Starting a particular kind of business

What are some good low-investment business ideas in India? The low-investment businesses that last in India sell a skill you already have or something people near you already buy, at a size your savings can... Beginner 8 resources → How do I start an import-export business in India? Get an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) from the DGFT first: it is applied for online against your PAN, every shipment needs it, and it must be updated... Beginner 8 resources → How do I start a franchise business in India, and which franchises are worth it? Buy a franchise only through the brand's own website and only after you have spoken to three of its existing franchisees, because the brand's pitch... Beginner 5 resources → Which business can a woman start in India with low investment? Any business that suits a small start suits a woman founder, so begin with what you can already do or make and who near you would pay for it: a hom... Beginner 7 resources → Which business can I start from home? Start the one where your skill or kitchen is the product and the internet is the shop: home food and tiffin, baking or pickles; tuition, coaching o... Beginner 7 resources → How do I start an Airbnb or homestay business in India? Make sure you are allowed to first: if it is a flat, read your housing society's bylaws and your lease, and check your state's tourism department, ... Beginner 6 resources → How do I start a xerox and printing shop? A xerox shop sells photocopies, printouts, lamination, binding and online form filling over a counter, and it lives on footfall, so place it beside... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a cloud kitchen in India? A cloud kitchen is a delivery-only restaurant, so start small in a rented commercial kitchen with one cuisine and a short menu, and list on Zomato ... Beginner 6 resources → How do I start a logistics or transport company in India? Decide which business you mean, because the cost of entry differs sharply: owning trucks (a transport company), arranging loads and warehousing on ... Intermediate 6 resources → How do I start a daycare or preschool? A daycare is the simpler start: most states ask only for a shop or trade registration, so the standard to build to is the Ministry of Women and Chi... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a jewellery business in India? Decide first between gold and everything else, because the capital and the rules are very different. Gold jewellery ties up lakhs in stock from day... Beginner 6 resources → How do I start a packaged drinking water business in India? A packaged drinking water plant is a food factory, and its rules changed recently: FSSAI treats packaged water as a high-risk food, with a pre-lice... Intermediate 7 resources → How do I start a vending machine business? Treat it as a location business, not a machine business: before you buy anything, get a written placement deal with an office, factory, hospital or... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a hospital or clinic in India? Start with a clinic in a specialty you or your doctors practise, not a hospital, which is one of India's most capital-heavy and regulated businesse... Advanced 5 resources → How do I start a food business from home or a small kitchen in India? You can start a home kitchen legally with one registration: FSSAI Basic Registration on FoSCoS, which costs Rs 100 a year and, since 1 April 2026, ... Beginner 7 resources → How do I start a real estate business in India? Start as an agent, not a developer: brokering needs little capital, developing needs land, approvals and crores. Under the RERA Act, anyone who bri... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a travel agency in India? No licence is needed to open a travel agency in India: Ministry of Tourism recognition is voluntary (useful for government work and tourism-board t... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start an EV charging station business in India? Under the Ministry of Power's 2024 guidelines anyone can set up and run a charging station without a licence: you need a site, an electricity conne... Intermediate 5 resources → How do I start a restaurant in India? Line up the permissions before you sign the lease: an FSSAI registration or licence (registration up to Rs 1.5 crore turnover since 1 April 2026), ... Intermediate 5 resources → How do I start a hotel business? Lease or convert an existing property rather than building, because a hotel is capital-heavy. The licences are the same whether or not you seek a s... Intermediate 5 resources → How do I start a laundry or laundromat business? In India a laundry is usually a wash-and-iron or dry-cleaning service with pickup and delivery rather than a self-service laundromat, and it is lic... Beginner 7 resources → How do I start a mushroom farming business in India? Start with oyster mushrooms in a small shed or spare space, and get trained before you spend: banks and subsidy schemes ask for a training certific... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a quarry business in India? A quarry is a mine, so it is among the most regulated and capital-heavy businesses a first-time founder can pick, and it needs three separate permi... Advanced 3 resources → How do I start an ATM franchise business in India? You cannot own an ATM: only banks and the non-bank white label ATM operators the RBI has authorised can run one, so an 'ATM franchise' means hostin... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start an agarbatti (incense stick) business in India? Agarbatti is one of the lightest manufacturing businesses to enter: there is no product licence, the pollution category is White or Green in most s... Beginner 7 resources → How do I start a dairy business in India? Start small with a few good milch animals and a buyer already lined up, usually your village cooperative, a local dairy or direct customers in a ne... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a hardware store in India? A hardware store is a trading business on thin margins and long credit, so working capital decides it. Opening one costs Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh on... Beginner 7 resources → How do I start a kirana store? Pick the location first: a lane with homes and no shop within easy walking distance matters more than anything you stock. Register under your state... Beginner 6 resources → How do I start a packaging business in India? Decide what you will make, because packaging is several businesses. Corrugated boxes are the easiest start: making boxes from bought kraft paper wi... Intermediate 5 resources → How do I start a food truck business? Get permission to park before you build the truck: the city's parking and vending rules decide where you can sell, and a food truck nobody can find... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a wholesale business in India? Start in one product category where you already know the makers and the retailers, buy in bulk from manufacturers or importers, and sell to shops o... Beginner 6 resources → How do I start an event management company in India? An event management company needs no licence of its own in India; each event does. Set up with ordinary registrations (Shops and Establishment, a t... Beginner 4 resources → How do I start a textile business in India? Pick one link in the chain, because textiles is many businesses: trading fabric from a hub like Surat, making garments with contract tailoring unit... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a gym in India? Start with the location and the money: a gym is rent and equipment paid up front, and it lives on members within a short drive. Register under your... Beginner 6 resources → How do I start a juice shop in India? A juice shop is a small food counter, so the registrations are light and the economics are about location and waste. You need FSSAI Basic Registrat... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a plant nursery business in India? Start on leased land or even a rooftop with plants that sell fast in your area (ornamentals and indoor plants in a city, fruit and vegetable saplin... Beginner 5 resources → How do I start a virtual assistant business? A virtual assistant business sells dependable admin help, such as inbox and calendar management, bookkeeping, customer support and research, to bus... Beginner 6 resources → How do I start a cab business with Uber or Ola in India? You can drive your own car on Uber, Ola or Rapido, or own cars and hire drivers as a fleet partner; either way each car must be commercially regist... Beginner 4 resources → How do I start a warehousing business in India? Decide which warehousing you will do, because they are different businesses: an agricultural godown storing farm produce near mandis, or a logistic... Intermediate 5 resources → How do I start an edible oil business in India? Choose between two very different businesses: a small expeller or cold-press (ghani) mill that crushes seed and sells the oil, or a solvent-extract... Intermediate 6 resources →