Women and Entrepreneurship

ENTREPRENEURIAL STYLE Contd...

The women of SMGULP showed how women could overcome any number of barriers to establish a successful business. SMGULP was essentially a venture of and for semi-literate, unskilled women. These women were able to create a successful business out of something as mundane as cooking. Despite being untrained, they were able to make their business a success because of their discipline and commitment. The ingenious methods adopted by the women of SMGULP (such as their method of sharing advertising expenses) demonstrated that business acumen was not the prerogative of those who held graduate degrees in business. Work at SMGULP proceeded smoothly, as there were set procedures for most of the important activities.

All the women entrepreneurs discussed in this case were able to overcome odds to create successful business ventures in their respective fields. They also were an inspiration to a number of other women in India.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

1.Each women entrepreneur featured in this case had her own distinctive entrepreneurial style. Compare the entrepreneurial traits of the women entrepreneurs featured in this case.
2. What difficulties do women entrepreneurs face when setting up and running businesses?
3. Do you agree with the statement that women gave more importance to intuition and relationships than logic and principles? Discuss in the context of the entrepreneurs featured in this case.

ADDITIONAL READINGS & REFERENCES :

1. Bannerjee Mita, Earning their Dough, Indian Express, July 26,1999
2. Nagaraj.N, The Mirror Has Two Faces, PRAXIS, Hindu Business Line, November, 1999
3. Vesuna Sheila, Scaling Heights, The Week, February 4, 2001
4. Kohli Vanitha, Entertainment Value, Business World, February 5, 2001
5. Mehrotra Anuj, Under the Spotlight, Economic Times, March 29, 2001
6. Soap Queen Cleans up in India's TV ratings war, Gulf News, April 12, 2001.
7. Sevanthi Ninan, Spinning Yarns, The Hindu, April 29, 2001
8. Ganguly Meenakshi, She's Always On, TIME, July 30, 2001
9. Chandoke,Neera Counter Revolution In Soaps, The Hindu, December 02, 2001
10. Bist Raju, Indian Television's High Priestess, Asia Times, May 25, 2002
11. Do Serial Makers Have No Conscience? The Times of India, June 14, 2002.
12. Narayanswamy Harihar and Rodrigues Malika, I Sell More Soaps, Brand Equity, Economic Times, August 14, 2002.
13. Subramanian Anusha and Bansal Shuchi, Turning Point for Soap Queen, Ice World, September 25, 2002
14. Shahnaz Husain Brand Heads Down Under, The Hindu Business Line, October, 1, 2002
15. Lijjat Papad to Set up bakery in Ludhiana, The Tribune, October 31, 2002
16. The Beauty of Business, Hindustan Times, November 17, 2002
17. Hari.P, The World of Biocon, Business World, December 2, 2002
18. Shrivastav Arun, Making Collective Dough, Humanscape Features, January,2003
19. Roby Ajit, Biotech Visionary, BioSpectrum, February10, 2003
20. Courting The Stars, www.asiaweek.com
21. The Profile of a Tireless and Dedicated Entrepreneur, www.franchiseindia.com
22. A Scent of a Woman Entrepreneur, www.imagesfashion.com
23. Herbal Queen Shahnaz Husain, www.fashionindia.net
24. Sharell Janine, Princess Runs Royal Size Cosmetics Firm, CNN correspondent. CNN Interactive. www.cnn.com
25. Chand Sharmila, The Magic of Dreams-- An Article on Shahnaz Husain, CMD The Shahnaz Group, www.lifepositive.com
26. www.shahnaz-husain.com
27. Shukla Seema, How Milk and Poppadum Showed the Way, Business Today, January 19, 2003.
28. www.lijjat.com

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