50 Businesses You Can Start With INR 1 Lakh Or Less

According to a survey by Randstad Workmonitor in 2017, 83% of the Indian workforce would like to try entrepreneurship. While there are many who want to start a full time business, there are others who plan to start some part-time business to earn extra income. However, starting a business has many hurdles associated with it, and the major hurdle is the lack of capital. As a matter of fact, there are many businesses which can be started without investing a huge amount of capital. Here is a list of the best business ideas you can start by investing INR 1 lakh or less.

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Businesses You Can Start with INR 1,00,000 or Less

Cab Fleet
Home Automation Services
T-Shirt Printing
Investment Business
Stationery Store Startup
Canteens
Custom Gifts
Professional Cameras on Rent
Xerox and Printing
Juice Shop
Food Corner
Game Parlour
Used Car Dealership
Driving School
Beauty Salon
Affiliate Marketing
Blogging
Writing Services
Homework Help Services and Tutoring
Web Designing Business
Graphic Designer
Interior Designer
Home Decorator
Fashion Designer
Starting an Online Store
Bookstore
Fashion Store
Babysitting
Craft Store
Bakery
Online Advertising
Dancing and Music School
Sell Handmade Products
Consulting Business
Real Estate Agency
Travel Agent
Web Maintenance Service
Event Management Business
Amazon Seller
YouTuber
Podcasting
E-Book Writing
Laundry Shop
Tailoring
Home Cleaning or Corporate Cleaning Services
Home Maintenance and Repair Services
Catering Business
Grocery Shop
Mobile Repair Shop
Paper Bag, Cloth Bag, or Jute Bag Making

Cab Fleet

You can buy a used car or a couple of bikes under INR 1 lakh, register them with Ola, Uber, Rapido, and other on-demand cab services. You then need to hire some people to drive the cab for you. Even after the necessary deductions like paying the driver's salary along with the maintenance expenditures, you'll still end up with a good profit.

Home Automation Services

Speech recognition devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Home have become common in today's households. With some knowledge of electronics and coding, you can help people pair their home appliances with speech recognition devices. This would allow them to control the appliances by giving commands to the speech device. One needs to purchase electronic equipment and hire a few talented guys to take care of the programming and configuration aspect.

T-Shirt Printing

There's a constant need for custom designed uniform with logos and pictures. As a result, T-Shirt Printing is a lucrative business one can pursue. You can help customers by printing their required designs and logos on T-shirts. For that, you'll have to invest in a good T-shirt printing machine. There are many affordable machines in the market, some starting from as low as INR 50,000. If it sounds expensive, one may rent the machine from someone on a monthly basis or longer and once the business turns profitable, the venture owner could buy his or her own machine. With the constant emergence and growth of social media influencers, this business is in high demand at the moment. And there's no dearth of offline opportunities as well. Many T-Shirt startups are already excelling in this industry.

Investment Business

If you have knowledge about trading and investing, you can provide the service of handling people's money and generating profits for them through the share market. But to take off with this idea, one needs to demonstrate the knack for making successful predictions and trades in the market because people believe only when they see. Moreover, it requires immense trust to hand over one's hard earned money to someone else. So start by investing money for relatives and friends, turn them into success stories, and then aim for the big fish! You can start your own investment company in the future with this business idea.

Also read: Best Fintech Startups in India

Stationery Store Startup

You can open a stationery store and cater to new startups and offices since they require a lot of stationery related items like pen, paper, markers, etc. Offer them the best quality stationery products at reasonable prices. You can also partner with schools and coaching centers to establish your presence. Subsequently, students will come only to you for stationery needs. Connectivity with your main store means shortage of supplies can be taken care of immediately. You will need to build an effective transport network for connectivity between the main warehouse/store and your franchises to meet urgent delivery request. A home delivery facility will attract more customers. This business idea can be easily launched with INR 1 lakh and be scaled as a formidable startup if implemented with the best practices.

