the neck, then they were frozen and the ice cap was removed along with the sediment.

Business Principles: Monitor your competitors

Leon Cognier. "Portrait of Veuve Clicquot", 1860-1862

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot tried to be one step ahead of her competitors - especially the main one - Jean-Rémy Moët. Secretly from everyone, she sent 75 boxes of champagne to Russia, which went “with a bang” in St. Petersburg at a price of 12 rubles per bottle. “...Of all the good wines that have already hit the heads of the northerners,” the manager reported to the hostess, “not one is like the bottling of 1811... This wonderful wine has a killer effect... Your wine is nectar, it is as strong as Hungarian wine as yellow as gold."

Veuve Clicquot or Moët
Blessed Wine
In a frozen bottle for a poet
It was immediately brought to the table.

(A.S. Pushkin, "Eugene Onegin")

Neither the war of 1812 nor trade restrictions stopped the victorious march of the widow Clicquot's champagne - Clicquot champagne was drunk on both sides of the barricades. And even Pushkin could not resist.

"No matter what happens, keep your face"

The only daughter of the widow Clicquot, Clementine (depicted in the picture above with her mother), was indifferent to the family business and was much more willing to marry Count Louis de Chevigne, a womanizer and gambler. At first, the Count happily squandered his mother-in-law’s fortune, and then he went ahead and published a brochure about his love affairs in the 18+ style. While her daughter was burning with shame, the widow Clicquot bought the entire edition and ordered it to be destroyed, but a couple of copies still survived to this day.

3. Helena Rubinstein: The stingy gets more

Helena (Chaya) Rubinstein was the eighth child in the family of a Krakow shopkeeper. Having mastered the basics of the medical profession, without knowing English, she went from Poland to Australia, where she began making face creams from local ingredients. One of the lines, containing herbs from the Carpathian Mountains, cost Helena ten pence a bottle and sold for six shillings - this woman always knew the value of money. Today, the Helena Rubinstein brand belongs to the L’Oréal corporation; its products are sold in 50 countries around the world.

Secret of success : the world's first chain of beauty salons - first in Australia, then in Europe and America, which used an integrated approach to the treatment of skin diseases. Rubinstein was the first to classify skin by type (dry/oily/normal) and came up with a three-step care system that is still used today. By the way, “Beauty Day”, after which the clients beamed (and are now beaming) with happiness, leaving a tidy sum in the salon, is also her know-how.

Business Principles: The stick-and-stick method

Portrait of Helena Rubinstein, a Polish-born woman who built a career in Austria.

Subordinates nicknamed Rubinstein “the tornado woman” and “the tyrant fighter”; she controlled every breath in her salons and continually cut employees’ salaries. Well-trained and hungry sellers ran away from the boss in dozens - straight into the arms of her closest competitor, Elizabeth Arden.

Saving is the path to wealth

One of the richest women in the world, Helena Rubinstein, was known as a real miser: she never dined in restaurants, preferring sandwiches made with her own hands, and bargained for every penny.

Even at the age of 92, Rubinstein could not be broken. She told the robbers who once broke into her penthouse: “You can kill me, but I won’t allow myself to be robbed.”

What Helena never spared money on was art, considering the purchase of paintings a profitable investment. She herself posed for Berard, Sutherland, Dali.

4. Coco Chanel: risk is a noble cause

“Fashion should be accepted, otherwise you will look ridiculous. However, new things should be accepted quietly, in small portions,” said the twentieth-century fashion legend Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel. A girl from a shelter, a seamstress in a ready-made dress shop, a singer in a café - Coco Chanel did not immediately have her own empire. But now the Chanel house is an example of luxury and elegance with an annual turnover of about 1.089 billion dollars.

Secret of success : little black dress and Chanel No. 5

Business Principles: "Don't marry men with change wallets"

Coco Chanel, 1920

Coco Chanel did not hide the fact that talent is talent, and her men helped her get on her feet. The first, Etienne, a wealthy heir and sportsman, put his apartment at Gabrielle’s disposal, where she opened her first workshop. A real support for her was the young Englishman Arthur Capel - Chanel's greatest love. He saw Coco as a promising entrepreneur and in 1910 helped her purchase premises on Rue Cambon in Paris, where she opened her first store. Very soon she opened a fashion house in the fashionable resort of Biarritz.

