BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

Women Entrepreneurs may be define because the ladies or a collection of ladies who startand perform a business project. Like a male entrepreneur a women entrepreneur has many functions. They must explore the possibilities of beginning new business enterprise; undertake dangers, advent of latest innovations, coordination, administration and manage of enterprise and offering powerful leadership in all aspects of business.

Government of India has described women entrepreneurs as an enterprise/undertaking owned and managed by way of girls having at least economic hobby of 51% of the capital and giving at the least 51% of employment generated in the business enterprise to ladies.

Women Entrepreneurs are fantastically growing in the economies of almost all international locations. The hidden commercial enterprise potentials of girls had been increasing with the developing sensitivity to the role and monetary fame inside the society. The know-how, Skill and compliance in business are the middle reasons for ladies to come ahead into business ventures. Women entrepreneurs engage in enterprise due to push and pull factors which provide self-assurance to girls to have an self-sufficient occupation and stands on their foots. Logic towards independent selection- making on their lifestyles and profession is the motivational issue in the back of this insists on ‘Women Entrepreneur’ is someone who accepts difficult role to satisfy her private desires and flip out to be economically impartial. A strong preference to do great high-quality is a critical first-rate of entrepreneurial girls, who is ready of contributing values in each circle of relatives and social existence. With the creation of media, ladies are conscious in their very own features, rights and also the paintings conditions. The glass ceilings are shattered and girls are found indulged in every line of enterprise from aachaar to telecommunication. Right efforts in all regions are vital inside the development of womenentrepreneurs and their extra involvement in the entrepreneurial sports.

STATEMENT OF THE STUDY:

The researcher was discussing about the problems and problems overcoming techniques handled by the women entrepreneurs while starting and running a business or an enterprise in Salem district.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

· To discover the factors which encourage women to became an entrepreneur.

· To examine the guide given by way of the government to women entrepreneurs.

· To study the problems confronted via women entrepreneurs.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

The study by Rani (1996), found that the availability of leisure time motivated women entrepreneurs from higher income classes. Contrary to the above, women entrepreneurs are forced to take entrepreneurship in the absence of any other means of contributing to family income.

D'Cruz, (2003), The study also found that, family support and encouragements are the highest facilitating factor which helped women to aspire entrepreneurship Pillai and Anna, (1990). Traditional concept of the entrepreneurship cited the desire to self-employed, to generate income and to utilize skills according to HookoomsingandEssoo (2003), Richardson et al., (2004).

Women's reasons for starting business are not always often driven by positive factors Role of Women Entrepreneurs in India. but also due to negative circumstances such as low family income, lack of employment opportunities, dissatisfaction with a current job or the need for flexible workRobinson, (2001), These factors tend to be most predominant among women within developing economies Dhaliwal, (1998). A previous study also observed that the primary concern of women NGO founders in India is pursuing the NGO's mission than the earnings Handy, Kassam and Ranade, (2003) Tambunan, (2009), made a study on recent developments of women entrepreneurs in Asian developing countries. The study focused mainly on women entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises based on data analysis and review of recent key literature. This study found that in Asian developing countries SMEs are gaining overwhelming importance; more than 95% of all firms in all sectors on average per country. The study also depicted the fact that representation of women entrepreneurs in this region is relatively low due to factors like low level of education, lack of capital and cultural or religious constraints. However, the study revealed that most of the women entrepreneurs in SMEs are from the category of forced entrepreneurs seeking for better family incomes.

Singh, (2008), identifies the reasons and influencing factors behind entry of women in entrepreneurship. He explained the characteristics of their businesses in Indian context and also obstacles and challenges. He mentioned the obstacles in the growth of women entrepreneurship are mainly lack of interaction with successful entrepreneurs, social un-acceptance as women entrepreneurs, family responsibility, gender discrimination, missing network, low priority given by bankers to provide loan to women entrepreneurs. He suggested the remedial measures like promoting micro enterprises, unlocking institutional frame work, projecting and pulling to grow and support the winners etc. The study advocates for ensuring synergy among women related ministry, economic ministry and social and welfare development ministry of the Government of India.

Lall and Sahai, (2008), conduct a comparative assessment of multi-dimensional issues and challenges of women entrepreneurship, and family business. The study identified Psychographic variables like, degree of commitment, entrepreneurial challenges and future plan for expansion, based on demographic variables. Through stratified random sampling and convenience sampling the data have been collected from women entrepreneurs working in urban area of Lucknow.

