Women owned businesses are highly increasing in the economies of almost all countries.

The
hidden entrepreneurial potentials of women have gradually been changing with the growing
sensitivity to the role and economic status in the society. Skill, knowledge and adaptability in
business are the main reasons for women to emerge into business ventures.‘Women
Entrepreneur’ is a person who accepts challenging role to meet her personal needs and become
economically independent. A strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of
entrepreneurial women, who is capable of contributing values in both family and social life. With
the advent of media, women are aware of their own traits, rights and also the work situations.
The glass ceilings are shattered and women are found indulged in every line of business from
pappad to power cables. The challenges and opportunities provided to the women of digital era
are growing rapidly that the job seekers are turning into job creators. They are flourishing as
designers, interior decorators, exporters, publishers, garment manufacturers and still exploring
new avenues of economic participation.In India, although women constitute the majority of the
total population, the entrepreneurial world is still a male dominated one. Women in advanced
nations are recognized and are more prominent in the business world. But the Indian women
entrepreneurs are facing some major constraints like –

a) Lack of confidence – In general, women lack confidence in their strength and competence.
The family members and the society are reluctant to stand beside their entrepreneurial growth.
To a certain extent, this situation is changing among Indian women and yet to face a tremendous
change to increase the rate of growth in entrepreneurship.

b) Socio-cultural barriers – Women’s family and personal obligations are sometimes a great
barrier for succeeding in business career. Only few women are able to manage both home and
business efficiently, devoting enough time to perform all their responsibilities in priority.

c) Market-oriented risks – Stiff competition in the market and lack of mobility of women make
the dependence of women entrepreneurs on middleman indispensable. Many business women
find it difficult to capture the market and make their products popular. They are not fully aware
of the changing market conditions and hence can effectively utilize the services of media and
internet.

d) Motivational factors – Self motivation can be realized through a mind set for a successful
business, attitude to take up risk and behavior towards the business society by shouldering the
social responsibilities. Other factors are family support, Government policies, financial
assistance from public and private institutions and also the environment suitable for women to
establish business units.

e) Knowledge in Business Administration – Women must be educated and trained constantly to

acquire the skills and knowledge in all the functional areas of business management. This can
facilitate women to excel in decision making process and develop a good business network.

f) Awareness about the financial assistance – Various institutions in the financial sector extend
their maximum support in the form of incentives, loans, schemes etc. Even then every woman
entrepreneur may not be aware of all the assistance provided by the institutions. So the sincere
efforts taken towards women entrepreneurs may not reach the entrepreneurs in rural and
backward areas.

g) Exposed to the training programs - Training programs and workshops for every type of
entrepreneur is available through the social and welfare associations, based on duration, skill and
the purpose of the training program. Such programs are really useful to new, rural and young
entrepreneurs who want to set up a small and medium scale unit on their own.

h) Identifying the available resources – Women are hesitant to find out the access to cater their
needs in the financial and marketing areas. In spite of the mushrooming growth of associations,
institutions, and the schemes from the government side, women are not enterprising and dynamic
to optimize the resources in the form of reserves, assets mankind or business volunteers.

Highly educated, technically sound and professionally qualified women should be encouraged
for managing their own business, rather than dependent on wage employment outlets. The
unexplored talents of young women can be identified, trained and used for various types of
industries to increase the productivity in the industrial sector. A desirable environment is
necessary for every woman to inculcate entrepreneurial values and involve greatly in business
dealings. The additional business opportunities that are recently approaching for women
entrepreneurs are:

• Eco-friendly technology

• Bio-technology

• IT enabled enterprises

• Event Management

• Tourism industry

• Telecommunication

• Plastic materials

• Vermiculture

• Mineral water

• Sericulture

• Floriculture

• Herbal & health care

• Food, fruits & vegetable processing

Empowering women entrepreneurs is essential for achieving the goals of sustainable

development and the bottlenecks hindering their growth must be eradicated to entitle full
participation in the business. Apart from training programs, Newsletters, mentoring, trade fairs
and exhibitions also can be a source for entrepreneurial development. As a result, the desired
outcomes of the business are quickly achieved and more of remunerative business opportunities
are found. Henceforth, promoting entrepreneurship among women is certainly a short-cut to
rapid economic growth and development. Let us try to eliminate all forms of gender
discrimination and thus allow ‘women’ to be an entrepreneur at par with men.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/women-as-entrepreneurs-in-

india-212759.html#ixzz1Bl2Tml7C
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