“I don’t do fashion. I myself am fashion,” said Coco.

Don't be afraid to start a revolution

Before Chanel, women were buried under kilometers of fabric and lace: tight skirts, huge bustles, trains and giant hats. She offered women unprecedented outfits, partly borrowed from the men's wardrobe, and was able to destroy the stereotype that black is a poor and mournful color. For five years, she produced only black, and things flew off store shelves in an instant. Chanel created fashion without paying attention to traditions, regardless of what was accepted and what was not.

Rise from the ashes if you have to

In the late 30s, with the outbreak of World War II, Coco Chanel was forced to close all her boutiques and moved to Switzerland, because in France they hated her for her affair with a Nazi officer - what a serious blow to her reputation!

Only in 1953 did Chanel return to Paris, where she had to rebuild her business. It took three years to return to its former glory, but now Coco began to produce not only women's clothing, but also bags, shoes, and accessories.

Coco Chanel died in 1971, leaving no heirs. In 1965, the son of Chanel's longtime partner Pierre Wertheimer, Jacques, began managing the fashion business. Since 1983, the fashion direction has been led by Karl Lagerfeld, who has “revitalized the brand” and taken it to a new level.

5. Mary Kay Ash: Selling with Love

Mary Kay Ash, the founder of the company named after herself, is considered the most successful female entrepreneur in American history. As of January 2013, Mary Kay has global sales of more than $3 billion, and its products are distributed in 35 countries, where they are distributed by approximately 2.5 million independent consultants.

Secret of success : Mary Kay Ash didn't just start a cosmetics company. She created a new corporate culture, almost a religion, based on motivation, in which each team member has his own role and a magical job title - for example, National Leader. Mary Kay believes she has created a Company “that has a heart.”

Business Principles: "You can do it!"

This is the basis of Mary Kay’s philosophy, because she herself did the almost impossible - she made the whole world believe in the story of Cinderella again. At the age of 17, Mary Kay married, gave birth to three children, and a few years later her husband filed for divorce. For 25 years, Mary Kay worked as a sales agent, but without receiving a promotion (the position was given to a man), she quit at age 45 to write a book about women in business. In the process, Mary Kay realized that her manuscript was like a business plan for the ideal company she would like to work for. Then she decided to create it herself. In 1963, Mary Kay, with the support of her 20-year-old son Roger, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics with a starting capital of $5,000.

American entrepreneur and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Mary Kay Ash

“The basis of a leader is not the mind, but the heart. You can love people and not be a leader for them, but you cannot be a leader and not love people.”

These kinds of business principles, invented by Mary Kay Ash, can be listed for a long time, and in the end this entire set resembles the Bible. However, sales figures prove that this industry of beauty and goodness does not work in vain, bringing happiness, if not to consumers, then to employees - for sure. Here is the “success story” of one of the National Leaders of the company, Angelina Antipenko, published on the Mary Kay website: “Looking back at the path I have traveled, I feel a huge positive change in myself and in the world around me. I learned giving and service at the Company. I opened my heart and “let into him all the love, all the beauty, all the energy that Mary Kay put into the Dream Company she created.”

6. Ruth Handler and the Barbie Universe

A simple American woman, Ruth Handler, worked from the age of 10 and knew exactly what she wanted to achieve in the future - go to college and earn money on her own. In 1945, together with her husband Elliot and his friend, she organized a company producing photo frames and toy furniture, which Ruth made from leftover wood, and then Barbie dolls, Ruth’s main invention. Mattel is now an international leader in the toy and family goods market and is one of America's top 100 employers. Barbie dolls account for a third of the corporation's sales.

Secret of success : a plastic blonde doll with curvaceous shapes, which replaced sexless baby dolls and became the favorite toy of girls all over the world from 1959 to the present day.

Business Principles: If you want to produce a product, watch consumers

Ruth Handler, inventor of the Barbie doll, introduces a special 40th anniversary doll. NY.

