50+ Small Business Ideas with Low Investment
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Many people aspire to start their own business but do not have the know-how or the capital to do so. While one could learn the strategy to start a business, it is not easy to get access to capital for starting a business. Thus, they often have to look for small business ideas with low investment to fulfil their entrepreneurial aspirations.
To help those future business owners, we’ve compiled a list of more than 50 profitable business ideas that require low investment and can be started quite easily.
50+ Small Business Ideas with Low Investment
To fillip your entrepreneurial zeal and help you decide which domain or industry could be suitable for you, here are more than 50 low-investment ideas you can take inspiration from:
1. Wedding Dress Rental
High prices of lehengas and wedding sherwanis and the dearth of opportunities to wear those beautiful dresses push people to rent them for their big days. You can tap into this demand of the practical rising middle class to provide dresses on rent for big events.
2. Scented Candle Manufacturing
Manufacturing scented candles can be one of the most profitable business ideas with low investment, requiring minimal raw materials like wax, paraffin, scents/essences, etc.
To target customers with a high disposable income, you can market your business online and sell premium scented candles with extracts sourced from natural elements.
3. Career Counselling
As the economy gets liberalized and newer and innovative opportunities show up for career building, counseling is often required by not just teenagers in schools or colleges but also working professionals wanting to change their domain of work.
4. Drop shipping Business
A drop shipping business is often one of the most profitable small scale business ideas among the small business ideas list. Drop shipping refers to facilitating the transaction of a third-party’s products without having to handle the warehousing or the manufacturing. Since this business does not require warehousing charges, it is one of the most profitable low-investment business ideas. You can start your own business by opening up an online store or e-commerce portal with a small investment.
5. Day-care Services
You can provide day-care services to households wherein both parents are working. A lot of families in urban areas rely on day-care centres to ensure that their kids are under the supervision of an adult and they do not feel lonely. Your investment in this venture would be limited to a place, which could either be rented or your own house and a few helpers.
6. Hydroponic Consulting
As farms get fragmented and yields drop, many see hydroponics as an alternative to traditional farming. However, the setup is often time-consuming if one wants to keep in mind efficiency. Thus, you could provide consulting services for people wanting to set up a hydroponics system.
7. Internet Service Provider
India is undergoing a digital transformation. As the internet penetrates beyond the urban centres, you could start an internet service providing business and bandwagon on the growth of internet usage in the country. It is in the list of low-investment business ideas since you just need to invest in a few computers and wires for the transmission of data in a local area.
8. Coaching Classes
Are you proficient in a subject and want to start a business? Well, good for you because tuition or coaching classes are one of the easiest businesses to set up. You do not even need to buy or rent a space to teach, but can do so from a separate room in your house.
As coaching and tuition have now become a requirement for children due to the cut-throat competition, it is one of the most successful low-investment business ideas with high-profit margins.
9. Landscaping Business
Landscaping services, usually called lawn care services, are increasing in demand as people’s penchant for aesthetics increases. Resorts, Hotels, or high-end Airbnb’s are potential customers for such services. In addition, this sector has very low competition in India and can be highly profitable.
10. Courier Services
As businesses try to expand their geographical presence, a sector that grows as a concomitant is the logistics sector. You can start a courier service business with minimal investment. Some already-established courier services also look for nodes to add to their network, which allows you to start your business as a franchise with an already-established brand name.
11. Ghost writing
If you’ve got a way with words, then you have an opportunity to earn from the comfort of your home. Not everybody knows how to put forth their thoughts in an organized and enchanting way, yet everybody wants to express themselves.
Ghost-writing comes to the aid of those struggling with this predicament. As content creation is something no business or individual can ignore, ghost-writing is a low cost business idea that could help you earn money by tapping into your talent.
Even in the case you aren’t a writer, you can hire freelance writers to start an agency providing ghost-writing services to business founders, CEOs, and influential persons.
Also read: Top 10 Business ideas for Housewives that are trending right now in India.
12. Solar Energy Consulting
As awareness about sustainability grows, so does the demand for solar power. Apart from being a greener way to produce electricity, solar power can lead to considerable cost savings as well.
However, be it the placement of solar panels for maximum utilization, or the process involved in establishing a solar energy setup, consumers need a lot of handholding. This opens up an opportunity to start a business with low investment: consultation services to help consumers determine how to go green and install solar energy panels or plants.
13. Laundry Service
Migration of people for work leads to people having to rely on segmented services. Laundry services is thus a highly successful business idea with low investment that can flourish in cities having a higher proportion of immigrants.