The case examines the entrepreneurial style of Ekta Kapoor,

the driving force behind BTL. It explores the way in which she
made BTL one of the most powerful and successful companies
in the field of television. The case also discusses aspects of
Ekta Kapoor's serials and their impact on BTL's success.
Issues:
» Examine Ekta's entrepreneurship and leadership qualities, which contributed to
her outstanding success.
Kahani Teri Meri, (The Story of You and Me)
Ekta Kapoor's (Ekta) latest offering was aired in
January 2003 on Sony Entertainment Television at
9:30 pm. It was touted as the Devdas1 of the small
screen and said to be "much larger and far more
lavish than any serial currently airing on
television." The serial replaced another production
of Balaji Telefilms Limited (BTL), Kutumb
(Family), in the same time slot. But despite the
grandeur of the sets and the added advantage of
being Ekta Kapoor's pet project, the serial was not
able to make a mark. Even after 3 months on air in
a prime time slot, the television rating points
(TRPs) were lower than expected, leaving
analysts wondering whether the Ekta magic was
on the wane.

Ekta, the face and brain of BTL, was almost completely responsible for the position
BTL was able to achieve in the television software market.

The program listings on various channels in 2002

show the hold BTL had on television viewers. Her
serials aired on channels like Star Plus,2 Zee TV,3
 Sony Entertainment Television (SET),4
Doordarshan and Metro TV,5 as well as regional
channels6 like Gemini, Sun, Vijaya TV, Udaya
TV, etc. BTL grew rapidly since 1994, when it
first began operations.

The rate of growth increased after the company

went in for a public issue in 2000.

From a modest beginning of 8.5 programming

hours per week in 2000, BTL achieved about 35
programming hours per week across all channels
in 2002.

Most of the achievements of BTL could be traced back to Ekta, the creative director at BTL. In
2001, Ekta was selected by the Confederation of Indian Industries, (CII) to head the committee
on entertainment. She also received a number of awards over the years. Some of the awards are:
"Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year" (in 2001), "Corporate Excellence" from Bharat
Petroleum (in 2002), "Rajiv Gandhi Award" (in 2002). In 2001, Asiaweek magazine included her
in the list of "Asia's 50 most Powerful Communicators."

The Making of an Entrepreneur

Ekta Kapoor is the daughter of Ravinder Kapoor
(popularly known as Jeetendra), a Hindi movie
star from the 1960s to 1980s. Her mother, Shobha
Kapoor, is the CEO of BTL and her younger
brother Tushar Kapoor is an actor in Hindi
movies. According to Ekta, she had a childhood
which was "materially easy but emotionally
difficult.'

During her childhood she was extremely obese

and suffered from low self esteem. She was a very
pampered child and was never oriented towards
any kind of achievement.

A student of Bombay Scottish school and

Mithibai College, Ekta was a poor student and
content with getting the minimum passing grades.

Her family wanted her to enroll in an MBA program but she was not interested in a theoretical
education and had no clue about what she wanted to do in her life. "I was fat, lazy and absolutely
aimless in life.

I had no direction or focus. I did not believe in

 excellence or hardwork,"7 she said. Her only
interest was watching television, which she did
whenever she could. She says she felt guilty about
disappointing her parents, but was not able to do
much to rectify the situation. On completing her
higher secondary education, she joined FAR
Productions, an advertising agency, and worked as
an assistant model coordinator for a short time in
an attempt to do something worthwhile. The
turning point in Ekta's life came in the early 1990s
(she was about 19 years old then), when Ketan
Sommaya (a non resident Indian) requested her
father to produce some television software, for a
channel he was starting

Making a Mark
Ekta introduced Indian television audiences to daily serials at a time when weekly episodes were
the order of the day. When Ekta first made a foray into television software development, most of
the serials were telecast on a weekly basis...

Entrepreneurial Style
Ekta was a completely hands-on manager. She
was closely involved with every aspect of her
serials, be it the script, cast, sets, the dress and
make-up of the characters, or the marketing of
serials. As the creative head at BTL, she provided
all the story ideas.

She did not actually write the scripts of the serials

but supervised a team of associate creative
directors and executive producers, who wrote
them.

She personally auditioned the actors who played

the various parts in the serials, as she believed she
had a knack for choosing the right faces for the
right parts...

