Are you looking for small business ideas in India with small capital in 2024? Here are 58 new business ideas and business opportunities in India you can start with low investment.
It seems that there is no shortage of small business ideas in India. According to Invest India, the IT BPM industry in India is booming these days. In 2022 alone, the total export of IT BPM services was $227 billion excluding e-commerce.
Similarly, the IT spending of the software market in India was 10.5 billion in 2022. This industry has seen immense growth in last few years.
Due to huge growth, IT parks have been created to assist entrepreneurs to pursue their online business ideas in India. At the same time, small business trends are also changing in India. It is projected that outsourcing business will boom in 2024-2027 and Indians can greatly benefit from this niche.
Further, I’d like to draw your attention toward the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020. It was one of the most important and great initiative of the Government of the India. They’ve designed a plan in which the traditional car / automobile industry will be partially shifted to electric/ hybrid cars.
By 2030, the entire cars will be electric. It can be one of the best upcoming business ideas in India because this trend will create massive business opportunity for all India businesses i.e. manufacturing, services and trading.
Due to the great contribution of small businesses in India, the economy of India seems to be stable and it is projected that it will grow in the upcoming years.
If you are brainstorming about best business ideas in India with low investment, then luckily, we’ve handpicked some of the best and new small business ideas in India which can launched with zero to little investment. But at the same time, I’ve mentioned some big investment and business opportunities in India that require some significant investment.
So, explore the following list of best small business ideas in India for beginners and choose right startup idea that matches with your interest, skills, and experience.
Read Also: Top ten Highest Paying Jobs in India
Small Business Ideas in India with Zero to Little Investment 2024
1. Freelance Business
Do you know freelancing is one of the most profitable online business ideas in India? Yes, it’s true. Freelancing is becoming the best business in India and you can start with zero investment and earn high profit. No matter, if you are doing a full time job, housewife or you’re a student, you can do freelancing at any time.
Clients from all over the world prefer to hire Indian freelancers in order to reduce their business expenses. So, if you have skills like freelance writing, logo designing, web developing, or programming, then offers your freelancing services online and get paid.
Read: How To Start a Profitable Freelance Business in 8 Steps
2. Content Writing Services
There are millions of websites on the internet and almost all of them need unique and fresh contents to update their websites. If you’ve good writing skills, you can offer your content writing services to your clients worldwide.
You can get clients using freelancing sites. At the same time, you can directly approach to website owners to hire you for content writing projects. To double your client base, make your own website and do professional SEO.
3. Content Marketing
Content Marketing is not a new term. It has been used for decades but with different name. Storytelling!
Content marketing is a type of marketing in which contents are created, published and distributed for target audience online. If you are good story teller and also familiar with content writing, then use your skills to make money.
4. Web Development and Designing Services
As I mentioned above, India is having one of the biggest IT industries in the world. Apart from call centre in India, there is a great scope of web development designing services.
There are lots of graduates are associated with this small business and making a living. You can also learn these skills and render your services to local as well as foreign clients.
5. App Development / Software Development
Just like web development and designing, app and software development is another niche in which you can earn a lot of money.
In app development, there is further two broad niches i.e. android and iOS app development.
6. SEO Services at Small Scale
Every website owner wants that his/her website should receive good internet traffic and also have good ranking on search engines.
Due to tough competition, the demand of SEO has been increased. If you’ve deep knowledge of On page SEO, Off Page SEO, Local SEO and Technical SEO, then it is one of the best business ideas in India with low investment which you can start today.
Read: 200+ SEO Terms and Definitions Every Blogger Should Know
7. Fix WordPress Website Issues
Only WordPress is hosting 835 million websites alone on the internet. WordPress is basically an open sourced and free content management system. It is user friendly and easy to use. But sometimes, it becomes difficult for non-technical users to fix issues.
If you are expert in WordPress, then pick this idea and earn money. To find clients, you can make your own website and do local SEO to find clients in your area. At the same time, you can also find WordPress clients through freelancing sites.
8. Write Business Plans
Whenever entrepreneurs launch any startups or plan to launch new product/service in existing business, they need business plans.
Business Plans include executive summary of the business / product / service, marketing plan, management plan, operational plan and financing plan.
Sometimes entrepreneurs / businessmen may need business plans for business funding, financing or bank loans. So, here you can help them and write business plans on behalf of them.
9. Resume Writing Business
If you have a good experience in human resource and know how to write a good resume then offer your resume writing services to job seekers. To find potential clients, join freelancing websites or alternately you can show your skills on LinkedIn as it is a good platform for professionals.