14. Personal Chef Services
As people are getting more health-conscious and calculate the calories of each and every meal they intake, the need for chefs who can cook nutritional food is coming to the fore. As people do not have the time to make their meals themselves, you can provide subscription-based chef services to people with an option to switch chefs while keeping the nutritional profile of the customer intact.
15. Digital Marketing Agency
Hardly any individual can ignore the growing role of social media marketing in the economy. Even traditional businesses having functioned in a totally brick-and-mortar way have felt the need to maintain a social media presence to keep up with the changing dynamics of consumer behaviour. A Digital Marketing Agency is thus one of the best online business ideas that does not require huge investment.
16. Home-based Bakery
Do you love to bake and are often serenaded with requests to bake? Well, you could utilise this demand to start your own business. You can start an order-based bakery from your house, with delivery being limited to your city to ensure that freshness is not compromised. Without requiring a separate kitchen or space, this is one of the most lucrative business ideas with very high profit margins.
17. Pet Grooming
The pet industry is growing, and growing how? Exponentially. The rising demand for pet care services has led to investments worth $7 million within just two years. With personnel trained for pet handling, you can start your pet grooming business to address the demand and supply gap in this industry.
18. Food Truck Business
A food truck business can be one of the most profitable business ideas if the location is rightly chosen. With minimal fixed investment, you can earn high profits if you keep your offerings limited and focus on improving the taste of your products with regular customer feedback. The success of this low-investment business idea also hinges upon the tastes and preferences of customers within a location.
19. Handmade Soap Business
The history of soap making could be traced back to the Mesopotamian civilisation. Its ancient roots point towards the simplicity and low investment the process requires. As consumers grow wary of high concentrations of chemicals harmful to the skin, you can start a business offering handmade soaps free of various harmful synthetic chemicals.
20. Personal or Virtual Assistant
There’s hardly a superman or superwoman in real life who could juggle various tasks in the limited time frame a day offers. Thus, key personnel in various organizations require a personal or virtual assistant to delegate some work to. This business model requires very little investment in a personal computer, and a stable wifi connection in most cases.
21. Travel Agency
The resumption of traveling after the pandemic-induced lockdown provides an opportunity for you to start a travel agency providing personalized holiday packages to customers.
You can offer your customers to modify or alter the itinerary to give them a convenient experience. Along with that, you can approach the Human Resources department of big corporates to organize corporate trips, which can be very lucrative for a small business.
22. Pest Control
People in urban areas are struggling with the menace of pests in houses. You can start a service-based business model for pest control and market it locally at first to build a stable client base. It is a great business idea with low competition. As a unique selling point (USP), you can try to incorporate the usage of less harmful or ephemeral elements for pest control, making it safer as compared to alternatives in the market.
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23. Car Rental Service
Not everybody can afford a car, and even those who can, some of them choose not to buy one due to changing consumer behaviour. You can start a car rental service to either provide one-time rentals, or even opt for a subscription-based model to allow customers to rent a car on a monthly or yearly basis.
24. Gifting Business
A Gifting business can be a very lucrative business due to the profit margins on gift items. You can procure gifting items at low prices from a wholesaler and catalogue them on e-commerce platforms under your brand name or open an online store to cater to clients across India. Otherwise, you can start your own online store to save on commissions of e-commerce platforms and market your products by hiring a social media agency.
24. Gifting Business
A Gifting business can be a very lucrative business due to the profit margins on gift items. You can procure gifting items at low prices from a wholesaler and catalogue them on e-commerce platforms under your brand name or open an online store to cater to clients across India. Otherwise, you can start your own online store to save on commissions of e-commerce platforms and market your products by hiring a social media agency.
Also Read: Most Profitable Wholesale Business Ideas in India
25. Photo Studio
The only investment required to start a photo studio is in the paraphernalia of photography, which includes a professional camera. You can set up a photo studio even in your house and start earning right away. In addition, you could provide album-making or lamination services for additional revenue.
26. Farm Equipment Renting
Not all farmers have sophisticated machinery like a harvester, seeder, etc. due to which the productivity in the agricultural sector is quite low. Farmers are often unable to make profits due to falling yields and high cost of labour.
You can solve this problem by providing farm equipment for rent in a specific area. These days, machinery is being used for various farm activities like harvesting, threshing, and even stubble binding. By opting for equipment financing, you can easily procure far equipment for this profitable business idea.
