Small businesses may sound petty, but they contribute most to a country’s economy. As a growing economy, India needs more and smaller business holders to shine from every corner of the country. Entrepreneurship always paves the way for innovative business thinking. It is the driving force behind small business organizations. If you have the right business mind and an ability to organize, you can succeed even with as little as 1 lakh Rs.
Before beginning a business, of course, some factors are needed to be considered. Success depends on persistence, hard work and dedication. Okay, I am not going to start a motivational speech here, but please keep your focus on the business if you want to start one.
First of all, detect your target customers and find out what they want. Modify your plan accordingly, of course, within the limit of your budget. Proper business strategy depends on customer’s feedbacks also, so keep that in mind. The place you operate your business is critically important too.
For example, megacities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata are expensive compared to suburban and rural areas. Now, if you are up for a business with 1 lakh of budget, below are some potential small business ideas that can help you decide.
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1 . Online Cloth Store
One very common and popular way to earn money is to start an online shop. The Internet is having a great influence over us these days. Not only it opens possibilities to integrate it into your business, but also it is constantly giving birth to new trends through memes and public opinions. You can make and sell some trendy T-shirts online. Buy raw T-shirts from the whole sellers and print your design on them. Maybe hire a designer for beautiful and professional work. There are printing services available in the cities. You can sell each T-shirt for 200-300 Rs. with a good profit. Also, the internet is a great tool for advertising. You can use social media like Facebook to promote your product.
2 . Food shop
Selling some snacks can be an easy source of income. There are a lot of people out in the afternoon, who would crave for some snacks like fries and drinks. You can rent a small house in a suburban area and start this business. You will also have to buy some cooking utensils as well as some furniture. There is a wide range of popular snacks. Choose them wisely that will sell best to your area- this is a business decision. Moreover, you can even incorporate an online service to deliver your food.
3 . Freelancing Company
The popularity of freelancing is steadily increasing over the past years. The most important part is that it requires zero to little investment. There are lots of clients hiring people for their work like content writing, website designing, software development, SEO and more. You can start on your own and then extend your business hiring more experienced people to create your own company. Generally, the cost to start off is a working computer with an internet connection. Note that, you will need to have prior knowledge of this freelancing world.
4 . Laundry Service
Because people in busy cities usually don’t find time to do their laundry themselves, laundry service is a good business option. The investment is also very small. You will need to buy one or two irons. If you have experience, you can do all the work. But it is better to hire some people. This business can be extended by installing sewing machines. Overall, the total amount needed to begin is small.
5 . Photography
This might not seem obvious at first, but you can take photography as a career. If you love taking photos and are very good at it, you can start a business. You can sell your photos to stock websites and also to magazines. Selling printed copies of your photograph is also an option. Remember that, people also hire photographers for occasions like marriage and tours. If you want to choose this path, you will need a DSLR camera and lens, they will be around one lakh RS. (just don’t choose the crazy expensive ones).
6 . Event Management Services
Events have become a commonplace nowadays. They vary from birthday celebrations, marriage banquets to corporate job occasions. Needless to say that they need management and planning. This could be a potential place for investment for you. If you start small you can cope up with your budget of 1 lakh Rs. Your job would consist of arranging the decoration materials, take up catering services and more. You can earn a handful of profit each month. Once you start to see success, human resources catering to such events could also be possible.
7 . Ola/Uber Services
A lot of people in India now prefer to avoid the hassle of public transport. Service like Ola/Uber bring vehicles to your doorstep with a single button-click. They are huge companies operating on a large scale. Don’t worry, I am not talking about starting such a company of your own, instead, you can register your car to one of those companies and get paid. Conveniently, they pay you daily for your car. If you don’t have a car, you can get a moderate one with around 1 lakh. Once you get more profit, you would want to buy and employ more cars.
8 . Tea/Coffee Stalls
Tea and coffee are very popular drinks in India. Some people consume 10 cups of them a day. So, setting up a tea of coffee stall could be promising. Especially the investment would be small- rent some space near a busy populated street, buy the raw materials and hire some people. With the correct business strategy, the profit would be substantial. Just a pro tip- choose your spot wisely.
9 . Smartphone Repairing Services
It is overwhelming how smartphones have influenced us in these recent years. Especially the new generation cannot go without it. The market is being flooded with new smartphones equipped with shocking technology. So, it is obvious that those phones would need repair. With your budget, a mobile servicing shop could be opened. This would require renting a shop, hiring people who know about them and maybe buying some pieces of equipment. You can begin your business with a limited extent. Maybe later you would want to extend your business by selling smartphone accessories like headphones, chargers, screen protectors, etc.
10 . Driving Instructor
I guess, there are a lot of wealthy people in India, who own a car but do not know how to drive. A lot of them are not getting their driving license either because they cannot drive at all or because they are not a good driver. If you can drive, you can use this skill to start business. Make a training scheme with a training session for one hour. Find an open field nearby to train your apprentice on how to drive. This can yield a good amount of money. If you need to buy a car, it is possible to get a cheap second hand one.
11 . Meal Delivery Services
There are many corporate offices offering lunch to their employees on a daily basis. Also, a lot of students staying outside their homes in the college dormitory have trouble with meals. So, it is a business opportunity to make a contract with them to deliver meals to their likings. You will need raw materials daily. But keep in mind that not all of your customers would like the same type of food. For example, there will be a lot of vegan people. Some of them might be concerned about the health and prefer a low calory diet. Expect this diversity and prepare for it. The more type of food you can produce, the more customer base you will likely have.
12 . Tiffin Delivery Services
Similar to meal delivery, there could be a tiffin delivery system to schools for kids. You know there is a little snack arrangement for schools and colleges. So, make sure to get the contract with the right institution.
13 . Coaching Centers
You might know that students heavily seek extra help in their studies. Coaching centers are the most popular place they would go for this. If you are up to starting your own center, do some planning beforehand. Make sure which domain of students you want to attract, for example, science or commerce. Then hire appropriate instructors accordingly.
14 . Rainwater Harvesting
This is an innovative idea. Since there is usually a scarcity of water due to lack of rainfall, wouldn’t it be great if we could store some water during the rainy season? Rural areas suffer from this problem. In extreme cases, the water level could go down so drastically that underground pumping could fail. Among other things, agriculture could halter. You can be creative to make a special plant to preserve the rainwater in the rainy days. During a shortage, maybe use this water to do business with the farmers.
15 . Salon Services
Who does not like a good haircut? This is a smart option to start a salon with little investment. You can easily hire appropriate people who can work for you. Try to include as many options as you can.
16 . Babysitting Services
In a busy world, people often can not take care of their children properly. They can use a reliable babysitter. As an entrepreneur, you can have your babysitting service. Note that, this might work only in large cities. Make sure to promote your babysitting services through baby sitting flyers and online promotions to gain more exposure.
17 . Party Planning
It is interesting but true that people will pay you for planning their party effectively. Look around in the modern areas. You might find something like this to invest in.
18 . Sport Coaching Center
People in India are crazy about Cricket. Lots of young people dream to become a cricketer one day. So, why not open a Cricket or any other sports coaching center to train them on their favorite sports?
Hope these options gave you some insight. You have to pick your own way. But consider ins and outs before doing so. Business is a competition. So, check your potential opponents and how strong they are before you begin.
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