The current Job scenario in India is not very encouraging. Thousands of highly qualified candidates vying for a single post in Govt or Sarkari Job. If you are lucky enough and hold any professional qualifications like MBA or MTech from any reputed institutes in India, then you can expect some white-collar jobs in IT or Banking sectors. But this percentage is very small. Most of the ordinary graduates from Small towns and villages in India are not so lucky. Though there may be some exceptions, that can count on the fingers of one hand.
Then what are the solutions? the answer is starting your own business or more precisely entrepreneurship. Starting your own business is not a simple task. To start a new business needs planning, set up, execution, initial investment, and most importantly patience to make your own business successful. Here, in this article, you will find some unique small business ideas in India for beginners like you and me, with low to medium investment. We will also discuss here how to arrange for Bank Finance and Government subsidies for starting your own business ideas in India, especially in Small towns and Villages.
What is Entrepreneurship and Why Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship, in one word, is to start a new business. And to start a new business requires your willingness, planning, execution, and venture capital, in order to earn the recurring income so that you can carry forward the business and meet future expenses. Every new venture has its underlying risk factors but it also gives you the freedom to live your life on your own terms.
Every new venture has its own risks, but fear of failure always haunts our minds whenever we start a new business or make a new step in the future.
There is a basic difference between Entrepreneurship and Startup. Startups are Scalable Business ideas or model which has huge growth potential and are confined to any particular niche. These startups are mostly funded by several established investors. These investors become board members of the Startup companies if the models become profitable in the future. The concept of Startup ideas is mainly related to Tech Companies. Whereas Entrepreneurship relates to new business or venture.
Entrepreneurship or starting a new venture gives you the opportunity to generate active income from your small business and also you help to get livelihood to those who will work in your business. And this is the most intriguing part of starting a new small business.
List of Some Unique Small Business Ideas in India
There is no dearth of small business ideas if you desire to become an entrepreneur. But you have to select the right one that has less competition, is more profitable, and is socially acceptable. Yes, giving a Tea Stall or Paan Shop is also a kind of Small business, but why should you do that if you have more unique small business opportunities?
Your business ideas also depend on the area where you want to set up your venture and your capital for investment. Getting a Bank loan is also a big headache for every entrepreneur who wants to start a new business in India, especially in Small towns or Villages. Most of the new ventures are rejected by the Banks for the non-viability of the projects. Here, we will also discuss how to get approval from Banks for your Small Business idea or projects.
Here’s the list according to my rank
1. Garment or Tailoring Business with SHG approach:
Credit: Flickr/CCO
Garment or tailoring business is not a new small business concept, there are so many Garment or tailor shops already operating in your area. But here the unique concept is you can start tailoring your business with the Self-Helf Group model. This unique business model first started in Bangladesh where now thousands of Village Women make a passive income by making hand-stitching sarees and clothes.
The concept is very simple, you have to provide the raw materials like Clothes, stitches, fabrics, cotton, and design to the village women, they will finish the products at their own home. You will sell the finished products directly to the market or indirectly to other garment shops in your locality. There may be a middleman who will provide the raw materials and collect the finished products from the Village women. You have to make payments to the middlemen and the Village women and you will make profits by selling the garments.
There is a huge demand for hand-made garments especially for women in big cities and if you can make a proper supply channel, then this is one of the best and unique small business ideas to start. The most important part is that you can generate livelihood for hundreds of people in your locality through these unique business ideas. And if your business concept grows in the future, you can involve thousands of people at a time and also set up a small tailoring factory at your home.
Initial investment Required: Rs.1.00 Lacs to Rs.5.00 Lacs
Industry Sector: Manufacturing
2. Hydroponics Farming:
Hydroponics or Soil-less Farming is totally a new concept in India. You can start your hydroponics Farming business indoors as well as outdoors depending upon your availability of space. Hydroponic Farming is a unique concept of farming where we grow crops in the only nutrient solution, no soil is required. In hydroponics Farming, only roots are exposed to nutrient solutions in a completely controlled environment.
The cost of setting up an outdoor hydroponics system in India is around Rs.600 per Sqft, whereas if you want to cultivate crops indoors, the cost will be around Rs.3500 per sqft.
In hydroponics farming, you can able to grow very high-yielding crops like tomatoes, onions, radishes, etc. in a very limited area. The production is also very high compared to regularly cultivated crops in India.
The cost of setting up Frames and other structures of hydroponics farming in India starts from Rs.8.00 lacs per Acre. For more details on hydroponics farming, you can inquire about your nearest Agriculture Offices.
Just check out the video, if you need motivation
Industry Sector: Agriculture
3. Paper Carry Bag Making:
The use of polythene bags may be completely banned in India within a few years, several cities in India have already made restrictions on the use of polythene bags. Therefore, the demand for Paper Carry bags will be very high in the near future.
You can start your small business on Paper Carry Bag Making and if you can tap the local market, then it can be a very highly profitable venture.
The cost of the Paper Carry Bag-making Machine starts from Rs.3.50 lacs in India. You can purchase a Paper Carry Bag Machine from a local dealer or can contact online retailers at indiamart.com.
Similar to the Paper Carry Bag Machine, you can also start a cotton carry bag-making business. The Price of a Cotton carry bag machine is almost similar to a Paper Carry Bag Machine.
Industry Sector: Manufacturing
4. Commercial Layer Farming:
The demand for eggs will never diminish and in a country like India, the demand will always increase in the future. Therefore chances of making a loss in that business are very rare if you can utilize your production capacity properly. You can make up to Rs.2.00 per Egg if you can manage to optimize the cost of production.
in India, for the production of 10000 eggs per day, you need capital expenditure of up to Rs.50.00 Lacs. You can start the business on a smaller scale, maybe from 1000 to 5,000 eggs per day.