The study identified business owner’s characteristics as self perceptionself esteem, Entrepreneurial intensity and operational problem for future plans for growth and expansion. The study suggested that though, there has been considerable growth in number of women opting to work in family owned business but they still have lower status and face more operational challenges in running business. Cohoon, Wadhwaand Mitchell, (2010), present a detailed exploration of men and women entrepreneur’s motivations, background and experiences. The study is based on the data collected from successful women entrepreneurs. Out of them 59% had founded two or more companies. The study identifies top five financial and psychological factors motivating women to become entrepreneurs. These are desire to build the wealth, the wish to capitalize own business ideas they had, the appeal of start-up culture, a long standing desire to own their own company and working with Vinesh someone else did not appeal them. The challenges are more related with entrepreneurship rather than gender. However, the study concluded with the requirement of further investigation like why women are so much concerned about protecting intellectual capital than their counterpart. Mentoring is very important to women, which provides encouragement and financial support of business partners, experiences and well developed professional network.

Greene et.al., (2003), evaluate the research and publication contribution in the area of women entrepreneurship. The study categorized various journal and resources of research on the basis of certain parameters concerned with women entrepreneurship like gender discrimination, personal attributes, financing challenges, business unit, context and feminist perspectives.

A. Reasons for Women to Become Entrepreneurs:

Self-esteem, recognition, Self-dedication, and career aim are the key drivers for choosing to entrepreneurship by women. Sometimes, women select such profession course for proving their ability, calibre so one can obtain self-pride. However, dismal financial situations of the girls arising out of unemployment within the circle of relatives and divorce can compel girls into entrepreneurial activities.

The days have gone when ladies constantly surpassed her entire life within the barriers of residence now women are observed indulged in every line of enterprise. The access of women into business in India is an extension of their regular domestic activities. But with the unfold of education and passage of time girls started moving from doing make money working from home or kitchen to the enterprise challenge. Skill, understanding and adaptability in business are the primary motives for women to emerge into enterprise ventures. Women Entrepreneur is someone who accepts hard function to fulfil her non-public desires and end up economically impartial.

A sturdy desire to do something fine is an inbuilt pleasant of entrepreneurial women, who is capable of contributing values in each family and social life. With the appearance of media, women are aware of their personal tendencies, rights and also the paintings situations. The challenges and opportunities supplied to the ladies of virtual era are growing hastily that the job seekers are turning into activity creators. Many ladies begin a commercial enterprise due to a few worrying event, such as divorce, discrimination due to being pregnant or the company glass ceiling, the fitness of a family member, or monetary motives which includes a layoff. But a brand new expertise pool of women entrepreneurs is forming today, as more women opt to leave company global to chart their own destinies. They are developing as designers, indoors decorators, exporters, publishers, garment producers and nevertheless exploring new avenues of economic participation.

B. Problems of Women Entrepreneurs:

There are umpteen problems faced by women at various stages beginning from their initial commencement of enterprise, in running their enterprise. Their various problems are as follows:

1. Patriarchal Society:

Entrepreneurship has been traditionally seen a male preserve and idea of women taking up entrepreneurial activities considered as a distant dream. Any deviation from the norm is frowned and if possible, immediately curbed. Women also have to face role conflict as soon as they initiate any entrepreneurial activity. It is an uphill task for women to face such conflicts and cope with the twin role.

2. Absence of Entrepreneurial Aptitude:

Many women take the training by attending the Entrepreneurship Development Programmes without entrepreneurial bent of mind. As per a study, involvement of women in small scale sector as owners stands at mere 7 percent. Women who are impartedtraining by various institutes must be verified on account of aptitude through the tests, interviews etc.

3. Quality of EDPs:

All women entrepreneurs are given the same training through EDPs. Second-generation women entrepreneurs don't need such training as they already have the previous exposure to business.

4. Marketing Problems:

Women entrepreneurs continuously face the problems in marketing their products. It is one of the core problems as this area is mainly dominated by males and even women with adequate experience fail to make a dent. For marketing the products women entrepreneurs have to be at the mercy of middlemen who pocket the chunk of profit. Although the middlemen exploit the women entrepreneurs, the elimination of middlemen is difficult, because it involves a lot of running about. Women entrepreneurs also find it difficult to capture the market and make their products popular.