Ruth came up with the idea for her Barbie while watching her daughter Barbara play with a paper doll. “I believe that such toys do not contribute to the development of self-esteem in girls - she has no breasts at all!” Ruth later said. Barbie could be dressed in luxurious outfits and hairstyles, introduced to Ken and placed in a toy house - the production of millions of accessories, of course, was taken over by Mattel.

Television is the engine of sales

Even before the creation of Barbie, Ruth understood how best to promote the product - the Handlers for the first time advertised their toys on TV between the showing of Disney cartoons, while other manufacturers acted through the retailer. The company spent 500 thousand dollars on advertising, but two years later it earned 14 billion. Therefore, when adults were distrustful of the blonde novelty “with breasts,” Ruth already knew what to do and again turned to massive advertising on television. The first batch of Barbies in the amount of 351 pieces, costing $3 each, sold out instantly. In the first 10 years, Barbie brought $500 million into the pockets of the Handlers. Subsequently, Ruth Handler proved herself as a screenwriter when creating cartoons about her heroine, in particular, “Barbie and the Nutcracker.”

7. Oprah Winfrey: Everyone will talk

Last week, American TV presenter Oprah Winfrey topped Forbes magazine's list of the most powerful celebrities for the fifth time in her career. Oprah's net worth is estimated at $2.7 billion, a record for a woman in show business. She is the first and only black female billionaire in history and owns the Oprah Winfrey Network, Oprah Magazine and satellite radio station Oprah Radio.

Secret of success : The Oprah Show, the most popular show on American television, ran for 25 seasons from 1986 to 2011. In the white leather chair opposite the presenter sat the great and famous - US presidents, including Barack Obama, Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, Whitney Houston, Sarah Palin, but even more - ordinary Americans with their own stories, problems, tragedies and recipes for happiness. Oprah is able to “split” any guest: even cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to doping on her show, although before that he had been silent for many years.

Business Principles: “Know that you are on the path to success if you do work for which you are not paid.”

From the moment Oprah began speaking, she was always on stage - as a child she interviewed crows on the fence, at school she grabbed every opportunity to show her oratory abilities, and participated in all competitions. At one of them - “Miss Fire Prevention” - she was noticed by the host of the WVOL radio station and invited her to read the news on air. This was her first paid job, Oprah combined work with studying at high school and received one hundred dollars a week.

"You only get in life what you dare to ask for. Don't be afraid to raise the bar."

At the age of 17, Oprah Winfrey became the youngest local media reporter and the first black female television reporter in Nashville, and created her best show in 1986.

"The more you give, the more you receive."

Oprah's childhood was not easy - she lived with her grandmother on a farm, in a house without sewerage. At the age of 9, Oprah was raped by her cousin, at the age of 14 she gave birth to a son, who died after birth. It is unknown what would have happened to Oprah if it had not been for a government program that provided access to a prestigious suburban school. When the TV presenter began earning millions, she committed to paying for the education of poor black children. To date, Oprah has spent more than $400 million on charitable educational programs.

8. Indra Nooyi: business in a sari

Once upon a time, Indra Nooyi could not afford a business suit, so she went to interviews in a sari, and today the CEO of PepsiCo is on the tenth line of the list of the most influential women in the world according to Forbes. The company's revenue grew 1.2% this year to $13 billion.

Secret of success : a good education. Indra realized early that learning is light. In college, she studied chemistry, physics and mathematics, then entered the Indian Institute of Management, after which she put her knowledge into practice at a branch of Johnson & Johnson. At the age of 22, she decided, contrary to tradition, to go to the United States and continue her studies at Yale University. “For a young girl from a conservative family, from the Brahmin caste to go abroad alone - it was impossible to imagine!” - she said later.

Business Principles: Work, work and work

PepsiCo President and CEO Indra Nooyi K. holds a bottle of Pepsi during a press conference in New Delhi on December 18, 2006.

The results of Indra's work speak for themselves. By 1994, the management specialist was being torn apart by giants General Electric and Pepsi, and she chose the latter, lured by the freedom she was given in her decisions. Nooyi managed to turn around its main competitor, Coca-Cola, and played a major role in two of Pepsi's most important deals: the purchase of the Tropicana brand and the acquisition of Quaker Oats. Thanks to her, Pepsi expanded its range and began producing snacks. By the way, Nooyi still often comes to work in a sari.