Canteens

Canteens are no less than a necessity in public places such as parks. Even hospitals and office spaces are known for the crowd they bring. You can lease a space in such locations and start a canteen there. Start with limited options like tea, coffee, and biscuits. If there's a growth in your customer base, you can then increase the options offered. Once the entire business is in motion with windfall profits, you can then think of expanding the canteen chain.

Custom Gifts

According to Asianage, the gifting industry in India is expected to reach $84 billion by the year 2024. The industry is worth north of $65 million at present. The millennials have contributed significantly to the rise in gifting culture. Starting a personalized gifting business can prove to be a profitable business. All you need is creativity and innovation which are reflected in awe-inspiring photo frames, custom coffee mugs, etc. Test your initiative on your acquaintances and see what they think of custom gifting as a customer. You can also distribute samples embellished with your information for promotion and publicity. Closing a deal with corporate offices, especially during the festive season, is also a good idea for marketing.

Also read: Corporate Gifting Ideas for Diwali

Professional Cameras on Rent

Social Media platforms like Instagram and Facebook have ushered in a new era, one where everyone's crazy about selfies and videos. By the time you'd be done reading the previous sentence, hundreds of thousands of pictures must have been uploaded online. People are desperate for good quality images and videos. They need excellent cameras for that. You can buy a high-end camera that ranges between Rs. 50,000 to 80,000 and rent it to people on an hourly basis. If you can invest in a good quality drone with integrated camera and provide the instructions on its usage, nothing like it. You can easily command more than Rs. 1000 per hour as people are willing to pay astronomical amounts for those precious drone clicks!. If you are interested, you can also start doing professional photography.

Xerox and Printing

Although everything's online now, requirements like photocopying and scanning will never fade. You can buy a xerox machine and start a business near a coaching center, college, or offices. It is a highly scalable business idea if done right.

Also read: How to make money online

Juice Shop

With the millennial (and everyone in general) moving towards a healthier lifestyle, juice shops are the place to go after that intensive workout. Be it fruit juice or protein shake, juice shops are a favorite for many. Starting a juice shop business near a jogging park, fitness center, or in a commercially bustling area offers a good chance to make money. If you cannot find any such place, you can always start with a movable setup like using your car and parking it near a jogger's area every morning. All you need to start this business is a good juicer, fruits, and necessary permission for your venture. All of the inventories can be bought for less than 50,000 rupees. You can use the other INR 50,000 from your INR 1,00,000 investment to market your shop. You may have to seek police consent and those of the concerned authorities. Target residential societies, if possible. As more and more people throng to your shop, you'll get an idea and insight into their preferences and thereby come up with even better offerings. It is one of the most promising business ideas you can start with INR 1,00,000.

Food Corner

Some eat to live while others live to eat. All in all, a Food Corner has all the ingredients of a profitable business. Aim for affordable meals so that people from all walks of life have something to consume at your joint. Since we're talking about businesses under INR 1,00,000, start with a stall type of setup. Talk to the southern meals and MOMO vendors you find on the roads to understand how they work. This is the one of the best businesses you can start with INR 1,00,000 or even less as food will never go out of trend.

Also read: How to market a restaurant

Game Parlour

The gaming industry is witnessing a boom. The current value of the gaming industry in India is $850 million and it is growing at a rate of 14.3% every year. If you think people in your locality are into mobile or PC gaming, you can buy a few high-end mobile phones and PCs and set up a game parlor. Many people want to play high performance mobile games but don't have compatible phones. There's tremendous opportunity in mobile lending. Apart from the money you make from the games, you can sell snacks in the parlor for some extra cash.

Used Car Dealership

There are many people who prefer to buy used cars in good condition. They buy a used car, drive it for a year or two, sell it, and buy another used car. You can start a used car dealership and find customers easily. All you need is a used car, have it repaired and find a buyer. If you can add some value to the car through modification, people will be ready to buy it for a higher price. Start your business by scouting for a used car that can be purchased and enhanced in 1 lac budget. Many people like to buy used cars and enhance it in a short period of time.

