Business Assets- Only a phone and internet connection

Business assets?

Only a phone and internet access.

Young women on entrepreneurial journeys

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The world of micro-business is often abuzz about targeting resources toward the most capable entrepreneurs.

But where can capable entrepreneurs be found?

Sometimes in unexpected places.

Young women- married and unmarried- in relatively poor or lower-income households, from semi-urban and even rural communities—are making money from the tech and social media world. Their lack of exposure to formal training, technical skills, combined with the social expectations of managing home and hearth, would make them unlikely candidates for success, one might think.

But with just a mobile phone and an internet connection, they have made a space in the content creation economy—earning enough from YouTube, Facebook and Instagram to build larger homes, buy cars, eat better, purchase household items befitting their increased means and new social stature, and vacation in a way that would otherwise be beyond reach, even with the male head of household engaged in routine wage work.

There is a great and not-obviously manifest potential in unexplored places.

Mark Cuban was on point ,it would seem, when he argued that one did not need hefty investments or access to credit to start on an entrepreneurial journey. He suggested –that when starting from nothing— people should use their phone to learn how things work—in any area of their interest. If interested in sales, then “use your phone”, he advised, and learn everything you can about how sales work. The young women featured in this blog have likely never heard of Mark Cuban, but they know the wisdom of his words.

Having watched hundreds of videos on lifestyles, recipes, daily routines of women in wealthy or higher income brackets---these women from rural or urban lower-middle class or poor households have created a distinct space in which their own daily lives, routines and eating habits provide the raw material for longish videos, shorts and reels –all made and distributed to social media platforms via their phones. These videos and reels attract thousands of views, likes, comments and subscribers.Their incredible journey is worth documenting in detail—in this blog, I only focus on ten characteristics that make these women successful entrepreneurs.

 #1 They observed the landscape and were able to identify a business opportunity—

Instead of simply consuming other peoples’ content, they realized there is room for them to make money in this space as well, and the entry costs are relatively low— no start-up money required. Just a willingness to shed social inhibitions and make public those aspects of their life that have been typically private—such as what they are able to eat and afford.

#2 They understand the growth potential of this market—

The market for “lifestyle” and “food” cultures of the lower middle classes remains underexploited. This is a very vast consumer base—that tunes into the multiple daily reels and shorts that are produced by each social media entrepreneur.

Their audiences are larger than members of the same income bracket however. Women (and men) from the upper classes follow these social media accounts with curiosity and contempt—It is their opportunity to comment on what they perceive as the “low quality” of video content--the clothing, daily habits, and lack of cultural capital, such as facility in the English language. For audience members in the same class bracket, however—there is fellowship, pleasure and envy in watching these entrepreneurs advance in their consumption habits, or curiosity about how they invert norms, such as wearing western-style clothes, or an inside look into other’s marital relationships.

 #3 They understand consumer psychology—

An insatiable curiosity to know the nitty-gritties about the lives of others—is the same reason that has made a phenomenon out of Facebook!

Zuckerberg latched onto this key insight—we want to know about the goings-on in the lives of others, particularly the ones we know, who are both like us and not like us. Other than the free “follows”, the audience is intrigued enough to pay a small monthly fee to stay in the loop— these patrons are promised extra reels, special videos made just for paying subscribers.

#4 Knowing the value of nurturing their client base— These entrepreneurs also understand the necessity of nurturing their base of followers, of “client retention”, one might say.

‘Thank you’ videos are routine—acknowledging they could not have come this far without their audience, showing achievements like plaques received from YouTube, displaying home improvements etc. for which they credit their viewers and ask for continued patronage so they might achieve further goals, such as building a house next, or making home repairs.

#5 Negative press is good business too—

Alongside praise and appreciation, there is ridicule and criticism that come their way—but nothing deters these entrepreneurs. It adds up to more engagement, and that means more money.

