60 Profitable Small Scale Business Ideas [with low investment]

Checking for Small Scale Business Ideas, then you are at right place. If you are fed up of sitting in a 6*6 cubicle and doing a 9 to 7 job, small-scale business is an ideal option for you. There are many young and dynamic aspirants who want to pursue their own business with very little investment. What is Small Scale Business means? What are the profitable small scale business ideas in India with low investment. This article would provide some of the small scale business to start with low or zero investments. 

Also Read: 50 Best Small Scale Manufacturing Business Ideas to start with low investment

What is small scale business?


There are various types of small businesses. It could be an enterprise or corporation which is characterized by the low initial investment, a small number of employees and low sales volume as compared to regular sized business or corporation. It is generally privately owned and mostly sole trader kind of business. One can choose business ideas on small scale from the short listed items. These small scale industries ideas are suitable to any one irrespective of education. You just need to have passion towards running the business.

Small Scale Business Ideas - Small Scale Start-up Ideas

50 Profitable Small Scale Business Ideas with low investment


Let us jump into some of the profitable small scale business list that can be started with a low investment. Remember, you need to select based on your interest and capital required. These are small scale business examples and there are plenty of those ideas.  Aspiring entrepreneurs can go through these Small Scale Business List and pick-up the one that is best suitable to them.

1) Lawn care and landscape design – it is much larger in scope than a gardener. Here, you can design the landscaping and types of plants to be planted. Many bungalow/ resort/ vacation house owners need such kind of services.

2) Yoga instructor – In today’s lifestyle, many of us believe there are several benefits of Yoga, hence yoga instructors are much in demand that can take care of the physical fitness of the people. You can start this business from home or can provide an on-the-door facility. You can even attain a degree for this first to achieve expertise and professionalism.

3) Game parlor – Kids love playing video-games with their friends and it is a good idea to open a game parlor in a residential area. You can buy devices like play-station, Xbox for this. It is a good profitable business that can be operated from home too.

4) Customized gifts – India is a country where all festivals and occasions are celebrated with zeal and vigor. People like to exchange gifts on all such events. You can encash this opportunity by providing them some unique, hand-made customized gift items. Since you need not locate in a city or urban area, this could be one of the best Small Scale Business Ideas in Village to start.

5) Online Ad service business – If you possess creative as well as technical knowledge, you can start with online Ad service business. You need advertisers and publishers for this business.

6) Food parlor – If you have a niche in cooking skills, you can always open a food parlor. Indians are fond of eating good food. The investment in this business is moderate and if it succeeds, the profit margin is quite high. You need some good chef, staff and suitable place for this.

7) Ice-cream and juice parlor – You can take an agency of some ice-cream company or start your own production of ice-creams. The location of the parlor and taste of the product is the biggest thing that matters in this case.

8) Tour and travel agency – As per Wikipedia, India tourism is expected to have annual growth of 9% and expected to reach $ 420 bn (Rs 32 Lakh Crores) by 2028. If you are fond of traveling to new places and have a good negotiating capacity, you can start the business of organizing tours for the people and earn a good margin in it.

9) Bakery shop – You can start your own bakery shop serving fresh cakes and biscuits. This business needs a very low investment. If you can serve some different variety to the people, it will be a big hit. This is one of the best small scale business in India.

10) Medical store – Initiating a medical store near some clinic and hospital is another good business idea. However, you need to obtain a license of the pharmacist in order to start a medical shop.

11) Cloth boutique – opening a boutique of unstitched clothes is a unique idea. You need to resource good materials from different places and organize in one store. Good quality and effective rates are the success mantra for this business. In the initial stage, you have to do good marketing too. This is one of the good small scale business ideas for ladies.

12) Advertising agency – In order to start this business, which type of advertising agency you want to run. You will be targeting print media or radio or hoarding etc. Create a prototype and start working on it.

13) Internet service provider – Usage of internet is growing with the jet speed in India. If you are techno-savvy with good technical knowledge, you can start your own Internet Service Provider business.

14) Mobile shop – The smartphones are driving people crazy these days. They are changing their phones very frequently. You can take an agency of any mobile company. This is one of the top small scale business in India now.

15) Toy shop – A small toy shop near a residential area is a very good business idea which requires very limited capital. Keep some unique and different toys to make the business a successful one.