9. JK Rowling: wealth with a wave of a magic wand

Loser British housewife JK Rowling wrote six books, and this was enough to spend the rest of her life in luxury and wealth. Rowling is ranked 78th on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful women, is Britain's richest woman and can afford to build a mini-Hogwarts in her garden.

Secret of success : the story of the young wizard Harry Potter, written in an Edinburgh cafe, which captivated the world.

Business Principles: “I never set myself the goal of getting rich. Many years ago I received a letter from some organization - I think from America - which wanted to declare me entrepreneur of the year. I replied that, unfortunately, I had to refuse this title because "It's unlikely that I'll ever make a lot of money. That was never my plan. I just wrote a book and thought it was a good book. That's all."

Wealth really came suddenly to Rowling, and at first she didn’t really know what to do with it - she simply spent money left and right. But very soon Joan learned to control and increase the flow of income that her magical world brings - the production of films, souvenirs, publishing books, and so on. In 2012, books in the Potter series became available in electronic form on the Pottermore store, from which Rowling herself receives most of the proceeds: she became the first writer who did not cede the rights to electronic sales to publishers. At the same time, Rowling first published a book for adults, “The Casual Vacancy,” which became a bestseller simply because it was written by the author of “Harry Potter.”

10. Elena Baturina: Moscow, the bells are ringing

In 2010, the former first lady of Moscow and the first Russian billionaire, Elena Baturina, was named one of the three richest businesswomen in the world according to Forbes magazine. In a 2012 interview with The Times, she estimated her fortune at $1.1-1.2 billion.

Secret of success : The Inteko company created by Baturina, which began with the production of plastic products - basins and chairs - under her leadership, became one of the most profitable enterprises in Russia. According to experts, Elena Baturina’s Inteko is a whole era in the real estate market, a company that shaped the market and dictated its development in the early 2000s. Baturina’s activities in the Moscow housing market also caused a lot of criticism - the company was accused of receiving lucrative contracts due to the fact that Baturina is the wife of Yuri Luzhkov.

Business Principles: “It’s very good that I’m a woman. A woman will always find something to do.”

Elena Baturina began building her career even before meeting Yuri Luzhkov. After graduating from the evening department of the Ordzhonikidze Moscow Institute of Management, she got a job as a design technician at the Frezer plant, where her parents worked. Then Elena moved to the Moscow Institute of Economic Problems of Integrated Development of the National Economy, and worked on cooperation in the executive committee, where Yuri Luzhkov was the chairman of the commission. It was there that they met.

“She gave bribes, did not pay kickbacks”

In one of her interviews with the REN TV channel, Baturina admitted that her status as the wife of the mayor of Moscow did not help her get by without bribing officials. “The principle is very simple: you never know that she is the mayor’s wife, what should I lose on this?” said the former owner of Inteko.

“Business is international. You see, this is a purely Russian concept that Russian money should work only for Russia. No, business should work where it is convenient for it. Because when a person realizes himself in business, he realizes his ideas in business. In general, it doesn’t matter where they will be implemented.”

Several years ago, after her husband was fired from the post of mayor of the capital, Baturina sold the company and went to London, where both daughters of the couple study. She continues to grow her business internationally. Its main focus is investments in real estate and the hotel business.

Prepared by Elena Kostomarova

For a long time, Forbes magazine could not choose a cover heroine for an issue dedicated to the richest women who achieved success in business on their own. That's why the editors invited 9 heroines for the shoot, because each of them deserves to be known by sight!

These women, ages 32 to 69, range from MBAs to college dropouts, Silicon Valley CEOs and models-turned-tycoons. In total, they own $9.7 billion. So, meet all nine.

Sarah Blakely

Net worth: $1 billion

Sarah Blakely runs Spanx. She was previously among the top managers of Nike and it is to her credit that the brand has expanded to include not only sportswear, but also activewear, despite the fact that Blackley spent only two years in this position. However, having started out as a sales agent, Sarah decided to create her own shapewear company and, at age 29, she invested $5,000 in underwear that allows everyone to wear anything, including white slacks. She is the sole owner of the company, and since 2015, Blakely has become a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks basketball club.

