Hot business ideas await being put into practice

This enthusiasm for information technology is shared by many. Says R K Gupta, managing director, SBP Consultants & Engineers Pvt Ltd., "India has a huge pool of computer-skilled manpower. All over the world, softwarebusiness is growing in leaps and bounds." The same can happen in India.

Says Gagandeep Singh, a business consultant, "Information technology is the field which professionally qualified people should enter into. With more and more corporates recognising the fact that the Internet can help them in business, and with big companies going for the Intranet, there is a lot of scope for enterprising young people. It is already booming in the West. Intranet designing and consultancy are the hot areas, as is providing hardware maintenance."

What makes the computer field a lucrative proposition? Says Vinod Gupta, director, National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, "It involves innovative technologies. With mechanisation and automation becoming part of our lives, computers have a lot of potential."The investment involved is not much. "It is the leading edge of technology that matters; it has happened all over the world; it’ll happen in India," says Kumar. Another hot business idea couldbe the digitising of maps. "My recommendation to young engineers would be that they should gain two or three years’ work experience in a company before becoming an entrepreneur. If one has a family business, and one has some exposure of it, one can directly enter into business," says Kumar.

Vinod Gupta feels that processed food could be another fast-growing business. "The market conditions are most conducive for the growth of the processed food business. Though there is competition in the market, it hardly affects a new entrant as the demand is rising faster."

Anil Bhardwaj, secretary-general, Federation of Indian Micro & Small Enterprises, couldn’t agree more. He says, "The food business is an area in which an entrepreneur can try his luck. A lot of concept-selling is involved in it. If one can convince the people in a locality that the vegetables sold to them were fresh and were grown without the use of chemical fertilisers, they might be willing to pay a little more. It’s the medium sector which canseize various opportunities."

As specialisation is growing within the service sector, localised services have immense potential. For instance, one can provide lunch packets to companies. Or take the contract of looking after plants in an office. "The good thing about such services is that one doesn’t need much expertise or money to begin with," says Bhardwaj. "One can expand whenever there is an opportunity. But one thing is there: some fixed percentage of the revenue should regularly go into building the venture capital. The gestation period, too, is not something an entrepreneur would worry about."

Like Bhardwaj, Singh also feels that the service sector will attract more entrepreneurs. "There are many opportunities in fields like tourism, hotel management and getting franchise for running a restaurant. In such businesses, professional qualification is not essential. Investment varies with the business. Further, getting a franchise of or becoming a DSA (direct selling associate) or DMA (direct marketingassociate) of a foreign company is another avenue worth exploring."

All over the world, a number of products and services are being outsourced by big companies. Says Singh, "What an entrepreneur has to do is look for opportunities. I know a chap who did a course in hotel management and then worked for a five-star hotel; after that, he started providing lunch packets to offices. Now, he is doing good business."

There are many other fast-growing businesses in the service sector. They include communication centres, furniture, white goods, auto garage, health centres, leisure resorts, travel services and coaching centres. "Some of these businesses can be started with Rs 10,000. The gestation period varies from three months to two years. The entrepreneur should have sound knowledge about the business, risk-taking capacity, proper family background, positive outlook and inter-personal skills. Besides, he should have the motivation to excel, perseverance, maturity, seriousness and dynamism."

To the list in theservice sector, R K Gupta adds video arcades. "Such arcades are becoming popular with the concept of virtual reality stimulated games. A snacks corner can also be attached to the video arcade. The cost required is Rs 20 lakh and the gestation period is one year." Recycling of wastes is going to be another good business for small and medium enterprises. This is already a big business in developed countries. As consumption levels have increased conspicuously in the last few years, so has the waste. Not only that, many things which earlier had no use can now be recycled. "With the rise in environmental awareness and availability of technical know-how, the recycling business has become viable," says Bhardwaj.

The investment is much less as compared to that in the manufacturing sector. Besides, the gestation period is low. However, both vary with the type and the size of the unit.

The entrepreneur should have daring and consistency as he might be treading the untrodden path. Another essential ingredient isthat he must keep his eyes and ears open, lest any development pass him by; he should know what is the latest in recycling technology. For, "what is important in this sector is not how much finance you can boast of or how much marketshare you have but what is your information share," says Bhardwaj.

Similarly, environment-related products like air-purifiers also have a good future. Concept-selling is the name of the game.

Another hit business idea could be system engineering. "A system engineer studies a plant and prepares a project report, e.g., the temperature control system in refineries," says Kumar. "No hardware is required; investment is not much. The only value-addition is technical knowledge. Companies like Siemens go for system engineering. One person can start providing this service, but it would be better if two or three engineers are in the business, because often know-how from more than one discipline is required." In this line, the entrepreneur should have a lot of self-confidence; he shouldbe sure that he would be able to sustain himself.

There are many other exciting ideas. R K Gupta feels that there is a lot of scope in packaging, mineral water, thermoform disposable wares, agro-shade nets, bottles and jars. "With even traditional items like spices and flour being sold in packages, the packaging business is bound to grow. The investment varies form Rs 30,000 to Rs 10 lakh and the gestation period is two years," says R K Gupta. What is required is flexible packaging film and semi-skilled labour.

Potable water has become scarce and people have become health conscious. Hence, the popularity of mineral water, though "the mineral water bottle has also become a status symbol at conventions." Investment is a bit higherbetween Rs 30 lakh to Rs 35 lakh. The gestation period is two years. Semi-skilled manpower suffices. Thermoform disposal wares and bottles and jars have a huge, growing demand. Investment required is between Rs 60 lakh to Rs 80 lakh. The break-even time is 18 months.

Agro-shadenets could be manufactured and marketed for horticulture and weather-sensitive crops. In this case, investment is on a higher side, Rs 2 crore and the gestation period is two years.

There are many other exciting business opportunities as well. What is needed, feel experts, is the right attitude and the urge to excel.