Driving School

Driving school continues to remain in the market. It is still a good business that mints money as the number of driving licenses issued every year grows exponentially. For a driving school, you need a good marketing plan as you cannot target specific people. You will have to use traditional channels of advertising like newspapers and pamphlets. Social media marketing can also assist in acquiring customers.

Beauty Salon

For someone who is interested in doing hairstyles, makeup or grooming people, starting a salon can be a nice business. A shop in a good locality is needed, besides many also start it at home. Much heavy investment is not needed, and also one can earn good amount of profit in this business

The above mentioned are some of the best business ideas that can be started by investing around INR 1,00,000. But if you feel that 1 lakh is not what you can invest right now, there are still other businesses you to start that requires very less investment. Let's have a look at some such business ideas

Also Read: 10 Small Business Ideas that You can Start from Home

Best Businesses to Start with Less Investment

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is an easy to start yet profitable business that you can start, without any major investment. What you have to do is to simply promote other business's products and services online and earn commission. You don't even need to have your own website to start affiliate marketing. Just choose the products you would like to promote and register yourself as an affiliate of the company whose products you would like to promote. Once authorized to become an affiliate, you receive affiliate links for various products the company is selling. You can now paste these links on your website or promote them through your social media accounts, YouTube channel, in online groups or communities, or through email, and start earning commission whenever someone clicks on your link to visit the company's website and makes any purchase.

Blogging

If you love writing, blogging is an interesting and profitable business that you can start with minimal investment. All you need to spend is on a domain and a good hosting plan. So just with an investment of INR 5000-6000 you are all set for a blogging business. Blogging lets you make money in many ways. You can sign up with Google AdSense to show ads on your website, do affiliate marketing, write sponsored posts, sell e-books and much more through blogging.

Writing Services

Another good service for those who have amazing writing skills is starting a business providing writing services. Writing service providers create various content for the clients ranging from resume writing, article writing, short story writing, copy writing, technical writing, editing and much more. You can start by offering a limited services, and once scaled up, you can hire people and broaden the spectrum of your services.

Homework Help Services and Tutoring

There are many students who would pay to get some help for their homework. You can start online homework and assignment consultation services. Students can call you to seek help regarding their assignments and you can charge them on an hourly or per assignment basis. You can target hostels and colleges for this business. This is an awesome business idea if you are excellent in studies and requires very little money to begin with. The only investment will be in the form of internet and your device. Tutoring is also a good way to make some money with almost no investment.

Web Designing Business

If you have relevant knowledge, you can start designing websites for various businesses. In today's digital world, every business big or small needs a digital presence to grow. By starting a web designing business, you can tap into this trend.

Graphic Designer

Are you a graphic designing expert? Well this can indeed be a great business option. Graphic designing has a huge scope. From creating logo's for companies, to designing brochures and marketing materials, making graphical content for social media to designing packages, there is lot you can offer to your clients and earn a good amount of money.

Also Read: How to Become an Expert Graphic Designer

Interior Designer

Interior designing is another great business option. With required skills and preferably the required certifications, you can easily start an interior designing business. Start by designing interior for your family, friends and acquaintances, and build a good portfolio that you can show attract clients. If your work is good enough, this business will surely take you places.

Home Decorator

Being a home decorator is a good business for those who loves to decorate beautiful homes. A home decorator is one who decorates the interiors with beautiful furniture, accessories etc. While you need certification to become an interior designer, no certification is needed for being an interior decorator. All you need to be an interior decorator is creativity.

Fashion Designer

If you have a knack for fashion designing, fashion designing business is something you can start without much investment. Find a niche segment and decide for whom you want to design clothes. Start by offering a few products, and promote your business to your acquaintances well as through social media. Also it is good to have your own website where you can showcase your design.

Starting an Online Store

Starting an online store is yet another good business idea. Just choose the products you want to deal in and decide whether you would like to go for drop-shipping or stocking the products you want to sell. As regards creating the e-commerce site, there are many platforms like Zepo, Shopify, and FreKart that will help you in this regard.