Audience comments- good, bad, and ugly—also helps them generate ideas for new content. New reels are created with rebuttals, videos are made explaining why they did something that was criticized, and even showing how they incorporate audience comments into daily life –for instance, one entrepreneur showed her small dining table that she had purchased despite the lack of space in her home.

#6 Learning hard skills, pushing for growth—

Creating content, editing the videos, adding voice over and soundtracks, interpreting analytics and monetizing—all of these involve hard skills that these women have learnt by trial and error, or have asked others to show them how it all works.

They are constantly learning---about new content categories and video styles from other social media accounts from around the world. In line with current trends, many have moved from a look at the home and kitchen, to shopping hauls, hotel reviews, make-up and skin care routines, and inside glimpses of their vacations. To keep audience interest, they are always sourcing variety and innovating (eg. producing a comedy sketch, or acting out a feigned dispute with family members), asking the audience what they might like to see, if what they are putting online receives criticism or a cool reception.

#7 Willing to take risks— This line of work may not require heavy financial investment, but there is a social cost—of inviting the scrutiny and judgment of conservative family members and neighbors.

These women are breaching norms---by visibly raising the quality of their lives beyond what their income-earning husbands are able to do sometimes, demonstrating agency by expressing opinions, singing and dancing for public consumption, and exposing the minutiae of their lives, such as their dietary preferences and living quarters. Everyone in the household –who is on camera— is also fair game for public commentary.

The social cost is outweighed by the significant financial gains on display— from which every household member benefits immediately— often to the envy and endless curiosity of others.

 #8 A serious job—

In their self-understanding, this business is to be treated with seriousness and consistency. As they begin to earn more, it grows into something that needs the investment of their time and thought.

These entrepreneurs routinely use the word “work” to refer to their activities—often stating how hard they have to work to get the income they are making. It is not uncommon for the work to continue even when inconvenient or exhausted—making a reel for instance even when getting off a train in the middle of the night.

#9 Rising incomes— If you watch over time, you will see the quality and quantity of food consumption rise, visits to restaurants, home delivery, and regular shopping at clothing stores—something likely out of reach until now for lower income households. The purchase of durable goods—like a car (even for a household that lives in a one-room construction), a refrigerator, washing machine, furniture, a computer, and home improvements like painting the house, laying marble floors— all of these are common ways that these entrepreneurs spend the money earned.

#10 Putting money back into the business—

A popular book on entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation by Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel notes that active entrepreneurs put money back into business and make productive investments, whereas unlikely entrepreneurs spend the profits on temptation goods or unproductive consumption (p.80). By this criterion, a very significant number of these women are certainly active entrepreneurs.

All of which means more money in the bank.

What’s next for these young entrepreneurs?

It’s hard to tell. We know they are gutsy, willing to learn, and open to opportunities. One stay-at-home mom entrepreneur has started to offer dance performances for weddings and other special occasions—she provides her email for “business inquiries”. Another young lady offers to make personalized videos to greet her followers and fans on their birthdays and special occasions. Some are leveraging their online fame and manage to get sponsorships to model clothing – the reels carry information about the sponsoring label and local store.

Although they have taught themselves valuable “hard skills” like video editing, script writing, doing voice overs…. there is no incentive yet to venture out of the house to get wage employment in an industry that values those skills.  As of now, there is room to grow in the social media business and they are earning good money from their efforts.

There are also older women with an online following in this relatively poor and lower middle class lifestyle space—but many of them say it is a demanding business and don’t know if they can keep it up, although they acknowledge the need for the income that it provides them.

For now, tip of the hat to these unlikely entrepreneurs who have identified the opportunity to make money, have grown to earn more than their spouses in full-time jobs, and are learning to make smart economic investments for their future.

NOTE: This blog uses publicly available source material on the social media pages (on Facebook/Meta and YouTube mainly) of female social entrepreneurs in different language regions across peri-urban and rural areas of India. Data for these observations have been collected over a period of 1 year of daily observation. There is ample evidence on social media however that these entrepreneurial journeys are commonplace across the globe.