How fresh graduates should start small businesses
India is a land of opportunities. Even those who do not have much of money can always start something on their own, with active involvement of their family members. Fresh graduates who ate unemployed should also start small businesses. Some ideas are discussed in this article.
Introduction
The suggestions in this article are based on what has been observed of an actual case of a successful entrepreneur who launched a mess. He asked his mother for support, who, in turn elicited the support of two more women from their tiny village near a major city. Today, the vegetarian mess is the talk of the town. They had moved into a larger rented place during the pandemic and concentrated on home orders. The young graduate is in charge of buying all the raw materials and does the external interface with the local Government authorities. The mother is the supervisor of the those who cook and the others who serve the food. There is a huge variety in what is provided and the cash counters keep ringing. Since the taste is good, the customers keep coming to the same shop again and again.
Numerous other real-world stories of similar success stories are all there on YouTube and social media. Yet, there are fresh graduates often wonder how to start a good business. They still do not know where to start. However, success can easily come to any graduate, if one can a) Make quick market research of unmet needs and wants b) Identify fresh trading opportunities c) Pick up additional skill sets d) Make learning compulsory by going around and e) Enable continuous planning for all eventualities.Make quick market research of unmet needs and wants
Irrespective of any business, there should always be a market for the particular business idea. For example, pan-India, even in the very small towns that have a two to three lakh population, today, there is a big scope for mini-supermarkets. Reliance Fresh and other competitors can never ever enter into this class of towns, as the volumes of business will be inadequate to meet their operating costs. These supermarkets are booming in all States, particularly in the Southern States, which have a huge influx of Hindi-speaking labor force. However, these people also buy from the mini-supermarket, making them quite viable.
Market research should factor in existing and futuristic competition. It should be noted that market research can also open up new markets. For example, a big operator like Swiggy is reportedly exploring towns with a five to seven lank population, more so, if there is some industrial base in that town.Identity fresh trading opportunities
In India, the "buy here, sell there" idea of trading always works. One who comes to the regular weaving societies of say, Kancheepuram city, can explore buying the sarees in bulk and directly selling them online or to customers in gated communities. The logic of doing so is to capture the market for such saris by reducing the prices. When this happens, the customers will bring in new customers and an entirely new market will easily open up.
There are many opportunities to engage in the trading of footwear, unbranded textiles for rural markets, fancy items always purchased by ladies, special food raw materials like the Guntur red chilies, and so on. We should keep on exploring such markets and then a whole new world will open up. Fresh graduates just need to look around. The short-term capital requirements can always be met with, say, jewellery loans. A business such as a good vegetarian hotel will always generate good cash inflows and working capital requirements are somewhat less.Pick up additional skill sets
Today, digital marketing is the name of the game. Those who are specially trained in this skill are laughing all the way to their banks. For, too many people want online marketing support. Skills in specialized tailoring, teaching for the NEET exam, which is more of training, Hindi tuition in non-Hindi=speaking areas, and so on, are some skills in huge demand. Graphic design is another big smash hit in terms of ever-increasing demand. Fresh graduates need some guidance to understand the scope of similar and other skills.Make learning compulsory by going around
Tourist locations always have good scope for tour operators. These tour operators are often very innovative. Their guides bring them massive business. When the guides are very honest, speak good English, and take the tourists to good hotels, a massive new market opens up for that business operation through word-of-mouth publicity. This learning will automatically come to any entrepreneur, only when he goes around. He or she can be hugely successful by understanding what is relevant in a particular situation and offering just that. But such learning will come through practical experience only. Just walk around. Go to new cities and new ideas will simply flow to fresh graduates.Enable continuous planning for all eventualities
Many lessons can always come by observing the lowest middle class or those who are just slightly above the poverty line but have fire in their belly. They always have Plan B, Plan C, and even Plan D. For instance, a guy who would trade in coconut water which is always in huge demand in the summer months would trade only in spinach during the spring and winter months as the demand for coconut water will be somewhat less. However, even when there is a single opportunity to make a little more money by trading in two commodities, they will likely do so, as they will save up the money for any rainy day. This is what fresh graduates should learn from such traders. Accumulate your bank balances and finance everything through internal accrual. When the business has tough times, the savings will come in handy. This is one lesson that all fresh graduates should understand. Undergoing some online courses can also help a great deal.Conclusion
If a number of fresh graduates set up their own businesses, the world will be a far better place to live in. There are too many business ideas floating around. A few ideas borrowed from real world observations have been discussed above.