10. Accountancy Services
For business sustainability and legal point of view, managing accounts and finance of the business is mandatory. If you are graduate in commerce, master’s in business administration or holding any advance certification like chartered accountancy then offer your accountancy services.
Apart from local clients, you can also earn handsome income if you render your services to foreign clients. To secure clients and providing services, you should have good command on accounting, excel and you also have your own accounting software.
11. Starting a Blog
Starting a blog is a good online small-scale business in India to make money online. If you have creative ideas about blogging, SEO, developing, programming or entrepreneurship and highly confident to write on these subjects then start your own blog and make money online in India.
Starting a blog is not a difficult thing. All you need to find a good domain name for your website. Once selected, you will need to buy a web hosting and install your WordPress. Within 1 hour you can easily create your professional website on WordPress.
There are different ways through which you can monetize your blog. For example, traditional advertisements, affiliate marketing, sponsored contents/ reviews or selling something.
12. Tutoring Services
Providing tutoring services is another best business in India. If you are an expert in the specific subjects, then why don’t you offer your home tuition services to students? There are numbers of college graduates out there who are making good side income by starting this part-time business.
You can offer your teaching services to your neighborhood or even you can start your own academy to teach students in a large group.
Apart from that, you can also start this business online. Yes, it’s possible. If you have a good grip on technical subjects, then join study blue. Every year, hundreds of thousands of students join this site to get a personal tutor. Join this website and get paid for teaching others.
13. Stock photography Services
Just like copyright claims on contents and ideas, claims can also be raised on copyright photographs and images. To avoid copyright claims, business avoid copyright images or alternatively they try to use royal free images.
There are some stock photography websites where people can stock photos. At the same time, these websites also pay to the owners of the images who upload original and unique images on it.
If you’ve a professional DSLR, then try to capture amazing pictures and sell it on stock photography websites.
14. Start your own YouTube Channel
I’ve seen many people who started YouTube channel like a normal person. But after their work their channels got hundreds of thousand subscribers and they became celebrities.
If you want to start a small business in India with zero to little investment, consider this idea. To become successful, hard work is necessary. For instance, you will need to choose right niche, do proper SEO of your channel, and regularly share your videos on your YouTube channel along with social media channels for maximum exposure.
15. Social Media Consultant
It is one of the best small business ideas in India for womens. Believe it or not, social media consultancy can help you to earn a lot money.
Social media consultancy basically involves designing, creating, and upload contents on social media, advertising contents to boost sales, and interaction with followers.
16. Selling Custom T-Shirts Online
Starting a customized t-shirt printing business is one of the best small business ideas in India with small capital that can be launched easily.
If you don’t know how to get started, read here 10 steps to starting an online t-shirt business from home.
17. Buy and Sell Domains
In online business ideas, buy and sell domain is one of the lucrative and innovative business idea which you can start with little investment.
You can buy domains from GoDaddy or Namecheap and then sell it on marketplaces like Flippa.com
18. Become Virtual Assistant
In the introductory paragraph, I mentioned that there is a great scope of virtual assistant services in India. The future seems to be bright but at bigger scale.
At small scale you can also become a virtual assistant and offer your services. For instance, you can provide services including editorial services, inbound / outbound calls, email management and many more.
Read Also: Top ten Highest Paying Jobs in India
19. Garment Tailor
It is one of the best home-based business ideas for women. The demand of self-made designs has been increased in India specially in cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, and Delhi.
If you’ve creative skills and know how to sew cloths per customers demand, then you should sign up for the business. All you need is to invest some funds good sewing and stitching machines.
20. Tea Stall
This is basically a micro business idea which can be launched with small capital. At the same time, if you want to start your tea stall business at crowdy places and want to offer your service to brand conspicuous consumers i.e. shopping malls, five-star restaurants, hotels, airport or railway stations, then you will have to buy tea machine.
The price of tea maker starts from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 50,000/-. The price of tea maker depends on the functionalities.
Further, you’ll have to bear cost of rent. More crowdy places, the chances of rent maybe increased.
21. Juice Corner
This micro business idea is similar to tea stall and it doesn’t need a lot of money to get started. In summer season, the demand of juice corners is usually increased.
You can start this business from small level but later it can be expandable. Further, the location of business may increase your business cost.
22. Online Courses
Udemy is an online learning platform where people can buy online courses for learning purposes. Further, Udemy also provides opportunity to become instructor. You can write courses for students and sell it using Udemy.
23. Online Fitness Instructors
Obesity is worldwide problem However; this problem is also increasing in India. In 2017, CNN published a report in which they mentioned that India is getting fatter by day. Due to this issue, other health issues are also increasing in India.
