Susmita Asad India has one of the largest populations in the world with constant consumer needs. This makes the country a massive consumer market. But you don’t need millions to kick off a successful business in India. So here are some top business ideas in India with low investment. Use India’s growing business market to your benefit.
1. Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is one of the most relevant business routes for most people currently. Huge corporations are built everyday to provide digital marketing services and they make millions in profit.
But contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a huge investment to kick-start a digital marketing business. First you need to determine which services you can provide. Common digital marketing services include:
- Content writing
- Graphics design
- Video editing
- UI/UX design
- Social media marketing
- SEO marketing
- PPC/PPI services
Once you’ve decided which services to provide, here’s how to roll out your business:
i) Determine the investment to start hiring professionals for your services.
ii) Pitch your business to larger business holders to gain clients and work experience.
iii) Fix your service rates to make sure you can pay off your team properly as well as make some profit.
iv) Determine a steady budget for promoting the business on social media platforms and running ads.
v) Monitor the profits and margins and set KPIs and goals.
You can expand your business once the income and profit margins become stable. A minimum budget of 20,000-50,000 rupees or $600-$1000 is needed to jump start a digital marketing business in India. With a larger investment, your business can include an office and a functional website.
2. Affiliate Marketing
What is affiliate marketing? It is a type of business with low investment and high profit. In affiliate marketing, you promote someone else’s product or business and whenever someone purchases on your affiliate link, you get a commission.
Here’s how to kick off your affiliate business with little to no investment:
i) Social media platforms can be used for free affiliate marketing while you need to invest for websites in the public domain.
ii) Determine which niche you’ll be marketing based on your personal interests, market, competitors and customer saturation.
iii) Join affiliate programs and networks. Some networks may require a low transaction fee.
iv) Optimize your content to bring in organic traffic and run paid ads for wider reach.
v) Monitor audience engagement and compare with competitors to change your strategy.
You can start affiliate marketing without any investment at all but if you pitch in a few bucks, you can cover advertisements and more affiliate networks.
3. Online Vlogger
Online vlogging is a great example of low investment high profit businesses. Anyone can start vlogging on any topic and build up a viewership to make money. There are many people who have become millionaires through vlogging on different social media.
This is how most vloggers get started:
i) Choose your area of interest for making content. You can focus on daily life, beauty tips, fashion, travel or art.
ii) Pick platforms to post your content such as Tiktok, YouTube, Twitch and others.
iii) Post consistently and build up regular viewership and enable ads on your content.
iv) Use social media channels and invest in ads to grow your reach.
v) Monitor your viewership and stay consistent to make profits.
For vlogging the areas of investment are: a good quality camera and microphone, good editing softwares and promotional ads. This can be managed within a starting budget of $500-$700.
4. Flower Shop Owner
A small flower shop in the colorful streets of India is always welcome and full of customers. With the right selection of flowers and the best rates, you can get a fast growing and stable business in India.
So how do you open a flower shop with low investment?
i) First find a small store or room for hire that is in an open or accessible area.
ii) Contact local flower suppliers and make use of any bushes or shrubs at your own home or known people.
iii) Set up your rates for the products and try to maintain variety in the flowers.
iv) Promote your business by relying on word-of-mouth reference as well as free social media. Use paid ads for higher reach.
v) Expand on the variety of available flowers and plants and update your prices when the business becomes stable.
Other small shop business ideas include: tea stall, cafe, convenience store, tailor business and more. These stores can be kicked off with a low investment but will produce steady profit after some years.
5. Online Influencer
An influencer can be an online content creator, vlogger, model or musician. You need a large number of active followers on any platform who engage with your content and click on your links. Influencers also earn money from sponsorships from large brands by promoting their content on different platforms.
How can one become an influencer?
i) Choose your niche depending on your personal interest, content reach and popularity.
ii) Select platforms that you want to post on such as YouTube, Instagram or TikTok. It’s better to target multiple platforms to expand your reach.
iii) Post content regularly to build up a steady viewer base and encourage them to interact with your content and share it.
iv) Tag companies and brands in your posts and stories to get their attention and create opportunities for sponsorship and collaboration.
v) Monitor the content that performs better for audience interaction and grow your channels. Use paid ads to promote your content.