Bookstore

Starting a book shop is an affordable and nice business. One can opt to sell used books also, as they can be procured at a low cost. While there are many these days who prefer to order books online, and others who read e-books, there is still that category of readers who like to hold a book in the hands and read it, rather than reading it on a screen. So if you can rent a space near educational institutes or in a popular market area, your bookstore will surely earn profit. Coffee shop bookstore is also a cool place that people like to visit. So if you have enough space and required skills, you can also start a coffee shop alongside your bookstore to attract more customers.

Fashion Store

If you love to look stylish and fashionable and has a god fashion sense, you may consider opening a fashion store. To start with find a niche for yourself and start dealing in your niche. For example you can begin with a kids fashion store, and expand later to other niche as well, with increase in budget. You can also consider establishing your online presence and sell your clothes online.

Babysitting

Babysitting is also a business that requires very less investment. If there is space, you can start this business at your home itself. You just need to invest in some good toys, books, etc. to keep the kids busy. Also healthy food should be made available.

Craft Store

Opening a craft store is a viable business option. You can either create your own piece of art for selling in the shop or procure art and craft items in bulk and sell the same at retail rates. Craft items have a good profit margin when bought in bulk.

Bakery

If baking is your passion, a bakery is a good business you can start. To keep the investments on the lower side you can opt to start a home bakery or a cloud kitchen. In home bakery and cloud kitchens, you just need to cook and deliver the food items, without any hassle of making sitting arrangements. Thus your rent is saved.

Online Advertising

Online advertising is what many businesses opt for these days, as online advertising is a great way to reach a wide audience. As such starting your own online advertising business is surely a profitable option. As an online advertising company you can provide services such as website designing, SEO services, PPC advertising, Social media marketing, content marketing and e-mail marketing.

Dancing and Music School

If you are a trained singer or dancer, music and dance classes can be a good business you can start. When started in a very small scale at home, you do not require any registration or licensing. Once you feel confident enough, you can scale up your business.

Sell Handmade Products

Handmade products are in demand these days. So you can make and sell handmade soaps, incense sticks, candles, etc. to make profit. The Government of India offers affordable training courses where you can learn to make these goods. You can sell them online, and as you scale up you can tie up with spas, salons, hotels, etc. for selling the products.

Other than this, you can also consider selling home made jams, pickles, chocolates, etc. Homemade stuff can be also be sold through sites like Etsy.com.

Consulting Business

Consulting services can be offered in various fields such as accounting, auditing, insurance, career, taxes, business and more. You just need to spot your area of expertise and start your consultancy accordingly. Try to get initial customers from your acquaintances and give them the best services so that you can benefit from word of mouth publicity.

Real Estate Agency

If you have interest and knowledge about real estate, you can become a real estate agent. You can choose from dealing in residential properties, commercial properties, or plot investments to start with. Get the required licensing, gather the required information and knowledge about the property you are dealing in, and promote yourself well so that you can reach out to your target customers.

Travel Agent

With the boom in the travel and tourism industry in India, starting a travel agency is a great business idea. You can choose to deal in anything: air ticket booking, hotel booking, selling travel packages, or all of them.

Web Maintenance Service

With every business going online, there is a rising need for web maintenance services. Website maintenance is required to keep a website error-free, up-to-date user friendly, and safe. In current times, web maintenance service can be a profitable business to start.

Event Management Business

Do you feel that you have what it takes to organize an event successfully? If yes, an event management company is something you should start. With the boom in the event management segment in India and worldwide, event management surely is the right place to be in. To start with, you can mange events for family and friends to get the exposure, and also do some thorough research on managing successful events. Being a first timer, you may find it overwhelming to provide all the event management related services. So you may start by offering one or two services like visitor management services, flower decorations, press and publicity services, etc. to big event management companies. Once you are confident enough, you can take the plunge to start your own full-fledged event management company.