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16)  Seasonal business – India is a land of festivals and with every festival comes a different need. You can run a seasonal business like crackers at Diwali, Rakhi at Rakshabandhan, etc. This is one of the best small scale business at home.

17) Placement agency – If there is a corporate culture in your city; you can always open a placement agency that assists the company in recruiting the manpower. You act as a mediator between the recruiting company and the prospective employee. This is one of the good small scale business ideas in India where huge human resources available.

18) Chocolate making – Chocolates are in demand at all occasions. You can make customized chocolates in a lot of variety as per the needs of the clients.  This is one of the best small scale industries ideas if you are chocolate lover.

19) Hobby center – You can start your own hobby center which offers various hobby classes like music, drama, craft, etc. The profit margin is quite high in this business if you can offer some exclusive and quality thing. One should start such business only if they are passionate about it.

20) Make-up saloon – You can open a saloon that offers only make-up services for parties and weddings. You need to obtain proper training and certificate before starting this business. There are several companies that are franchise too which can be useful if you cannot set-up your own make-up saloon (e.g. Lakme Saloon). This could be one of the best small scale business ideas for ladies.

21) Blogging – Blogging is a sure shot home based business idea which requires very little investment. You need to undergo a proper course of writing skills and possess technical knowledge about it. You can start this as one of the good small scale business ideas at home. You can try this if you are looking for Small Scale Business Ideas in Village.

22) Photography – If you are too good at photography or it is your passion, you can always take it as your business. You need to invest a bit in high-definition camera. You can take professional training for this.

23) Provision store – Opening a provision store in a residential area is always a good business idea. You have to be very vigilant and opportunist in this business who is smart at keeping things in the store to maximize the profit. If you can offer discounts, free home delivery etc., this could turn into high profitable small scale business in no time.

24) Custom gift-making – The trend of giving customized gifts is increasing nowadays. You can take this business by providing customized gifts to the customers like purses, bags, napkins, etc. This business can be done online also.

25) Placement services – One can earn commission by providing manpower to the companies and industries. This low investment business is quite successful in corporate cities.

26) Wedding planner – If you have good managerial and creative skills, a wedding planner business can be a good choice. It requires a lot of team effort and constant endeavors to make this business successful.

27) Real estate agency – Real estate agency is a great small scale business idea for unorganized sector. You need to have good social contacts and details about properties for being successful in this business.

28) Babysitting – With both the partners working, the concept of babysitting is a hot business idea. The working couples need some friendly, hygienic and responsible place to leave their young ones. If you love kids, babysitting could be a wonder small business idea to start.

29) Food supply – Homemade food and tiffin center is a very good small scale business idea. You may offer home delivery or office delivery service to customers. Consistent good taste and quality food is the key ingredients this business. Since Indian are food lovers, this would one of the good business ideas in India for beginners.

30) Marriage bureau – You need to be soft-spoken with the good social circle for this business of marriage bureau. It is a good low investment business where you can nurture good profits through social contacts. This could be one of the good small scale business ideas for ladies.

31) Seasonal business – With the variation in seasons, changes the food habits of people like eating dry fruits in winters and ice-creams in summer.  You can arrange for a shop that keeps all the seasonal items. They are always in great demand and it is low investment business in India.

32) Funeral services – the job of a funeral service provider is to help in making decisions with the relatives about the last rituals. They also arrange for all the materials required in the funeral rituals.

33) Organic farming – Organic farming is catching up in India as Indians are becoming more and more health conscious. If you have a spare piece of land, you can always use it for producing fruits, vegetables, and cereals that are organic in nature. If you think of growing a small business to large corporate, organic farming could be a new small scale business idea to start. This is one of the good Small Scale Business Ideas in Village.

34) Ethnic food service – With the growing westernization of the culture, the ethnic food is getting extinct and very few people can cook authentic ethnic food. If you have that culinary art, you can always start an ethnic food shop that delivers only ethnic food.

35) Pregnant lady exercise class – This business is getting in trend day by day where you make the pregnant ladies do specific exercises which are best for their health. You need to get trained before starting it.

36) Antique business – If you can arrange for some antique furniture and articles, you can open a small shop of it. You can even organize an auction. It is a luxurious segment and finding buyers is not an easy task but it is highly profitable.