27. Event Organizer
Event organizing business is growing in popularity, especially in urban areas. Your success in this business domain depends upon your acumen to manage various tasks at once and good connections with suppliers to provide your clients with various aesthetic choices according to their taste or brand tone.
An event usually plays a major role in helping companies establish their presence. Thus, corporates or businesses can become your potential clients that can take your small-scale business to a sustainable success.
28. Herbal Products Retail Business
The abundance and excessive use of modern medicine are pushing a segment of people towards alternative medicine. You can tap into this demand to start a retail business of herbal products that offer chemical-free alternatives to people.
There has been an upsurge in the demand for Ayurvedic/Herbal products, which may increase going forward. The easy availability of herbs and plants also ensures that the prices of these medicines are low and competitive in the market.
29. Salon Business
A business venture that has the most recurring customers is a salon or hair parlour. People are sceptical about going to new places to get a haircut or a treatment. A salon is a sustainable long-term small business idea with very low investments required and often has loyal clients.
30. Online Fashion Boutique
You need not be a fashion designer to start a fashion boutique. If you have a penchant for styling and think it could attract customers, it is among the low cost business ideas to start an online fashion boutique. With targeted marketing and effective utilization of social media posts, you can earn money online with minimal initial investment.
Also Read: These are the 30+ Business ideas for women entrepreneurs for 100% Success.
31. Photocopy Business
A photocopy business often requires initial investment in only a photocopy machine. However, despite being a lucrative business idea, one must keep in mind the business location. It is important to make sure that a photocopy business is situated at a place where there is a very high demand for photocopying. Thus, with very low investment, you can be profitable if the business is situated near a university, court, government office, or coaching centres.
32. T-shirt Printing
Personalisation of products and services is a discernible trend across industries. T-shirts and apparel are no exception to it. You can start a t-shirt printing business with an initial investment in a textile printer. Your clients could consist of corporate houses, businesses, schools and colleges, or individual customers that seek customized t-shirts for an event.
33. Wedding Photography
Photography has always remained an integral part of weddings and functions. We all want our special memories to be captured. With an initial investment in the paraphernalia of photography and a small team of assistants and photographers/videographers, wedding photography remains a low-investment business with high-profit margins.
34. Advertising Agency
The role advertisements play in shaping our tastes and preferences cannot be undermined. As the consciousness and awareness around advertising grows, so do the potential clients for the industry. An advertising agency is one of the best low-investment business ideas in the services industry which can cater to clients from multiple sectors.
With a small team of copywriters, designers, and photographers/videographers, starting an advertising agency could be a great business idea with your success majorly relying on your creativity.
35. Domain name trader
To start a business online, you need a domain name. A domain name has a huge role to play in the recall value of your business. Given that it acts as the identity of your business online, its importance cannot be ignored. You can start a domain name trading online business, wherein you buy domain names at low rates and sell them at higher rates. This process is also called domain flipping.
36. Dog Walking
Our pets need as much care as any other family member. However, the paucity of time does not allow some people to attend to the needs of their pets, especially when they’re working. Thus, a dog walking service is among the creative business ideas that do not require almost no or very low investment. If you’re good with dogs and like spending time with them, this may be one of the most appropriate low-investment business ideas for you.
37. Resume Writer
Do you know how to catch the attention of people while remaining professional? Well, that is exactly the skill set needed for our next low-investment business idea.
A lot of people are unfamiliar with what’s required for a resume and how to put forth their experiences in an organized way. In addition, they’re often also not acquainted with the professional norms for making a resume. You can provide freelance writing services as a resume writer to help such people make an appealing resume for candidates.
38. Thrifting Marketplace
Frugality as a way of living has been growing rapidly, especially in the urban areas struggling with the menace of conspicuous consumerism. An online store that allows users to buy and sell used clothing articles can be a low-investment business idea requiring just a user-friendly website/platform. You can even provide shipping as an add-on service as a business strategy to earn more money.
39. Airbnb
One of the most successful small business ideas with low investment is listing your house on Airbnb. This requires almost no initial investment and affordable stays are in high demand these days. However, with a small investment, you can hire a personal chef to make on-demand food for the guests so that your business idea does not hamper your personal life. Airbnb is however a seasonal business and the business revenue can fluctuate according to traveling trends and costs of traveling.
40. Marriage Bureau
Starting a marriage bureau could be a viable business idea if you’re adept and socializing and forming connections. You can start a marriage bureau from your house itself since such businesses do not need very high working capital.
