A Reddit user from Bengaluru shared that she had quit her corporate job. She now wants to start a business with up to ₹40 lakh in capital.
The user, skshi23, is not interested in taking a franchise as she believes that she has the skill and the time to build something of her own.
“So, if you were in my situation, what business would you start if you were in Bangalore with 40 L of capital?” the user asked.
A Reddit user advised that, before starting a business, one should pick a model and do market research. Franchises give a brand name but the risk is still yours. For first-time founders, a low-risk service business is safer, according to the user.
“Don’t hire a lot of staff at once… Be tight on budget, sell your vision to your team. Plus, always calculate at least 2 years of expenditure… Many product-based businesses or big setups take longer to reach breakeven,” the user wrote.
“In Bangalore? Hire a team of cleaners and provide on-demand housemaid services or cooking. You be the manager,” came another advice.
One Redditor suggested, “You can start a cricket/football/volleyball turf with a small cafe. You won’t need this much money. You will also earn good.”
“Any B2B business is Good, anything facing customers directly is bad because of competition and corruption,” came from another.
One Reddit user posted, “If you’re a woman and into sarees/ethnic wear, I’ve a win-win deal, where you get to be your own boss and I get to move my product!”
“You can also take a loan under various government schemes like PMEGP, in which you will get an incentive of up to 25% of the loan amount,” came another advice.
What’s PMEGP subsidy?
The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) offers a 25% loan subsidy for new micro-enterprises. General category applicants get this subsidy in rural areas.
In urban areas, the benefit is for special category applicants like women, SC, ST, OBC, minorities, ex-servicemen, and differently-abled people. It is also applicable to residents of North Eastern Region (NER), border and hill regions.
To qualify, applicants must be at least 18 years old, start a new project under PMEGP and not have availed subsidies from other schemes. For projects above ₹10 lakh (manufacturing) or ₹5 lakh (services), passing the 8th standard is compulsory.
Project costs can go up to ₹50 lakh for manufacturing and ₹20 lakh for service/business. The exact subsidy amount and contribution required depend on the applicant’s category and project location.