Amazon Seller

Becoming an Amazon seller is a lucrative and profitable initiative. Currently there are over 5 lakh sellers registered with Amazon India. The best part about being a seller with Amazon is that you can reach out to a wide customer base not only within Indian but globally; Amazon takes care of everything from delivering the products to the customers to transferring money to your account.

YouTuber

Not just money, YouTube can actually turn you into a celebrity. If you choose to be a YouTuber, you can make money through various streams. You can earn money by becoming a YouTube partner, by selling your merchandise through your YouTube Channel, or by creating sponsored content. There are options where your fans can pay you directly. If you are a viral content creator, you can even make money by letting media houses use your content and get paid in return.

Podcasting

Looking at its popularity, podcasting can be a good business too. There are many ways in which a podcaster makes money. There are businesses who sponsor podcasts and that means a good source of revenue. Podcasters also earn from donations and crowdfunding by selling their own products and services, or through affiliate marketing.

Also Read: Everything you Need to Know About Podcasting

E-Book Writing

With all the craze around e-books, being an e-book writer can also prove to a profitable business. Before diving into writing an e-book, you need to find your area of expertise and interest, and write something which will create value for your readers. Once written, it's important to extensively promote your e-book to the relevant audience to generate more sales. You can sell your e-book through your own website, on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform, or through other publishers.

Also Read: All You Should Know about E-books

Laundry Shop

Services that make the household chores easy are gaining popularity fast. Laundry service is one such life saver for the millennials. A well-managed laundry business is something you can start and earn profit from. You would need a staff to take care of washing, ironing, etc. Regarding marketing, targeting young people, working professionals, and tying up with co-living space providers can help significantly.

Tailoring

Tailoring is one of those businesses which can be started with low investment. Depending on your budget and skills, you can start tailoring at a small level from your home with a sewing machine and once budget and experience permits, you can launch a boutique. Upon expansion, you may buy a pico machine, interlock machine, embroidery machine, etc. and diversify your specialities in tailoring.

Home Cleaning or Corporate Cleaning Services

Cleaning is an essential service that individuals, organizations, and others cannot live without. With the uptick in the number of corporate offices, co-working spaces, co-living areas, and serviced apartments, the demand for home cleaning and corporate cleaning facilities has surged. Hence, starting a business in this domain is certainly a good idea.

Home Maintenance and Repair Services

There is lot to do when it comes to home repair and maintenance. From electrical work to painting, plumbing, carpentry or roofing, many chores needs to be taken care of. Considering the huge demand, a home maintenance and repairing business can surely turn out to be a profitable one if executed right.

Catering Business

If cooking and feeding people makes you happy, then the catering business is for you. All you need to invest in is cooking utensils, ingredients that will be required for cooking, and some helpers. Once your setup is in place, you can start taking orders and supply food for parties, functions, and other events.

Grocery Shop

A grocery shop does not require much investment. The most important factor you need to keep in mind is that the shop should be in a good location. Try to provide the variety of goods that people demand, be open to home delivery facility, and watch as you gain loyal customers.

Mobile Repair Shop

As reported by market research firm techARC, India had 502.2 million smartphone users in 2019, and the number is ever increasing. Given the scenario, a mobile repair shop can undoubtedly be a profitable business you may consider. Besides repairing, you can also sell accessories and provide mobile recharge facilities in your shop.

Paper Bag, Cloth Bag, or Jute Bag Making

With the buzz around the danger of using plastic, manufacturing cloth bags, jute bags, and paper bags is an eco-friendly way of making money. With proper marketing and the fabrication of reliable bags, you will end up with a pretty solid business.

Conclusion

These business ideas might seem small as they only need an investment of INR 1 lakh or less. But the sky's the limit when it comes to profits. Once you establish your foot with these initiatives, you can easily scale your business to the next level. Focus on marketing and correctly executing your business model. You may not see overnight results, so hold your horses and be patient. Are you aware of some other business ideas that can be started with a low monetary investment? Do comment.