The Flak
Ekta has had to face a lot of flak for her serials as well as her attitude. On the human resources
front, Ekta was totally unpredictable. She acquired the image of an ogre and most of her
subordinates were reluctant to approach her cabin...

What Makes Ekta Click?

According to some analysts, Ekta was successful
because she was present in the right place at the
right time and was able to identify a niche market
and cater to it successfully...

Can Success be Sustained?

BTL achieved a lot within a short period of time.
But analysts wondered whether this success could
be sustained

Ekta Kapoor Profile

Born: June 7, 1975
Achievement: Creative Director of
Balaji Telefilms; Awarded with Ernst
& Young (E&Y) Startup Entrepreneur
Of The Year award in 2001.

Ekta Kapoor can be aptly called as

the reigning queen of Indian
television industry. The serials
produced by her company Balaji
Telefilms are a great hit with the
masses and are dominating all the
major T.V. channels in India.

Born on June 7, 1975, Ekta Kapoor is

daughter of former Bollywood
superstar Jeetendra and sister of
current Bollywood hero Tusshar
Kapoor. Ekta Kapoor did her
schooling from Bombay Scottish
School and later on joined Mithibai
College. She was not interested in
academics and on the advice of her
father ventured into TV-serial production at the age of 19. And soon she changed
the face of Indian television industry and completely dominated it.

Today, Ekta Kapoor is the creative director of Balaji Telefilms. Her company has
produced more than 25 serials and each one is being shown, on an average, four
times a week on different television channels. Ekta Kapoor's serials have captured
the imagination of masses. She broken all previous records of TV serial production
and popularity in India. Her most famous television venture has been "Kyunki Saas
Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" which began in 2000 and is still leading the TRP ratings in India.
Her other famous serials include "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki", "Kahiin To Hoga",
"Kavyanjali", "Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa", "Kasamh Se", "Kahin Kisii Roz", "Kasautii
Zindagi Kay", "Kkusum", "Kutumb", "Kalash", and "Kundali".

For her entrepreneurial skills and achievements Ekta Kapoor was awarded with
Ernst & Young (E&Y) Startup Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2001.

Well-known television producer Ekta Kapoor will be presented the ‘Most Promising
Entrepreneur of the Year 2009’ by Governor S C Jamir on Saturday at the Golden Jubilee
Celebrations of Indo-American Society.

The function would be held at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai. The Indo-
American Society has during the last 50 years promoted Indo-US relations in diverse areas and
has facilitated people to people contact through cultural and educational exchanges.

Keshub Mahindra, Chairman of the Board of Patrons of the Indo-American Society, V. Rangaraj,
President of the Society, Paul Folmsbee Consul General of the United States of America in
Mumbai, V. Shankar, President of South Indian Education Society, Nana Chudasama, Past
President and other invitees will remain present on the occasion.

Ekta J Kapoor, born on the 7th June, 1975, is the creative head of Balaji Telefilms. Ekta Kapoor
is the daughter of Jeetendra, the legendary Indian actor and Shobha Kapoor. The actor Tusshar
Kapoor is her brother. Ekta kapoor is the alumni of Bombay Scottish School and Mithibai
College.

Ekta Kapoor started her career at an early age of seventeen. In the begining she tried her luck
attending the shoots of Kailash Surendranath, the ad and feature filmmaker - but failed.

Then with the advice and financial help of her father Ekta started off with her own business of
TV-serial production by the name of Balaji Creations. She made six pilots and three episodes but
to her bad luck all of them were rejected. After great hard work she became successful in
creating the serial Hum Paanch .Ever since she has been working industriously acquiring the
skills required to succeed

Ekta Kapoor has produced and co-produced many soap operas, television series and films. Her
most popular television endeavor has been Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which started
airing on STAR Plus in the year 2000. She has produced more than eight television soaps for
STAR Plus. One of the most noticeable things about her creations is that all her soaps begin with
the letter "K" as she is superstitious that it brings her good luck.

Some of her other famous soaps aired on star plus are:

• Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii

• Karam Apnaa Apnaa
• Kasamh Se
• Kasautii Zindagii Kay

Despite the popularity of her soaps, Ekta has received a lot of criticism for her controversial and
bold scenes, the portrayal of female characters, false sophisticated sets and repetitive, frivolous
plots.

