Bra companies, ironing services and wedding firms are among those businesses run by women that are appearing in the countryside according to government figures.
Female traders are boosting the countryside economy and the government target is for women to own 20 per cent of all small businesses by next year.
Figures suggest there are currently more than 600,000 female-owned firms in the UK generating between £50 and £70 billion for the UK economy.
Equality Minister Jacqui Smith said that new research shows that there is higher entrepreneurial activity by women in rural areas than in cities.
This is due to a variety of factors including greater freedom to combine paid work with other commitments, and the challenge of working for oneself.
But she said there was still a 'vast source of untapped potential' - if females started their own firms at the same rate as men there would be an extra 150,000 start-ups a year.
Women in Rural Enterprise says some of the main barriers to women setting up their own businesses include a lack of money and the fear of not being taken seriously.
Role models for young women, they say, should be people like Tina Strong who set up the Wedding Barn with a grant from Defra, or Sally Robinson who started internet underwear retailer AmpleBosom.com using an European Union grant.
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