6. Travel Agency
Setting up a travel agency may sound like a huge investment but most agencies start off from being home projects. You can start a travel agency as well by registering your business online and work to find local clients.
i) The first step to setting up a successful travel agency is market research and analysis.
ii) Make contacts with people who already have experience in the field and build a team of individuals to help you pull all the strings.
iii) Register your business online and build a website for it.
iv) Promote your business to friends and family and run ads for a wider reach.
v) Update your facilities and rates to adjust to the market conditions.
Most of the investment goes into setting up the agency and building a website for it.
7. Daycare and Nursery Services
Daycare service is another business that takes advantage of India’s large population. If you have good people handling skills and live in a busy area, this business may bring in large profits for you.
Here are easy steps to launch a daycare service:
i) Find a hospitable home or room to turn into the daycare office. You can start with your own home for low investment.
ii) Research into all primary facilities daycares provide and analyze the budget needed.
iii) Promote your daycare to people in your area and spread your business using social media and ads.
iv) Fix your hourly rates, rules and package prices.
v) Collect feedback from all your clients to constantly improve your business.
Usually it’s easier to start a daycare business for children aged between 3-7 years old. You can expand the business to include more age groups as well.
8. Yoga Classes
India is historically considered the birthplace of yoga and even today a large part of the population learn and perform yoga. If you have knowledge of yoga or know someone who performs yoga, you can start making money by taking yoga classes.
Let’s see how you can kick off your yoga teaching business:
i) Decide your instructing time and rates.
ii) You can choose a room with open space as your teaching location or an open field.
iii) Name your business and promote it by spreading the word to your family, neighbors and friends.
iv) Post on social media about your business and invest in ads and a website for online registration.
v) Keep expanding your business with ads and promotion and investing in larger work facilities.
Small home businesses like teaching yoga, sewing, tutoring, baking and others are quite easy to establish and run in populated places in India. But you need to stay consistent in the work and avoid competing in oversaturated work fields.
9. Classical Dance and Music
Both music and dance are very respected art forms in India. Classical music and dance are still popular among people of all ages and a large number of people learn it as a hobby or professionally. If you have the skill of classical music or dance, you can pass it on to eager learners and make some money along the way.
How to launch your own dance and music classes:
i) Find a practising location that is easily accessible to clients.
ii) Fix your hourly rates and active dates along with other conveniences.
iii) Decide a name for your classes and advertise the business among locals and online.
iv) Record your classes and make daily vlogs to start attracting audiences online.
v) Stay updated with competitors and update your business plan with time.
Classical art tutors are trusted and respected among art lovers of all ages. This business lets you turn your passion into a profession.
10. Cooking classes
Culinary skills are always in demand because…well people always eat. If you have baking or cooking skills, consider turning it into a money making business. India is a country of diverse flavors and recipes. The snacks, main courses and desserts are always in demand.
Kick off your cooking classes business in these simple steps:
i) Set up a platform where you will conduct the classes. You can also relay instructions online.
ii) Invest in good quality kitchen supplies and related material.
iii) Maintain top quality hygiene and neatness when conducting classes.
iv) Promote your business locally to friends and family and run ads online for a higher reach.
v) Invest in improving your workplace quality and add new facilities for learners whenever possible.
Other small shop business ideas include: bakery, flower shop, tailor business and more. Just find your niche and fix a budget to get started on a new successful business.
Conclusion
This article briefly touches on different kinds of business ideas in India with low investment. These ideas include conducting online classes, vlogging, collaboration, daycare services and more. There are more businesses that you can launch with a low investment.
But keep in mind that all business and commerce ideas need room to grow and the right audience. So before you hop onto any idea, be sure to conduct the required amount of research. Don’t expect your ideas to pop off right from the start and be patient. Constant monitoring and improvement is needed for a business to become long term and successful.