In the short span of her career this young entrepreneur of India has achieved many wards and
civic honors. She was chosen to lead the Confederation of Indian Industries' (CII) entertainment
committee. In the last two years she has also bagged the Indian Telly Awards. The other awards
she received are:

• The Society Achiever Award

• The Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2001
• The 6th Indian Telly Awards 2006
30 year old Ekta Kapoor is one of the most dynamic young achievers in the country today. Today
she stands like a colossus in the television entertainment segment and within a very short span,
her production house Balaji Telefilms has shot up to a monolithic status.

In a way she has redefined the concept of television entertainment with a barrage of women-
centric soap operas which have truckloads of emotional quotients and at the same time subtly
reflect the rising assertiveness of Indian women. Nothing surprising, millions of women in India
remain glued to her serials during the prime time notwithstanding the fact that many critics call
Ekta Kapoor as “queen of kitch.” But in pure commercial terms, she is the “queen of small
screen” since her serials register high TRPs and rake moolah for broadcasters. It has been
primarily because of her popular serials that STAR TV has grabbed the numero uno slot in the
entertainment segment.

Going by the conventional wisdom, Ekta Kapoor should ideally have aspired to become an actor
since her father Jeetendra was a major star in decade of 70’s and 80’s. But Ekta chose to chart a
different territory envisaging immense opportunities in the television. Rest as they say is history.
Showing entrepreneurial finesses of highest degree, Ekta Kapoor built Balaji films almost in a
brick by brick fashion. She is believed to be a deft pulse reader of women psyche and she has
used this expertise to the hilt in conceiving her productions.

Achieving phenomenal success at a young age, Ekta Kapoor is also known for her penchant to
promote young talents especially from her own gender. Most of the creative directors working in
her company are women in the age bracket of 20-30. Commenting on this aspect of her
operations, Ekta Kapoor recently said in an interview, “ Men in our office are treated like the
men in our serials. They are mere props.”

A deeply religious person, she is often spotted with a red vertical resplendent across her
forehead. She is often viewed as a superstitious person for her penchant for the alphabet ‘K’. The
title of most of her serials begin with this alphabet like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahani
Ghar Ghar Ki, Kasauti Zindagi Kay, etc. She is reported to have developed a fetish for this
alphabet after an astrologer advised her. Critics may say what they want but this has done
wonders for Ekta Kapoor and also for Indian television industry.

After ruling the small screen for more than five years, Ekta Kapoor has now also diversified into
film making. For her high-profile achievements, Ekta Kapoor has been showered with many
awards including Ernst & Young (E&Y) Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) award for 2001.
Ekta Kapoor was selected amongst 30 high-profile
contenders by a Panel of Judges, chaired by Usha Thorat,
Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
Ekta Kapoor was selected amongst 30 high-profile contenders by a Panel of Judges, chaired by Usha
Thorat, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Other eminent personalities on the panel
included Acting US Consul General David Tyler and Farokh T. Balsara, Partner, Ernst & Young. The
event was presided over by Keshub Mahindra - Chairman of Board of Patrons, Golden Jubilee
Celebrations Committee. Also present at the occasion was U.S. Consul General Paul Folmsbee who
spoke about future of Indo-U.S. Relations and the importance of bilateral cooperation in energy security
and combating climate change.

Commenting on the award, Ekta Kapoor - Joint Managing Director- Balaji Telefilms Ltd., said, “It feels
great to receive this award from the Indo-American Society and through the hands of His Excellency,
the Governor of Maharashtra. Also, to be selected amongst 30 deserving candidates by an admired jury
makes this award even special. I hope to take Balaji Telefilms Ltd to new heights with the support of our
viewers and partners who have been a pillar of strength for my team and me”.

Keshub Mahindra - Chairman of Board of Patrons, Golden Jubilee Celebrations Committee, said, “The
Indo-American Society, in the midst of its Golden Jubilee celebrations is delighted to have this memorable
function organized at the Raj Bhavan and I am grateful to His Excellency the Governor for his initiative as
a generous host. It is my pleasure to felicitate Ekta Kapoor with this award for the change she has
brought to the Indian Entertainment Industry.”

Also commenting on the occasion, His Excellency the Governor of Maharashtra S. C. Jamir said, “In
today’s economically integrated world, economic relationships are the bedrock on which social, cultural
and political relationships are built. With our engagement with the US expanding on many fronts, we need
to focus on strengthening our relations in the field of education, right from school education to higher
education and research. This will surely take our relations to a higher level. I wish and hope that the Indo-
American Society will continue to play its role of facilitating exchanges and enhancing cooperation and
understanding between the people of India and America. I congratulate IAS on its Golden Jubilee”.