If you have plans to start a business in 2023, you might already have many small business ideas in mind. If you have found a relevant idea, you would first want to know if it fulfills a need or solves a problem in people’s lives. Clearly, you need not only have a big business idea in mind to make a significant impact. But the underlying question that remains unanswered is –
‘How will you find small scale business ideas to start a business?’
With so many attractive options around, it can be quite difficult to figure out which ones are worth pursuing. Worry not as we have done the required research to compile a list of the best business ideas that you can start in India on a small scale.
Before you get straight into the list of small business ideas here, you should also know that:
- Many of the new business ideas involve selling products or services online.
- Select a business idea after validating multiple product ideas to find the best one and then gain in-depth knowledge about it.
- Before proceeding with any of your small business ideas, check if there is a demand for what you want to sell.
| Note: This list of small business ideas is meant for anyone who is looking for inspiration to start a business in India. |
13 small business ideas you can choose in India
Blogging
If you have gained considerable knowledge around a particular subject – gaming, digital payments, web development, digital marketing, etc., you can start a blog around it and build an online community. Once you have built enough engagement and gradually growing traffic to your blog, you can monetize it in several ways, such as:
- Adding sponsored content
- Influencer marketing
- Selling personalized products
- Google Adsense, etc.
To start a blog, research:
- The demand for the kind of content you want to create
- Existing competitors
- Prevalent content types
- Suitable domain name
Digital marketing
This is one of the most trending small business ideas in India and it has a plethora of opportunities. Almost every type of business that intends to grow its web presence needs digital marketing professionals.
If you have the required experience and knowledge about digital marketing and its sub-segments – SEO, SEM, Social Media Marketing, etc., you can start a small-scale business or work as a freelancer. It is pertinent that you grow your skills and acquire a team of professionals specializing in different areas.
Affiliate marketing
By definition, it refers to the process of making money online every time a shopper buys a product based on your recommendations. Here, you will get a commission on every sale while the company whose products you recommend benefits from higher sales. This mainly works when you already have a high-traffic blog or thousands of followers on social media.
In general, here is how it works:
- First find and join available affiliate programs in your niche
- Select the offers you want to promote
- Obtain affiliate links or code to spread the word about the offer
- Share the links or codes via your blog, social media accounts, YouTube channels, etc.
Dropshipping
Another trending small business idea is dropshipping. This requires you to start an e-commerce business without stocking products to be sold online. The main attraction element of a dropshipping business is that you do not need to buy any product unless you receive an order from your customer.
Here’s how it works:
- Seek wholesale manufacturers or suppliers for the products you want to sell online and get a quote
- Import their product inventory on your e-commerce website
- Whenever an order is received, it directly reaches the supplier who manages the product packaging, delivery, etc.
- Once the product is delivered, you can pay the supplier his share.
Also Read: How Does Dropshipping Work?
Online Plant Store
Amidst the rising level of awareness about healthy air and pollution, more people have started buying plants for their homes or offices. Keeping the demand in mind, you can start selling plants online. The data says the estimated online plant nursery market is around Rs. 100 crores.
You can follow these steps to implement this small business idea:
- Select the kind of plans to be sold online
- Find the source from where you can buy these plants
- Set up your online store and manage inventory
- Finalizing pricing of plants, packaging, and shipping
- Start selling online
For more details, here’s a guide on how to start selling plants online.
Online reselling
If you do not want to manufacture your own product line to start an e-commerce store, you can choose the reselling business model. As the name suggests, online reselling means buying from manufacturers and other retailers and then selling it through your online store.
Since an end customer does not need to buy products in bulk in general, you, as a reseller, can do so by placing an order in bulk with the manufacturer/supplier. You can also add some sort of value to the customer experience.
Selling home-made products
If you are a product maker yourself and know how to create art pieces, candles, sauces, pottery, or DIY soaps, you are in a good position to take this as a small business idea. Since this is purely a skill-based business model, you mainly need to work on maintaining product quality, managing inventory, and partnering with a shipping partner.
Here, the biggest investment is your time. The more your business grows, the more members you will need in your team who are capable of creating products as you do.
Selling online courses or webinars
If you have skills and abilities that are teachable, you can include this in your list of small business ideas and start a business venture. These days, both working and non-working individuals look at online courses to upskill themselves to switch to a better job or achieve career promotion.
You can start selling your courses through marketplaces like Udemy, etc., or your own website. Depending on the niche or subject you select, you will have a dedicated audience who will be willing to pay to learn from you.
In case you do not want to invest in building a course, you can start a series of paid webinars or workshops.
Selling print-on-demand products
If you believe you have an eye for creative aesthetics and graphics, you can easily leverage it and create a small business. The focus here should be to customize products – hats, t-shirts, phone cases, skirts, etc. with your unique designs and create an original product lineup.
For example, if you can write witty slogans that resonate more with men and women or around a passion that many people follow – there’s a potential t-shirt business you can start. Here, targeting a niche will also reduce the marketing budget. In fact, you can create your own print-on-demand platforms to cater to both customers and merchants.
Start self-curated fashion boutique
Another creative option in the list of small scale business ideas is to share your sense of styling and fashion through an online fashion boutique.
You need not become a fashion designer to start this business nor do you need a significant upfront investment. You can curate readymade products, customize them, and sell them under your brand name. Similarly, you can tie up with a designer/tailor to create stuff as per your designs and sell them online.
Cloud kitchen
If you are fond of baking or cooking, this is one of the best business ideas for you. You can decide on an initial menu for your cloud kitchen, set up your online store, add a payment gateway, and let those around you get their food picked up or delivered.
Some of the advantages of this small business idea are:
- You get the flexibility on how many orders you want to fulfill in a day.
- You do not need an extra storefront or warehouse and can start this business from your home kitchen.
Self-improvement coaching
Many people around you have varied skill sets and passions but do not know what they can do about it. They look for guidance and direction to proceed toward their goals and dreams. This is where self-improvement coaching comes up as a service-based small business idea. You need to provide your clients with the required inspiration and chart out a way they can follow to achieve an intended goal.
You can even grow further by specializing in niches with certifications and courses. Then you can create digital courses, have live sessions, or offer one-on-one coaching in self-improvement niches like:
- Health and wellness
- Productivity
- Career
- Personal finance management, etc.
Freelance web developer
From building websites for small and medium businesses to providing tech support for such projects, web development skills are in high demand nowadays. If you are a skilled developer, you can start a small business being a freelance developer and pick projects from agencies or online freelance portals.
Depending on the technical expertise in specific technologies such as Python, Java, C++, etc., you can work on web development projects and earn money on per hour or per-project basis.
Start small with any of these small business ideas
With the help of technology, third-party sellers or service providers, and the ease of testing small business ideas, it’s easier to build a business and make money. As detailed above, not every business idea comes with inventory-related commitments.
What matters most is what you select based on trends, market demands, and your experience/knowledge.
| If you want to know how to start an e-commerce business with less money, you must read this post. |