41. Delivery Business
An intra-city delivery business can be a profitable business idea if it’s scalable. Convenience has surprisingly become a dominant factor, weighing on the mind of the consumer while ordering anything or grocery shopping online. However, such businesses are vulnerable to rising fuel costs and inflation, which can affect the operating profits of the business.
42. Tiffin Service
You can start a tiffin service targeting areas or regions which have a higher proportion of immigrants. Since there is a very high profit margin in the catering industry, a tiffin service is a very good business idea with low investment that is highly scalable. It is one of the possible successful business ideas with low investment as it is localised to an area with few competitors.
People also read: Explore the Best Profitable Small Business Ideas in Villages
43. Recruitment services
A recruitment services business is often considered one of the most lucrative businesses which requires a low investment. Apart from merely sourcing candidates for your clients, you could provide Human Resource Management services to increase your revenues. In addition, you can provide career counselling services or online courses to candidates, which can make your business valuable to both companies and individuals.
44. Medical Sample Collection
Not every hospital or lab provides home collection services. To fill this gap, a medical sample collection business is a low-cost business idea which requires a small investment in the paraphernalia to transport biological samples and a vehicle.
45. Real Estate Agent
One of the most profitable and low-investment business ideas is starting a real estate broking business. As the population grows with limited availability of land, the prices of real estate have been on an upward trajectory. As a result, the commissions in this business would also increase.
Unlike other real estate business ideas including construction, renovation, etc. which require heavy investment and may require a person to take a business loan, this real estate business requires small investment.
The success of your venture as a real estate agent is reliant upon your negotiation skills and how persuasive you are. As a result, gregarious people often flourish as a real estate agent.
46. CCTV and security services
Everybody seeks the safety and security of their loved ones and themselves. With increasing crime rates, the need for security increases. You can start an agency to provide holistic security solutions while being a retailer of CCTVs, biometric locks, Internet Of Things (IoT) alarms, etc.
As the competition in this fledgling industry is low, you can turn this venture into a successful business with minimal or small investment in inventory and local marketing.
47. Web presence management
One cannot ignore the role played by the internet in business expansion. However, companies do not have the resources, time, or technical knowledge to focus on the web. In addition, channelling too many resources towards maintaining a virtual presence could hamper the core competency of the business.
As a solution to that, web presence management is one of the online small business ideas with low investment.
You can either work alone and use AI tools to provide services to your clients or start a social media agency and hire a few people for freelance writing, designing, marketing etc. In the case of the latter, your fixed capital investment would be limited to a few computers.
48. Affiliate Marketing
One of the most profitable low-investment business ideas is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is the marketing of a third party’s products or services for a commission.
You might have seen YouTubers or Instagram influencers promoting various products, albeit subtly. That comes under the purview of Affiliate marketing.
Surprisingly, despite being a low-investment business idea, it can be really profitable. However, to start affiliate marketing, you need to have high traffic on your blogs, website, or social media handles.
49. Accounting Services
Accounting services is one of the highly paid professional services which does not require high investment. You can provide bookkeeping services to small businesses and help them manage their finances. You can also tie up with NBFCs or loan aggregators to help small business owners get a business loan as an added services.
50. Upcycled Clothing Business
You can start a small business of upcycled clothing, and promote it through social media marketing. This business requires low investment and is sustainable as well, with low costs for raw materials. With consumers becoming conscious about their choices, it’s very possible that you achieve business success if you’re able to reach your niche audience.
51. House Cleaning Services
Most people procrastinate cleaning. It’s a tedious task that not only consumes time, but also energy. And who would want to spend their week off with a duster and sweeping mop?
To address this problem, you can start a small business that provides house cleaning services in a locality by partnering with household workers or hiring full-time employees.
Among various small business ideas, house cleaning requires low investment and can easily be implemented given the availability of surplus labour.
52. Virtual Reality Event Organizer
Virtual reality is the new buzzword in the market. A good thing about buzz and trends is that everybody wants to be a part of that. Utilize this demand amongst the consumers to start a small business that organizes immersive events using virtual reality technologies.
The potential clients in this business could be large corporations which organize events for product launches, or individual customers wanting virtual reality stalls in their events.
53. Custom Gifting Business
Among low-investment business ideas, a customized Gifting Business is not only easy to start but also a profitable one. Customers are increasingly preferring personalisation in products and services. You could provide customized mugs, t-shirts, mats, and nameplates, among other things.