To reduce obesity and other fitness, people often go to gyms or sometimes they hire fitness instructors to get ride from this issue. If you’ve certifications in health and fitness instructions, then you can use your qualification to establish a good source of income.
You can offer your fitness instruction services both offline and online. If you want to start online, you can choose YouTube or otherwise you can launch your website.
Here are some micro small business ideas in India that doesn’t require any explain, you can also start these small businesses with low capital.
24. Script Writers
25. Tiffin Service
26. Research Based Business
27. Translation Services
28. Mobile recharge shop
29. Online Bakery
30. Wedding Consultant
Small Business Ideas in India with Medium Investment
31. Launch your E-commerce Site
The eCommerce business in India is booming. The trend of online purchasing is increasing day by day. Due to this trend, it is becoming one of the best online business ideas in India.
You can launch your eCommerce site and sell your own products. At the same time, you also allow other people to join your site and become seller. You earn money through selling your own products or you can deduct commission when other products of other sellers are sold through your website.
32. Dropshipping Business
Drop shipping business is another great online business ideas in India which can launch with medium investment. To start this business, you’ll need to create a good website and list all products on sale. When customers visit your site then they will place order and pay you. After that you can forward these customers’ order directly to other retailers or manufacturers after deducting your commission.
33. Make a Job Portal
The demand of jobs is also increasing in India. No doubt there are several Job portals and websites in India, but you can also launch your own site and increase your passive income.
34. Food Delivery Services
It is another awesome best business to start in India. Due to the internet expansion in India, a majority of people often place their food related orders online.
If you have a bike, auto, or vehicle, then offer your food delivery services to restaurants and customers. After successful delivery of food, you will be compensated by restaurants. Check Twenty Five Creative Food Business Ideas which you start with minimum capital.
35. Private Hire Car Company
On special occasions / events, people often hire luxury cars or private hire cars to enjoy VIP services and make their days memorable.
If you’ve some executive / business / luxury cars, then you can render chauffeur services for business meeting, wedding days, and day tours.
36. Buy and Sell Websites
This business is similar to buy and sell domains, but it may involve some investment because the sale prices of websites are usually high and vary from website to website.
37. Event Organizing Company
Sometimes, people feel difficult to manage events. If you have good management expertise, then you can start your own small event organizing company. It is highly a lucrative business idea because you will only have to offer your management skills rather than commodities.
For this purpose, you may need to hire people to assist you in event management. To grow your business, you may need to distribute your business cards or advertise your business in local area.
Read also: How to start an Event Management Business?
38. Wedding Planning Agency
Wedding planning is supposed to be a similar business idea with event management, but this is entirely focused on wedding ceremonies and it is the best business to start in India.
Every year, thousands of marriage ceremonies are arranged at large scale in India. People spend hundreds of thousands of rupees on marriage functions to make them memorable. For this purpose, they hire wedding planners to manage their ceremonies effectively so that people can remember these events in good memories.
If you think you are good and creative at wedding planning and also have health relations with suppliers and vendors that offer unique wedding items then start this profitable business immediately.
39. Start your own SEO Agency
Today, we are living in the world of internet and technology. Almost every business can be seen online. Businesses spend thousands of rupees in order to increase their website presence and sales on the internet. For this purpose, they hire SEO consultants who apply some SEO techniques on websites to boost its internet ranking and ultimately it leaves a good impact on business sales.
If you are the internet or tech savvy then believe me this is one of the best profitable business ideas in India with least investment. There are numbers of people who know SEO, are making good bucks from this profession. All you need to learn about latest SEO techniques both On-page and Off-Page.
Read Also: 5 Things You Must Know About SEO Marketing
40. Sell Products on eCommerce Stores
Nowadays, people prefer to do online shopping. Even this trend is also increasing day by day in India. You can also sell your products online.
All you need is to visit and signup on eCommerce websites that will allow you to create your personal merchant account. Once created, add your product images and start selling your products online.
41. Grocery Shop / General Store
At local level, it is another one of the lucrative small business ideas in India. If you can invest around 50K, then you should start a small grocery / general store in your area. Starting this business will not require any specific skills. All you need is to start this business at small scale but once your sales increases, invest more to expand your startup business.
Check: Upcoming Business Ideas in India
42. Rental Services Business
Starting a rental services business is one of the best small business ideas in India where tourism is at its peak.
If you are living in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh or any other part of India where Tourists love to visit beautiful places; you can offer your vehicles and houses at rent. It is a good idea to start a business in India because you will only have to rent out your property to tourists.
Furthermore, you can also make good money by offering your tourist guide, ski instructions, and rock climbing services.
