According to Schumpeter's concept, "Women who innovate, imitate or adopt a business activity are known as women entrepreneurs".

Entrepreneurship generates employment opportunities to many people besides providing self-employment to the entrepreneur. Any business venture started triggers a variety of economic activities like purchasing raw material, creating employment opportunities and so on.

Intrapreneur is one who thinks and acts like an entrepreneur for the firms development during the course of employment in an organisation.

(i) Planning
(ii) Organising
(iii) Directing
(iv) Controlling
(v) Co-ordination

(i) Spirit of Enterprise,
(ii) Self confidence,
(iii) Flexibility,
(iv) Innovation.

A consortium of Women Entrepreneur of India (CWEI) are rendering the following functions:
(i) They are acting as a springboard for enterprises started by the women.
(ii) It is helping women achieve high economic empowerment.
(iii) It is acting as a catalyst to improve the access of womenfolk to natural resources.
(iv) It is providing technological support in the sphere of product design and development in the case of women-owned enterprises.
(v) It is providing quality control, marketing and technological supports to women-owned enterprises.
(vi) It is spreading knowledge to women entrepreneurs about various government schemes.

Promotional functions of entrepreneur
(i) Discovery of ldlea : The first and foremost function of cntrepreneur is idea gencration. Ideas can be generated through several ways like own experience and exposure of entreprencur, keen observation of environment, education, training, market survey, environmental scanning and so on.
(ii) Detailed Investigation: Entrepreneur has to analyse in detail the product proposes to produce. 
(iv) Choice of form of enterprise: Entrepreneur has to choose the appropriate form of organisation suited to implement the venture. There are various forms of organisation namely sole proprietor, partnership, company and cO-operatives etc.
(iv) Preparation of Business Plan: Entrepreneur has to prepare a business plan or project report of the venture that he is proposing to take up.
(v) Mobilisation of Funds: Entrepreneur has to take steps to mobilize capital needed to implement the venture.Entrepreneur has to estimate the fixed capital and working capital required for running the project.

The commercial functions of entrepreneurs are :
(i) Production or Manufacturing
(ii) Marketing
(iii) Accounting
(iv) Finance
(v) Human Resource Management
(i) Production or Manufacturing: Under production function, entrepreneur has to take decision relating to selection of factory site, design and layout, type of products to be manufactured, research and development, product design etc.
Marketing : Entrepreneur has to carry out following functions pertaining to marketing aspect namely consumer research, product planning and development, standardisation, packaging, pricing, warehousing, distribution, promotion etc.
(ii) Accounting :Entrepreneur has to arrange (v) to prepare trading and profit and loss account in order to know the profit or loss incurred out of operation of the business and prepare balance sheet to know the financial status of business at a particular day.
(iv) Finance : In the sphere of financial function, an entrepreneur has to take decisions like choosing the right type of financing,framing thebest dividend policy, acquiring of funds, efficiently managing fixed and current assets, maximising shareholders wealth and investing offunds efficiently and effectively.
Human Resource Management: Entrepreneur has to estimate the manpower needs of the enterprise and accordingly decide the size of manpower required for various slots oforganisational structure.After determining the required man power the entrepreneur has to organise the performance of following functions pertaining to human resources namely arranging for. recruitment, selecting manpower, induction and training, determining compensation structure and inentives, designing motivation programmes, structuring well being measures for employees, putting in place safety mechanism at work place, performance evaluation and career advancement and structuring social security programmers.

According to J.A. Schumpeter Joseph A. Schumpeter, "Entrepreneurship is essentially a creative activity. It consists of doing such things as are generally not done in ordinary course of business. An entrepreneur is one who innovates, i.e. carries out new combination or enterprise''.

Managerial Functions
(i) Planning: Under planning, the entrepreneur has to lay down the objectives, goals, vision, mission, policies, procedures, programs, budget, schedules, etc., for enabling the venture to proceed towards established destinations.
(ii) Organizing: Entrepreneur puts in place suitable organizational structure to perform various managerial functions namely choosing the type of organization, creating department, fitting the human resources to appropriate organization slots, defining and delegating authority, distributing responsibility and creating accountability for the efficient performance of activities.
(iii) Directing: The process of directing involves issuing orders and instructions, guiding, counseling and mentoring of employees, supervising employees, maintaining discipline, motivating employees and providing leadership.
(iv) Controlling: The various steps involved in control function includes fixing performance standards, measuring the actual performance, comparing actual performance with standards, finding out causes for deviation if any, undertaking corrective measures to bring actual performance to standards set.
(v) Coordination: Entrepreneur has to evolve a mechanism to pull together the diverse functions performed by various departments or teams and direct them towards the established goals of the organization for accomplishment.

Challenges faced by women Entrepreneurs
(i) Problem of Finance:
(1) The access of women to external sources of funds is limited as they do not generally own properties in their own name.
(2) Because of the limited funds, women entrepreneurs are not able to effectively and efficiently run and expand their business.
(ii)Limited Mobility:
(1) Indian women cannot afford toshed their household responsibilities towards their family even after they plunge into the venture started by them.
(2) This restricts the mobility of women entrepreneur significantly.
(iii) ) Lack of Education :
Iliterate and semi-literate women entrepreneurs encounter a lot of challenges in their entrepreneurial journey with respect to maintaining accounts, understanding money matters, day-to-day operations ofthe company,marketing the products, applying technology etc.,
(2) This reduces the efficiency of operating the business successfully. 
(iv) Lack of Network Support:
The successful operation of any venture irrespective of the size depends upon the network of support extended by various constituencies like family members, friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbours, institutions and so on.
(2) But it is reported that women entrepreneursget very limited support in times of crisis from most of these constituencies.
(v)Self Competition:
(1) Women entrepreneurs have to face acute competition for their goods trom organised sector and from their male counter parts.
(2) Since, they are not able to spend liberally due to financial constraints, they are not able to compete effectively and efliciently in the market.
(vi) Lack of Information:
Women entrepreneurs are reported not to be generally aware of subsidies and incentives available for them due to their poor literacy levels or due to their pre-occupation with household responsibilities.

 

Characteristics of Entrepreneur.
1. Spirit of Enterprise :
Entrepreneur should be bold enough to encounter risk arising from the venture undertaken.Entreprenour should not get discouraged by setbacks or frustrations cmerging during the course of entrepreneurial journey.
2. Self Confidence :
Entrepreneur should have a sclf confidence in order to achieve high goals in the business. The negativities like inconvenicnce, discomfort, disappointments, rejections, frustrations and so on should not weaken his steely resolve to make the venture a grand success.
3. Flexibility:
Entrepreneur should not doggedly stick to decisions in a rigid fashion. Entrepreneur should change the decisions made already in the light of ever-changing business environment.
4. Innovation:
Entrepreneur should contribute something new or something unique to meet the changing requirements of customers nanely new product, new method of production or distribution, adding new features to the existing product, uncovering a new territory for business, innovating new raw material etc.
Resource Mobilisation :
Entrepreneur should have the capability to mobilise both tangible inputs like manpower, money materials,technology, market, methodetc. Which are scattered over a wide area and certain intangible inputs like motivation, morale and innovativeness cannot be purchased in the market outright.
(vi) Hard work :
Entrepreneur should put in strenuous efforts and constant endeavours to accomplish the goals of the venture successfully. They have to courageously face uncertainties, risks and constraints.