37) Hot air balloon or boat ride services – These business ideas come in the adventure games category. It demands a good investment and skilled manpower staff and also in specific locations only.

38) Chatbot services – A chatbot is a next-generation business. In this, you are required to build bots as per requirements. It requires a lot of technical skill and expertise. The investment requirement is quite low.

39) Mobile garage services – This is a new business idea in which a mobile garage-van is made available at call with all the necessary tools and repairer because generally cars break down on highways where there is no garage service available.  Since people are willing to pay more money for such services, this small scale business idea can turn into wonder business if there is quality service.

40) Spoken English coaching classes – English is a globally recognized language. If you are fluent in speaking English, it is a popular home-based business idea where the investment requirement is quite low and profit margins are high.

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41) Insurance Agent – In this business, you need to sell insurance policies and earn commission on it. You should possess good communication skills and convincing power to be successful in this business. This comes with almost zero investment. It is one of the small profitable business ideas now.

42) Party planner – Throwing a party on occasions, whether big or small is a common scenario these days. You can become a party planner that arranges everything in the party for the host. You need to have good planning and managerial skills for this business. This is one of the good small scale business ideas in India.

43) Fitness trainer – Fitness trainers are in high demand these days.  If you are a fitness-freak and love doing exercises, you can become a fitness trainer and before you need to obtain a certificate from some recognized institute.

44) Accounting and record keeping – Every business needs to maintain its financial records. If you are from the accounting field and possess the knowledge of various accounting software, you can always do this business. You can even take some initial training for it.

45) Soap making – It is one of the simple business ideas on small scale to start, where you have to establish a small scale industry of manufacturing soaps. For this, you may require soap molds and raw material.

46) Scented sticks making – Scented sticks are always in demand. There are ready machines available for making scented sticks. You just need knowledge of manufacturing and marketing. It is one of the good small scale industry ideas to start with little money.

47) Aquarium shop – Aquarium is a low-cost business idea. It is very common to keep fish tanks and aquarium at homes. It is very good for vastu also apart from giving pleasant experience and peace.

48) Health club – Day by day people are becoming health conscious. Initiating a health club is one of the most profitable business ideas of modern times. People are willing to spend handsome money on their fitness. The chances of getting success in this business are quite high but it requires a bit of investment and a suitable place to open a gym.

49) Packaged drinking water – In recent study in 2019, there is severe water scarcity all over India. This situation could be commong across the world. Bottled drinking water in much in demand not only in parties and weddings but also at home. This is due to an increase in health awareness. However, it requires heavy investment for establishing water filtering and packaging of drinking water. There are few government compliances also that need to be fulfilled before opening it.

50)  Dial a plumber: This can be started as small scale business but can be turned into high profitable business idea. Here, there would be dial-in number. Who ever need plumber services they would call this number and take the services. There would be service charge based on price list. Due to scarcity of plumbers, this business idea can florish for medium to long term. If you are thinking about upcoming business ideas in India, you can consider this business idea.

10 Small Scale Business Ideas at Home

Here are the 15 small-scale business ideas that you can start from home:

51) Handmade Crafts: Create and sell handmade crafts such as jewelry, candles, or home decor items.
Graphic Design: Offer graphic design services for businesses, including designing logos, social media graphics, and brochures.

52) Personalized Gifts: Create personalized gifts like customized mugs, T-shirts, or photo albums.
Online Tutoring: Teach subjects you’re knowledgeable in through online tutoring platforms or by creating your own courses.

53) Freelance Writing: Provide content writing services for blogs, websites, or marketing materials.

54) Social Media Management: Help businesses manage their social media accounts, create content, and engage with their audience.

55) Home Baking: Start a home-based bakery and offer delicious baked goods to your local community.

56) Home-Based Salon: Start a home salon and offer services like hairstyling, manicures, or facials.

57) Virtual Event Planner: Help individuals and businesses plan and organize virtual events, such as webinars, conferences, or workshops.

58) Online Coaching: Offer coaching services in areas like life coaching, career coaching, or health and wellness coaching.

59) Website Design: Build and design websites for individuals or small businesses looking to establish their online presence.

60) Online Reselling: Source and resell products online through platforms like eBay, Amazon, or Etsy.

I hope you would have got some list of ideas for business ideas on small scale indicated above. Once you short list an idea, you can plan on how to start a small scale start-up business there-after.

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Suresh KP

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