We Indians are an amazing group of people. Especially the new, younger lot. Born into a tradition of “khaandani dhandha”, we have managed to sway away from this centuries-old custom of joining the family business established by our forefathers and are willing to take risks to create our own identity. As per reports published by popular business website BusinessStandard, a whopping 87% Indians wish to be entrepreneurs at one point in their life. Almost 30% also reported being interested in opening up their own ventures immediately after completion of their studies.
So the question is – what’s stopping them? Here’s the answer – Funds, and a lack of sense of direction. Sample this -
| Biggest stumbling block |
% |
| The area of start | 17% |
| Funds | 28% |
| Fear of failure | 9% |
| Entrepreneurship knowledge | 11% |
| Don’t have partner | 13% |
| Don’t have mentors | 22% |
(source: ISEED)
And so, TCF is right here, to give you the sense of direction that you need. We bring to you 6 cool career options for your entrepreneurial ventures. What’s cool besides them being cool? There’s potentially no risk in ending up as a huge loan defaulter like Mr. Mallya – because you wouldn’t need to take a huge loan in the first place! Cool, isn’t it?
- Your own eatery
The whole world earns so they can eat. Well now, you get to earn BECAUSE people eat! How better does it get? The lovely part about India is that everyone here is a foodie now, be it the middle class or the super-rich. Which means, that irrespective of whether you sell expensive 1000-bucks-a-plate authentic Mexican food, or humble yet satiating pakodas and vada-pavs for Rs. 10, you will always have takers. Simply put, if you have food to give people, people will always have money to give you! In this land, opening an eating joint is one of the most profitable and risk-free ventures one can take up. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a local fast-food restaurant like Shiv Sagar. You can also dedicate your cuisine to just a single, but authentic kinds, like Japanese or Lebanese. All you need is perfection and authenticity of that kind. You also get a plethora of options to style your joint, e.g like a classic fine-diner
or a vibrant and hip cafe
The growth potential is immense as well. The likes of McDonalds and Starbucks have catapulted into billion dollar chains. You too, can keep expanding across various areas – the kind of cuisine offered/extra services /franchising… the possibilities are endless!
2) Writing and blogging
Today being a writer is hot property especially when content is king., With brands continously trying to capture the users attention with great copy if you can channel the inner J. K Rowling or Amish Tripathi then you are on to something. You can open up your writing agency and service clients in need of good content for their products.MNC’s look forward to tapping into local markets of India, but the 2000 plus languages is a hurdle in communication. As a writer or agency you can help to provide local language support for such companies.
Writing does not only imply curating content for others. You can be your own client too. You can start your own blogs using platforms such as WordPress and choose your own domains at nominal prices. You can write anything – a travel blog, a food blog, movie reviews, latest gadget info and reviews, fashion blog, or even as a columnist for popular newspapers. Or you can go big like Indiblogger – where the creators built their own platform for blogging way back in 2007. A decade later, they’re churning out crores of business as an Influencer and have clients such as Lakme, Castrol, Apollo Hospitals, Mahindra & Mahindra, Cleartrip, Vodafone, Dove, Samsung, Surf Excel and Fiat, to name a few. Who said there’s no scope in writing, now?
3) Freelancing
“Do whatever you want to do man!” are probably the wisest words ever to come out of Salman Khan (if not the only). Freelancing allows you to do exactly that! You do everything on your own, and still, get paid a lot more than others toiling about getting kicked around by their bosses. You can choose any field you excel in – be it writing, photography, dancing, musician, motivational speaker… as long as you have a skill that you have complete mastery over, you can be assured success. Of course, the only trick here is to get established. A brand name, an image, individuality – all of which require a lot of time and networks. Working on your own can get make it difficult to find clients, at least in the initial phase of your career, because no one knows you. You can manage that problem partially by signing up on websites such as Truelancer or FreelanceIndia which help to connect freelancers and clients – like a Tinder for freelancing! You can also visit Sutrahr for more info on websites.
It is recommended, however, that you take up freelancing only after working for some years and gaining requisite experience. Not only does it teach you the finer nuances of the trade, but it also helps to make connections, contacts, networks… the oxygen that any freelancer needs! An article by TOI can also help you realize and overcome the challenges coming your way. Check it out on https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/personal-finance/How-to-be-a-successful-freelancer/articleshow/29432235.cms. And if you need more reasons to compel you to try freelancing, well click here!
4) Tiffin and catering services
Who said you need to be a 20-something youngster to be an entrepreneur. Indian housewives should have a shot at this too, right? After all, who doesn’t love maa ke haath ka swaadisht khaana? The dabbawaalas of Mumbai have successfully been carrying out this business since centuries, at six sigma levels unachieved by even major billion dollar MNC’s. That too, by just cycles! With growing demand for food, coupled with the inability of most people to personally visit the restaurants due to the paucity of time, providing direct-to-place delivery of food provides the best solution to bridge demand and supply. Which is exactly what ventures like Spicebox are doing. The beauty about it is that even housewives with limited resources at home can start this business. Teeing off from providing tiffins for neighbours and friends, over a period of time, can result in immense expansion.
This of course, also brings us to parallel fields of catering.
In a country that revels in lavish celebrations – for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, success parties, product launches – the need for class caterers is at an all-time high. And in India, always will be. After a considerable amount of time, you may even end up having tie-ups with major conglomerates for all their functions. Talk about brand image! All you need to dish out is a quality performance!
5) Creative arts and gifts
Is creativity your forte? Do people always run up to you whenever they want to gift cards and presents to their loved ones? Then you’d do well to follow the wise words of the Joker – “If you’re good at something, never do it for free”. What seems like a hobby can very well earn you neat bucks! Since creativity is too limited a talent, and demands of girlfriends and wives for being pampered are constantly on the rise, pre-curated gifts as well customized accessories are the sought after heatedly. Fancy cards, boxes, custom-painted t-shirts, mugs, keychains, bouquets – people are always on the lookout for such items. Do the math yourself – 365 days, 1.2 billion birthdays! Not to forget anniversaries! The potential is mammoth! The youth of today is slowly recognizing the potential of this burgeoning market and is taking various steps towards creating a niche for themselves! Like 21-year old Nidhi Jadhav, who came up with Giftery, whilst still in college and caters to hundreds of orders through its Instagram page.
If you still think there’s no profitability, we’re here to make you see differently. Your brand doesn’t have to remain stuck on the plateau of gifts. Over a period of time, you can start selling merchandises of popular brands. The way TheSouledStore does. It creates official merchandises such as t-shirts, phone covers, mugs, etc for popular TV shows and movies such as F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Avengers, etc. The scope here is magnanimous!
6) Advertising and marketing
Who doesn’t like being talked about? Having good features announced to the public and making money out of it! Which is why advertising and marketing is a profession that will never go out of vogue. More so, in today’s digital world that runs on clicks likes and subscribes, marketing has now an exciting challenge on its hands to tap into the obscurest of markets. All you need is the right way to do it! Usually by combining the Holy trinity of modern marketing - Technology - Strategy - Creativity. SEO and Geofencing are new-age but potent tools still being under-utilized by traditional marketers, and so, your mastery of these skills can guarantee you success in this field! Do we need tell you the money prospects?
There you go. An enlightened soul. Much more ‘wisdomous’. If you still need more business ideas, hop onto MoneyExcel for some more. Maybe now that figure of 17% as an area of start - stumbling block can drop down? We’ll wait for the next report of Business Standard! Meanwhile, you, get ready to be featured on Forbes, maybe?