Sofia Amoruso

Net worth: $280 million

The only millennial billionaire who didn't make it in the entertainment industry, Sophia Amoruso made her fortune in online trading. Her fashion company is called Nasty Gal, and Amoruso founded it when she was 22 years old. Back then she sold mostly vintage items to young fashionistas. Ten years later, Nasty Gal now competes with H&M and ASOS, with revenues of $300 million this year, up from barely $100 million in 2012. Amoruso has published an autobiographical book, #Girlboss, and is preparing to release an autobiographical comedy series on Netflix.

Diana Hendricks

Net worth: $4.9 billion

“We became the largest distributor in the country and delivered roofing materials to roofers large and small,” Diana Hendricks said in an interview about the company she founded in 1982 with her husband, Ken. When Ken died in 2007, Diana refused to sell the company. It dealt with the 2008 recession and even bought competitor Bradco Supply in 2010. The company's sales have more than doubled over the past 10 years.

Kathy Ireland

Net worth: $360 million

Supermodel Kathy Ireland has built a licensing empire, lending her name, taste and marketing skills to more than 17,000 products. And all this is sold so successfully that it gives the trading network a profit of $2.6 billion. Katie herself was opened by the Elite modeling agency when she was 16 years old. While working as a model, Katie continued to come up with side business projects. One of them fired - furniture. When entering the furniture market, Ireland decided that her brand needed to have some substance: The approach “Solutions for families, especially busy mothers” was now the company's motto. For example, carpets were treated with a special product to protect against spills, which preserves colors and prolongs the life of carpets, and tables were designed with rounded corners so that running children would not get injured from sharp corners.

Meg Whitman

Net worth: $2.1 billion

Meg Whitman was well known as a successful CEO at Hewlett Packard, and since the company's split in 2015, she heads Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which sells servers and software. She has also held senior positions at Hasbro and Walt Disney, and is known as the head of eBay, raising its revenue from $5 million in 1998 to $8 billion in 2008, when she left that post.

Tony Ko

Net worth: $260 million

Toni Ko moved to the United States from Korea when she was 13 years old. After school, she helped her parents, who had a warehouse. In 1999, when she was 25, she noticed how large the price gap was between supermarket cosmetics and drugstore products. Thanks to her involvement in the family business, she had connections in the wholesale world and seed capital, so she took a chance and launched NYX Cosmetics, a luxury cosmetics brand at a great price. In its first year, Ko generated $4 million in retail sales. In 2014, she sold this brand to L’Oréal, the company’s value then reached $500 million. And in the spring of 2016, Ko launched Perverse Sunglasses, a brand of stylish and flirty sunglasses for $40-$60 a pair.

Katrina Lake

Net worth: $120 million

Katrina Lake is the creator of Stitch Fix, an online retailer that selects clothes for customers based on statistics and advice from stylists. Sales reached $250 million last year, showing that the San Francisco startup has become a convenient shopping tool for busy women. Although Lake has not earned the $250 million threshold for the list of the richest, she is on the list of promising entrepreneurs and, in the near future, will soon enter the top 60 richest businesswomen in the world.

Dorothy Herman

Net worth: $270 million

The richest self-made woman in the world of American real estate, Dorothy Herman, is a co-owner of a reputable New York firm, Douglas Elliman, which sells houses totaling $22 billion a year, and its income is $600 million. The company employs more than 6 thousand agents in 85 offices. When Dorothy was 10 years old, she and her parents were in a car accident in which her mother died and her father was seriously injured. The baby herself was thrown out of the car. Dorothy became a mother at age 19 and began working as a real estate broker for Merrill Lynch on Long Island in the 1980s. Soon the company was bought by Prudential Long Island, and already in the 90s Dorothy herself acquired most of this company.

Liz Elting

Net worth: $390 million

Liz Elting is one of the CEOs of TransPerfect, one of the largest multilingual translation firms with annual revenues of $505 million. The offices of this company are located in 90 cities around the world. Liz Elting founded the company in 1992 with her classmate Phil Shaw, who was once her boyfriend. Today, their company is based in New York, employing 4,000 people and serving 11,000 clients, including AT&T, Google and Wal-Mart.