5. Financial Problems:

Obtaining the support of bankers, managing the working capital, lack of credit resources are the problems which still remain in the males domain. Women are yet to make significant mark in quantitative terms. Marketing and financial problems are such obstacles where even training doesn't significantly help the women. Some problems are structural in nature and beyond the control of entrepreneurs.

6. Family Conflicts:

Women also face the conflict of performing of home role as they are not available to spend enough time with their families. They spend long hours in business and as a result, they find it difficult to meet the demands of their family members and society as well. Their inability to attend to domestic work, time for education of children, personal hobbies, and entertainment adds to their conflicts.

7. Credit Facilities:

Though women constitute about 50 per cent of population, the percentage of small scale enterprise where women own 51 percent of share capital is less than 5 percent. Women are often denied credit by bankers on the ground of lack of collateral security. Therefore, women's access to risk capital is limited. The complicated procedure of bank loans, the inordinate delay in obtaining the loans and running about involved do deter many women from venturing out. At the same time, a good deal of self- employment programme has been promoted by the govt. and commercial banks.

8. Shortage of raw-materials:

Women entrepreneurs encounter the problems of shortage of raw-materials. The failure of many women co-operations in 1971 such as these engaged in basket making were mainly because of the inadequate availability of forest-based raw materials.

9. Heavy Competition:

Many of the women enterprises have imperfect organizational set up. But they have to face severe competition from organized industries.

10. High cost of production:

High cost of production undermines the efficiency and stands in the way of development and expansion of women's enterprises, government assistance in the form of grant and subsidies to some extent enables them to tide over the difficult situations. However, in the long run, it would be necessary to increase efficiency and expand productive capacity and thereby reduce cost to make their ultimate survival possible, other than these, women entrepreneurs so face the problems of labour, human resources, infrastructure, legal formalities, overload of work, lack of family support, mistrust etc. It’s no secret that there are a set of specific challenges related to being a small business owner, but even more so for women in business. Women have come a long way from the days where entrepreneurial territory was considered an ‘old boys club’, but as more and more women find themselves in start-up situations, they begin to struggle with business issues that their male counterparts do not face. If you’re a woman who’s come up against challenges in your business journey, here are some tips that will assist you to overcome such concerns.

C. Tips to Overcome Challenges Against Women Entrepreneurs:

1. Start-up Investing:

Finding investors isn’t an absolute necessity when starting a business, but for many entrepreneurs it is a valuable start-up consideration. With this in mind, it’s important to note that women-owned start-ups are statistically less likely to receive funding than those owned by men. In order to counter this, the best defence is a great offence; investors are looking for a sure-thing. Make the effort to ensure that your team consists of people who can strike confidence into the hearts of those you’re presenting to. A strong team and well-prepared business plan are the two elements that will give investors confidence in your idea and make them driven to invest in your business.

2. Emotional Choices:

In contrast to men in business, women tend to have a more tender, emotionally driven side that can impact decision making and communication styles. In some ways, women are hardwired to nurture, which can stand in the way of making tough business decisions. Women and men handle business in different ways, but women tend to focus on personal relationships within business. This is an excellent method that offers us an advantage, as long as we are business-driven in our focus.

3. Stop Thinking Like a Man:

Understanding that men and women approach business differently isn’t enough to guarantee success as a women entrepreneur. One challenge which many women face in business is the idea that we must behave the same way as a male counterparts would. While being a woman inherently means that we’ll value different things and make different decisions in business, that’s not always a bad thing. Your approach to business issues is going to be unique, and that’s a good thing. Be yourself, and don’t be intimidated when the men outnumber you. Let intuition guide your initiatives and you’ll do great.

4. Family Matters:

Not all women in business are married or have children, but for those who do, it can be a major challenge finding a balance between business success and home life. It’s not impossible to achieve balance between family and business, but there is a perception within the business community that women without families are less distracted and better able to focus on business. The key to success is finding the time for both, and creating boundaries which work for you. This is especially true if you work from home.

5. Believing in Yourself:

One of the hardest aspects of being a woman entrepreneur is to believe in your own achievements. We worry that we’ll sound arrogant or boastful if we have something positive to say about the things that we’ve done. Keep in mind that you are your strongest advocate. If you won’t sell your business by sharing your expertise, no one else is going to do it for you. You are a worthwhile investment, and you need to believe it!