54. Academic Writing
Not every student is adept at writing essays adhering to the rigorous academic standards. In addition, the fear of judgment from peers can prevent them from seeking help or guidance. Thus, there are various academic writing businesses thriving by solving this problem.
With low competition and a growing trend of students seeking higher studies for better growth prospects, you can start an academic writing business with minimal investment. You can also provide career counselling to your customers as an add-on service.
You merely need to hire either full-time writers or freelancers who possess domain knowledge about various subjects and are well-versed with the rules of academic writing. Further, you can use digital marketing to effectively reach out to your customers as students are usually active on social media.
Conclusion of Small Businesses with Low Investment
The aforementioned business ideas can help you add a new source of earnings to your existing business at minimal costs. Given the low capital investment required for starting these businesses, a person can easily start a venture by taking inspiration from these ideas.
Even though a low-investment small business may not require high capital investment, each business requires timely access to credit for their working capital requirements. To run a profitable business, it is important to ensure that you have access to credit for payments to your suppliers and pay the salaries of your staff.
This is often ensured by an Overdraft Facility that allows you to draw out money from your Current Account as and when required and pay interest only on the amount drawn as opposed to the sanctioned limit.
Given the contribution of such small businesses to the economy and the output of the country, many lenders provide multiple industry-specific or business-size credit products. OneNDF helps these businesses get access to such credit products according to their financial requirements and matching them with suitable lenders.
Also Read OneNDF Articles-
FAQs
Q.1 Can I start a small business in 5000?
You can start a small business of laundry services in a locality with a minimal investment of INR 5,000 as not every household has a washing machine, especially in a locality with mostly immigrant population moved in for work.
Additionally, many prefer not to wash clothes at home and procure such services because of the convenience it offers along with time savings.
Q.2 What is the cheapest business to start?
Businesses like Tuitions, freelance writing, and other services that consider skills as a commodity require minimal investment and are often the cheapest to start if you have the requisite skill set. If one does not possess marketable skills, businesses like house maintenance, and marriage bureaus are often quite cheap to set up.
Q.3 How to start a business with Rs 50,000?
- A tiffin service: You can start a small-scale tiffin service in your locality and provide them with an early morning tiffin service for the office. In addition, you can deliver your tiffin’s to offices as well.
- Home-based bakery: You can start a home-based bakery and provide fresh cakes and other baked products within your city by partnering with a micro logistics company.
- YouTube channel: A YouTube channel is often quite cheap to set up. You just need a professional mic, a video camera, and software to edit your videos.
- Pickle Business: A home-made pickle-making business can be profitable given that consumers often prefer home-made pickles over those sold in the markets.
- Affiliate Marketing: If you have a blog, a YouTube channel, or a virtual presence with decent traffic, you can start an affiliate marketing business to sell third-party products or services for a commission.
Q.4 Which business is best in 1 lakh?
Here is a list of some of the best and profitable small business ideas that can be started in INR 1 lakh:
- Scented Candle Making: Candle making often is one of the emerging low-investment business ideas that has a consumer base focused on customers with disposable income with relatively high discretionary spending. Due to this fact, it also has somewhat resilient demand. Given the low cost of raw materials, it can be started in merely INR 1 lakh.
- Drone services: You can buy a drone and start a drone-renting business for events like weddings, political rallies, corporate events, travel documenting, agricultural activities, etc. Drones in India are sold at prices starting from as low as INR 10,000. However, a drone with a good range may cost you somewhere around INR 50,000 to 60,000.
- Coaching Classes: One of the low-investment business ideas to start within INR 1 lakh is Coaching Classes. It could be started from your house itself, thus saving costs of rent or buying a place. Such classes could also be provided through online channels with appropriate softwares to teach online.
- Garden Upkeep/Landscaping: Landscaping, or Garden upkeep is a viable business to start in INR 1 lakh, with the services being of a recurring nature and thus maintaining a steady revenue from loyal customers. Large office buildings, estates, resorts, or hotels could be potential clients.
- Medical Tourism Agent: A lot of people from other countries come to India for medical treatment and surgeries due to lower costs. You can start an agency organising the stay of their families to ensure that the process is hassle-free.
Q.5 How to start a business with Rs 10,000?
You can start a business with just INR 10,000 by utilising your skills and marketing them well. Some of the small business ideas you can start with a minimal investment of INR 10,000 include pickle-making, fitness training, tutoring, and counselling. Apart from that, if can start working as a freelancer with your existing laptop or computer to provide your services online either through a freelancing portal or starting your own online website.
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