Lipstick Entrepreneurs

Independent, self-employed businesswomen who sell makeup or other female-oriented products and services. Lipstick entrepreneurs are viewed as leaders of the "femterprise" movement. In periods of economic crises there is often a surge of female-owned start-up businesses or "female enterprises," due in large part to the perceived job security, income potential and flexibility to accommodate a busy family schedule.

Mary Kay, Avon and Arbonne are three of the most well-known female-oriented businesses that target lipstick entrepreneurs. Avon U.K. has identified eight primary types of lipstick entrepreneurs:

1. The Meritocrat – a formerly successful career woman who has chosen self-employment.
2. The Rescuer – a woman who pursues self-employment as a way to provide for her family, often as a result of her husband's job or income loss.
3. The Horizontal Juggler – most often a middle-aged woman who begins her own business in addition to managing childcare duties.
4. The Double Hitter - a woman who is able to compress a full-time job into part-time hours and run her own business on the side.
5. The Domestecutive – most often a woman already caring for young children at home who begins a home-based business to provide additional income for her family without having to incur costs for full-time childcare.
6. The Passionista – a woman who chooses to turn a hobby into her full-time personal business.
7. The Fledgling – a young woman, typically still in college or recently graduated, who opts to launch her own business either full-time or part-time to earn income and pay off student debt.
8. The Freewheeler – a woman nearing, or in, retirement who chooses to start a business.