D. EDP Schemes for Promotion and Development of Women Entrepreneurs NEEDS, UYEGP, PMEGP:

· New Enterprise Cum Enterprise Development scheme (NEEDS)

· Un-employed Youth Employment Generation Programme (UYEGP)

· Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

I. New Enterprise Cum Enterprise Development scheme (NEEDS):

In accordance with the G.O Ms No 49 MSME Dept dated 29.10.2012, the educated youth will be given entrepreneur training, assisted to prepare their business plans and helped to tie up with financial institutions so as to set up new Manufacturing and Service ventures. The beneficiary must be a First-generation Entrepreneur. The scheme details are as follows

Project Cost:

· Project cost above Rs.5.00 Lakhs and not exceeding Rs.1.00 Crore.

· Entrepreneur has to meet the cost of land, Rented/Leased Building, Technical Knowhow, Preliminary and Preoperative expenses, Working Capital Margin etc from his own source of funds.

· Cost of land may be included in the project cost at Guideline Value or Market Value, prevailing as on the date of filing loan application, whichever is lower.

Subsidy:

· 25% of the Project Cost subject to a ceiling of Rs.25.00 lakhs

· 3% Back Ended Interest Subsidy for Bank Assisted Projects / 3% Interest Subvention for TIIC Assisted Projects.

· However for projects costing more than Rs. 1.00 Crore, subsidy component will be restricted to Rs. 25.00 lakhs.

Place of Residence:

· The applicant should be a resident of Tamilnadu state for not less than 3 years.

Age:

· General category - Minimum 21 years and Maximum 35 years

· Special category - 45 years for (SC/ST/BC/MBC/Ex-servicemen/Minorities/Transgender/Differently abled persons)

Educational Qualification:

· Degree, Diploma, ITI/Vocational training from Recognized Institutions

Promoters Contribution:

· General category entrepreneurs - 10% of the project cost

· Special category Entrepreneurs - 5% of the project cost

· (SC/ST/BC/MBC/Ex-servicemen/Minorities/Transgender/Differentlyabled persons)

Reservation:

· SC : 18%

· ST : 1%

· Differently abled : 3%

· Under this scheme, at least 50% of the beneficiaries will be women with priority accorded to destitute women subject to the condition that they possess the required qualification.

Income ceiling:

· There will be no income ceiling under this scheme.

Training:

· Compulsory EDP training will be given for 1 month with stipend.

Other conditions:

· Assistance under the Scheme is available only for NEW Projects for which loans sanctioned specifically under the NEEDS.

· Entrepreneurs who have already availed subsidy linked loans under other State Government / Government of India schemes such as Prime Minister Rojgar Yojana(PMRY), Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP), Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Unemployed Youth Employment Generation Programme (UYEGP), TamilNadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation Limited (TAHDCO) and Self help group will not be eligible for assistance under NEEDS Scheme.

· The applicant should not be a defaulter to any Commercial Bank/ Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation Limited (TIIC)

List of Documents to be enclosed in Duplicate:

· Proof of Age – Copy of Birth certificate or Transfer Certificate.

· Proof of Residence – Copy of Ration Card or Residence certificate from Tahsildhar.

· Copy of Degree/Diploma Certificate.

· Community Certificate.

· Certificate in Proof for Ex-servicemen /Differentlyabled /Transgender, wherever applicable.

· Project Report with Projected sales and cash Flow statement for the next 3 years.

· Copy of Land Document, if included in the project.

· Estimate of Building obtained from the Chartered Civil Engineer.

· Quotations for the Machinery or Equipments.

· Sworn Affidavit obtained from Notary Public in Rs.20/- stamp Paper as per format.

· EM Part-I obtained from the office of the Regional Joint Director, Chennai-32.

· Copy of Partnership Deed, in case of partnership concern.

II. Unemployed Youth Employment Generation Programme (UYEGP):

1. Preamble:

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Government of Tamil Nadu introduced the scheme “Unemployed Youth Employment Generation Programme (UYEGP)” which aims to mitigate the unemployment problems of socially and economically weaker section of the society, particularly among the educated and unemployed to become self employed by setting up Manufacturing / Service / Business enterprises by availing loan up to the maximum of Rs.5 Lakhs, Rs. 3 Lakhs and Rs. 1 Lakh respectively with subsidy assistance from the State Government up to 15% of the project cost from the year 2010-11 onwards.

