Today, March 8, 2023, is International Women’s Day. The first International Women’s Day was celebrated on February 28, 1909, by the Socialist Party of America to honor the women in the garment industry who went on strike in New York, to protest working conditions.

Over the years, the United Nations (UN), expanded the celebration to underscore the unbreakable link there is between gender equality and the maintainable development of the dignity and opportunity, that is due all women and girls.

Reading more about the celebration, I started to think about the many ways a woman can secure her dignity and equality in the world. In many nations, a woman is not able to hold a job, or be independent of her husband, or men in her life. When we listen to the news coming out of these countries, and even sometimes here in America, and neighboring countries, we see the dilemma of these women, who are abused and sometimes even killed if they try to break rank.

In my own life, and in previous posts I have made, I have been candid about my journey to new discoveries in wanting to find out who I am, what I am good at, and how I can be my marvelous self, warts and all. I am finding out that one such way is to create wealth for myself, not to be selfish with it, but to help my husband, be in a position to help others, and most importantly, not to be totally dependent on anyone but God as my Guide.

So how do we celebrate International Women’s day in our life every day? How do we enhance our productivity, and celebrate our life in a meaningful way? I say, go the way of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship can be embraced by women of all ages, cultures, abilities, and statuses. There are many ideas and possibilities we can glean from.

Another way to celebrate International Women’s Day is by aligning ourselves with organizations that support women. I recently began a subscription with an organization, “ Darn Good Yarn” to do just this. I love making crafts (crocheting/knitting/cross stitching/painting/drawing etc). This company promotes and sells yarn, clothing, and crafts made by “artisans” (women) in countries who may have been “mistreated or marginalized by society.” As a member of the Yarn of the Month Club, I get beautiful, naturally dyed yarn. It is a great feeling knowing I am empowering women to support themselves and their families.

What is Entrepreneurship?

There are several definitions of entrepreneurship I came across. The definition I really like is from the website, econlib.com, which states that ” An entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. An entrepreneur is an agent of change.” Max Freedom, from Business News Daily, made the statement that despite the hardship and risks involved in entrepreneurship, it is more than being a business owner; it is a perspective and a lifestyle. The words, “agent of change”, and “lifestyle” are exciting words for me.

When I started my journey into entrepreneurship, I first had to ask myself what it was I was good at, or what is it that I had always wanted to do. This is where my blogging started. Having ideas, and thoughts that I wanted to express with the hope that they might help other women like myself solve problems they were encountering. In fact, I had to be honest about my skill set and what would fit with my personality. This is very important!

Entrepreneurship Ideas

Now that we have determined what our skillset is, whether it be in social media, customer service, design, copywriting, crafting, etc., let us look at some ideas that are fun, creative, and somewhat easy to get started with. Please bear in mind that to start as an entrepreneur, some capital might be needed if you do not already have supplies on hand.

• Bookkeeping- if you are good with numbers, you can do this by helping business owners record their financial transactions.
• Freelance writing -if you love writing and can do it for bloggers like myself, or anyone who needs a writer to help with their business.
• Creating printable items and selling them on Etsy– this is good for the crafty or artistic person.
• Life Coach – if you love helping people and want to help their personal development.
• Starting a Dog Bakery business- if you love dogs and baking like me, this would be good for you.
• Transcriptionist- listening to audio files and typing them. You might have a good ear and can type well and fast.
• Selling on Amazon- this is for anyone who loves shopping. How it works is that you buy good deal items and resell them on Amazon for a higher price.
• In-home Childcare- if you love kids, miss having them around and are an empty nester, or have no grandkids, as yet, this would be perfect for you.
• Photography- all you need is a good camera, and love taking pictures. You can take all kinds of interesting pictures and post them to social media to build your online portfolio, or even contact local real estate agents and offer to take pictures of their listings. There are so many other options.
• Event Planner- do you like planning parties or events? This is a perfect way to do something you like and make some money.
• Sewing and Alterations -if you like sewing or know something about fashion designing. Many times people have clothes that need altering, cannot do it, and will end up purchasing new ones. This is where you can help them while you make a business of it too.
• Start a Laundry Business- do you like the smell of freshly laundered clothes, and want to help busy mothers or families have enough clean clothes to wear? This would be great for you. I read somewhere that someone made more than $500 weekly doing this business.

In addition to these listed entrepreneurship ideas, there are many others that women like us are using to make money to create wealth and gain financial independence. There are of course other business-related preparations to get started, but I can say it is worth getting things in place because of the satisfaction attached.

In the fight for gender equality in the world, there is still some dissonance. In businesses, men still have more privileges and opportunities than women, but this is changing slowly. There are impactful ways some women are blazing the trail for change. It will happen eventually, and we all individually need to help make the change.

Some might say that becoming entrepreneurs do not really impact society on a larger scale, but I believe it can start here. In many of those countries where women are at a disadvantage and humanitarian groups go into villages, and patriarchal communities and teach the women skills and ways to earn a living, things start changing for these women. These women discover they have value and a whole lot to offer their communities.

Women celebrating life, dignity, self-empowerment, and equality is what International Women’s Day is all about. Every one of us women of all ages, putting ourselves in the position to be on a somewhat equal plain with men, especially in the area of being a financial contributor, rather than a financial liability, is our way of honoring women.

Do you find any of these ideas interesting, and worth checking out? Do you feel ready to start on this journey to entrepreneurship? What are you waiting for? Let International Women’s Day be the catalyst, and let’s talk about it.

I always keep my Promises!