For starting Layer Farming in India, you need 1 acre to 2 acres of land which you can get by way of a lease agreement.
In layer farming, you not only get profit from selling eggs, but you can also earn by selling poultry litter which is used for organic manure. The selling price of poultry litter is around Rs.90 per Kg.
For more details on Commercial layer farming, you can consult Nabard or visit here. You can also get a back-ended subsidy of up to 25% from Nabard for starting this small business. In northern India, the Local Govt also supports the setting up of layer farming because there is a huge shortage of Eggs and these mostly come from southern parts of India. Therefore, you also have the opportunity to avail of some interest or capital subsidy from the local Govt.
For details watch this video
Industry Sector: Agriculture
5. Incenses stick making or Agarbatti Making:
Incense stick or Agarbatti Making is one of the most profitable business ideas in India especially in small towns. You can easily start your Incense-making business at your own home. The Incense stick-making machine starts from Rs.50000 in India for the semi-automatic and for the fully-automatic incense-making machine starts from Rs.1.00 Lacs.
The profit margin is very high, around 60-80%, and the space requirement is around 300 sqft for smaller commercial production. You can easily purchase the machine from local dealers or online at indiamart.com.
Initial investment Required: 1.50 Lacs to 3.00 Lacs.
Industry Sector: Manufacturing
6. Paper Plate Making Business:
Paper Plate making is an excellent small business idea in India for beginners. You can start a paper plate-making business in a small town with a very low initial investment. The cost of a fully automatic Paper plate machine is around Rs.1.00 Lacs. You can start your Paper Plate-making business easily at home which only requires around 100 sqft area for the production of 10000 plates per day. The profit margin is around 50%.
There is a huge demand for paper plates in cities if you can make good quality products. Similarly, you can start a Thermocol plate or glassmaking business with the same kind of initial investment.
Initial investment required: 2.00 Lacs to 5.00 Lacs.
Industry Sector: Manufacturing
7. Envelope Making Business:
Envelope-making Business is also a profitable small business idea in India. You can easily start Envelope making business with an initial investment of Rs.2.00 Lacs. The cost of the Envelope machine starts from Rs.50000 and goes up to Rs.10.00 Lacs and you can easily purchase it from local vendors.
The requirement for Envelopes in Offices, Schools, and Universities will always be present, therefore you will not face any problems with selling your products.
Initial Investment Required: Rs.1.00 Lacs to Rs.10.00 Lacs.
Industry Sector: Manufacturing
8. Medicinal Plant Business:
Medicinal Plant Growing is one of the best small businesses in India, you can start with low investment. If you can manage to grow some high-value medicinal herbs, then you will not have any problem with selling your products and earning some nice profit.
Govt of India is also supporting the development of Medicinal plant sectors, therefore you also have the chance to get some Govt incentives for growing medicinal plants in India.
Growing medicinal plants is way more profitable than cultivating traditional crops and it also requires less area. You can easily earn Rs.1.00 lacs per acre (average) which is never possible if you grow traditional crops.
There are so many high-value medicinal plants like Ashwagandha, Tulsi, Brahmi, Lavender, and Aloe vera, that you can grow in your farm space. For more details on Medicinal Plants Business, you can contact your nearest Horticulture Development Office.
Initial Investment Required: Rs.25000 to Rs.50000.00 per Acre.
Industry Sector: Agriculture
Financing and Bank Loans for Small Businesses in India
The requirement of initial capital or investment is the most important part of starting any new venture. Most of the Small Business ideas discussed above are Micro and Small categories, where the requirement of investment in Plant and Machinery is up to Rs.10.00 Lacs.
You can approach a Loan under the Mudra Scheme in local banks or fill up the form at the Govt. of India’s Jansamrth portal. In the Mudra Scheme, you can avail of up to Rs.10.00 Lacs Loan without providing any extra collateral security. The scheme is specially designed for the development of the Micro and Small Scale Industries and young entrepreneurs in India. But before approaching any Bank for finance, you need to have a clear idea about the viability of your project.
You can also apply for a collateral-free loan under CGTMSE (Credit guarantee fund trust for micro and small enterprises) for a loan of up to Rs.200.00 Lacs. You only have to give CGTMSE coverage fee which is 1% in the first year and 0.1% in the subsequent years. For details, you can visit here.
If you want to avail Govt a back-ended subsidy, then you can also apply for a loan under the PMEGP scheme. Under the PMEGP scheme, you may be eligible for a subsidy of up to 30% of the project cost, for Women entrepreneurs, it is up to 35% of the project cost, a maximum of Rs.10.00 Lacs. The maximum amount of loan you can apply under the PMEGP scheme is Rs.25.00 Lacs for the Manufacturing sector, for the service sector, the maximum Loan amount is Rs.10.00 Lacs. For more details, you may contact your nearest DIC or KVIC offices or Visit here.
You can also apply online for a Loan under the PMEGP scheme from here. (KVIC Official Website)
Conclusion
The Small business ideas which I have discussed above are only suggestive, you might have your own business idea which suits your ability and education. But the most important thing is your desire to stand on your feet and make an impact on society by providing livelihoods for those who will be working with you. There has also some regulatory frameworks, that you have to complete before starting a new business in India, I will discuss it on another article.
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Great post, paper plate making is a good idea. Any individual can easily start this at home or else.