2. Financial Assistance:

Sl.No	Category	Project Cost		Subsidy
Sl.No	Category	Promoter’s Contribution	Bank Loan	Subsidy
1.	General Category	10%	90%	15%
2.	SC / ST/ BC / MBC/ Minorities / Women / Ex-Servicemen / Physically challenged / Transgender	5%	95%	15%

3. Eligibility to avail Loan under this scheme:

· Any individual, above 18 years of age. Upper age limit for General category is 35 years and for Special category 45 years.

· Minimum educational qualification is a pass in VIII standard.

· The applicant shall be resident of the place for not less than 3 years.

· The family income of the beneficiary shall not exceed Rs.1,50,000/- per annum.

4. Other Features of the scheme:

· The District Task Force Committee headed by the General Manager, District Industries Centre, will select the beneficiaries through an interview process.

· Entrepreneur Development Programme (EDP) training will be given to the beneficiaries for Seven days.

· Repayment schedule shall be for 5 years after an initial moratorium period of six months or date of commencement of project whichever is earlier.

· For marketing support the Concerned General Manager, District Industries Centre, will arrange Buyer seller meet, Exhibitions etc.

5. How to apply?

The scheme will be advertised through print and electronic media. The eligible residents of the District can submit application along with project profile, copies of certificates for proof of educational qualification, nativity, community, Ex-servicemen (wherever applicable) and proof of physically challenged to the Concerned General Manager, District Industries Centre.

III. Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme(PMEGP):

1. Preamble:

Government of India has approved the introduction of a new credit linked subsidy programme called Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) by merging the two schemes that were in operation till 31.03.2008 namely Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) for generation of employment opportunities through establishment of micro enterprises in rural as well as urban areas. PMEGP will be a central sector scheme to be administered by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME). The Scheme will be implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Ministry of MSME as the single nodal agency at the National level. At the State level, the Scheme will be implemented through State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industries Centres (DICs) and banks.

2. Financial Assistance:

Categories of beneficiaries under PMEGP	Beneficiary’s contribution (of project cost)	Rate of Subsidy (of project cost)
Area (location of project/unit)		Urban	Rural
General Category	10%	15%	25%
Special (including SC / ST /OBC/Minorities/Women, Exservicemen, Physically handicapped, NER, Hill and Border areas etc.	05%	25%	35%

Note:

1. The project cost for Manufacturing sector is Rs. 25 Lakh.

2. The project cost for Service sector is Rs.10 lakh.

3. The balance amount of the project cost will be provided by Banks as term loan

3. Eligibility:

1. Any individual, above 18 years of age.

2. There will be no income ceiling for assistance for setting up projects under PMEGP.

3. For setting up of project costing above Rs.10 lakh in the manufacturing sector and above Rs. 5 lakh in the business /service sector, the beneficiaries should possess at least VIII standard pass educational qualification.

4. Assistance under the Scheme is available only for new projects sanctioned specifically under the PMEGP.

5. Self Help Groups (including those belonging to BPL provided that they have not availed benefits under any other Scheme) are also eligible for assistance under PMEGP.

6. Institutions registered under Societies Registration Act,1860;

7. Production Co-operative Societies, and Charitable Trusts.

8. Existing Units (under PMRY, REGP or any other scheme of Government of India or State Government) and the units that have already availed Government Subsidy under any other scheme of Government of India or State Government are not eligible.

CONCLUSION:

Empowering women entrepreneurs is essential for achieving the desires of sustainable improvement and the bottlenecks hindering their boom ought to be reduced to allow complete participation inside the commercial enterprise. Apart from education packages Newsletters, mentoring, exchange festivals and exhibitions additionally may be a source for entrepreneurial improvement. As an end result, the preferred effects of the business are fast executed and more of remunerative commercial enterprise possibilities are determined. Therefore, promoting entrepreneurship among Salem surrounded women is really a short-cut to speedy economic growth and development. Let us solve and eliminate all kinds of problems and thus create a possitionof ‘women’ to be a superb entrepreneur with the social.

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• http://www.publishyourarticles.net/knowledge-hub/entrepreneurship/10-major-problems-faced-by-women-entrepreneurs-in-india.html

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Received on 27.07.2017 Modified on 31.08.2017

Asian Journal of Management. 2018; 9(1):92-98.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2018.00014.8