43. Start Water Filtration Plant
Do you know? 76.8 million Indian people don’t have access to safe drinking water (wall street Journal). It means, a majority of people living in our society is drinking polluted and unhealthy water that causes serious health issues. This is really a major problem exists in Indian society.
An entrepreneur always comes up with a unique solution that resolves the problems of the people. Believe it or not, it is one of the most profitable, sustainable and best small business ideas in India with low investment and high profit. In fact, it is one of new business ideas for Indian market. You can also pursue this new business in India with low capital. Start a water filtration plant, purify the unhealthy water and start delivering the fresh water to people.
44. Property Management Business
Starting a property management is a profitable business to start in India. For this business, you should have excellent sales and marketing skills to sell the property. It is a lucrative business idea because you will become an intermediate party and earn commission by both parties.
45. Taxi Services
People often need transport services at their doorsteps. Recently, UBER introduced its Smartphone application in India. Through this application, people can easily order the taxi online. If you have a car or rickshaw then why don’t you start this business? All you need is to sign up for UBER partnership program and boost your sales.
Related: 10 Business Ideas in India For Women
46. Starting a mobile food court business in your local area
You can also start a food business in India with small investment. In food business, there are various types of businesses you can start such as retailing, manufacturing, distribution and transportation of food.
Starting a small restaurant or food court is also a part of food business. To start a successful food business, you need to choose the right location and vehicle, food licensing and permit, relevant kitchen equipment and POS Software.
In India, the sale of junk food is also increasing day by day. So, it is another small business investment opportunity for you if you are interested in food business.
47. Jewelry Business
India is one of the largest jewelry importer as well as market in the world. Each year, jewelry and gems industry contribute a lot in the GDP of India.
It is important to highlight that the demand of gold in India is increasing day by day and also predicted that it will also increase in the future.
Currently, the Indian jewelry industry is estimated to have a market size of 5 Billion INR in 2018.
If you want to start a jewelry business in India, you can start different types of jewelry businesses such as
- Jewelry Retail Shops
- Jewelry Online Shops
- Trading of Gold
- Jewelry manufacturing
By the way, Jewelry making is the best business in India with respect to profitability.
48. Clothing Business
Clothing Business is another lucrative manufacturing business ideas in India you can start with low capital. Just like jewelry industry, the clothing industry is also booming in India. If you want to make investment in this niche, I recommend you to do a detailed market research and then invest your money.
49. Poultry Business
Starting a business which is related to basic needs of human beings, usually enjoy good return on investment. If you are interested in this business, there are several options you can think about. For instance, you can start a poultry farm, poultry distribution or retail shops.
50. Dairy Business Ideas in India
Dairy Business is one of the best small scale businesses in India. It is another necessity based business. Dairy products have great demand in India. All you need is to invest your money in this sector and enjoy good return on low investment.
51. Travel & Tourism Agency
In 2015 tourism census, Index Mundi ranked India at number 24. According to the report of World Travel & Tourism Council (2018), the direct contribution of travel and tourism to Indian GDP is INR 5,943 Billion which is equivalent to USD 91.3 Billion. It is also projected that the contribution of this sector will increase 7.6% in 2018. Similarly, the contribution of this sector will continuously rise by 7.1 per annum from 2018 to 2028.
Apart from contribution in GDP, this sector is also increasing employment in the country.
It means that the future of travel and tourism industry is bright. If you start your small business in this niche, then you may reap the rewards in future.
More Profitable Businesses in India With Small Capital
Apart from the aforementioned small business ideas in India with low investment, here are some other business ideas that require some investment, but they are also highly profitable business ideas.
52. Starting an Auto Spare Parts Shop
53. Parking Stands for vehicles near plazas and commercial malls
54. Starting a Restaurant is a best business to do in India.
55. Selling smartphone is the best ideas for small business in India.
56. Starting Medical or Pharmaceutical stores near hospitals.
57. Ridesharing is also a new innovative business idea in India for beginners.
58. Website rental business
Final Words
There are hundreds of other small business ideas in India that you can think and pursue with low capital. But starting a business needs some prior market research, proper business planning, Unique selling propositions and effective growth hacking strategies. Once you have these things, there will be more chances of success. Good Luck!
City Wise Business Ideas in India 2024
- Small Business Ideas in Mumbai India
- Best Small Business Ideas in Delhi
- Small Business Ideas in Chennai
Helpful Articles:
- 101+ New Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs
- 10 Most Profitable Small Businesses in 2024
- Top 10 Upcoming Business Ideas in India
- How to Start a Small Business in India
- How To Finance a Small Business
PS: Manufacturing business ideas in India will be shared soon.