Are the female entrepreneurs of beauty salons in India, victims of bad publicity?

This paper is a preliminary study exploring the obstacles faced by female entrepreneurs running beauty salons in India. Newspapers and other media highlight the illegal activities that occur in the beauty industry, such as solicitation and the use of unhygienic products in salons, whereas they fail to report about the legitimate owners of beauty salons who are striving to run successful businesses. So far, there are hardly any studies that have highlighted the issue of how bad publicity impacts Indian female entrepreneurs' businesses. Research conducted for a PhD study revealed social castigation and misconceptions created in the minds of the public through occasional reports in the press about the beauty salons of India. This research is part of a larger study of 151 female entrepreneurs, of which four beauty salon owners expressed their concerns about bad publicity. This paper also discusses the various allegations in media, as well as the concerns of female entrepreneurs in the beauty industry. Such a qualitative analysis is expected to draw more attention to similar and in-depth research in this area. This paper also makes policy recommendations in order to rectify such societal stigma adversely affecting female entrepreneurs in India.