Brilliant Business Ideas with Low Investment!

A lot of youngsters are already tired of going for a 9-5 job and are looking for options elsewhere. And, the older generation who no longer want to simply sit at home, watching television, are also searching for better ways to engage themselves in something constructive. However, to start a business from scratch, a huge sum of initial capital is imperative. This is a problem in case of both our youngster and the old person. I myself have been wondering of how I could start my own venture but without investing a lot. So on doing some quality research, I came up with the following ideas that don't require too much of effort on the monetary front.

Sow the seeds of your own small business!

1. Consultancy: 
I am sure this is the first thing that crossed your mind when you thought about starting something on your own. But a lot of people get stuck at just the thought and often don't know how to move forward with this idea. All you need to do is first identify your domain of expertise in which you will be offering your consultation. Next is to tap all the contacts that you have made in life so far. You never know who would offer you a helping hand. So clear out all your inhibitions and get into business. Initiate a casual and friendly proposal to those who belong to your connection of friends and relatives. For those who belong to your professional connection, opt for a more formal approach wherein you mention details like costing, benefits, needs and other advantages of hiring you as their consultant. Follow-up regularly and incessantly. Remember, you need their business more than they need you. You could offer your services in the financial sector, matrimonial services, digital marketing or even website hygiene.

2. Content Writing:
If you are truly passionate about writing and can offer your services as an ace content writer, then don't even think about anything else. Content is the key to success these days. Be an important contributor to that success.

3. Mobile Food Court:
Do you love food and own a car of your own? Then you need nothing much but a small induction gas stove that you can use to cook yummy dishes and set up a mini-restaurant in your car itself. Give yourself a fancy name, create social handles that have the potential to go viral and there you are - the perfect recipe of Success!

4. Customized Gift Store:
Birthdays and Anniversaries can and will never go extinct. The demand of these days being celebrated will only increase over the coming years and never get depleted. If you think you have the skills to create something really interesting and creative that could serve as a personalized gift to someone special, then start your own store that can run from your humble abode itself.

5. Blogging:
Have you ever wondered if blogging about your favorite hobby could fetch you any income? Oh yes, it can! You could blog about traveling, cooking, eating, dancing, dressing up or even shopping and earn money for writing well. Explore more here.

6. App Creation:
Are you crazy about mobiles and have a kick-ass concept to create a mobile application? Then go ahead and just employ a freelancer to build your app based on your idea and design. Register the app and start seeing your bank balance grow!

7. Wholesale Reselling:
Go to a local market where you can purchase items in bulk at reasonable rates and resell this in retail market with a dash of creativity from your end. Go on and pick any item of your choice. It could be dresses, jewelry or accessories like bags and shoes. Give it an innovative touch like exquisite designs, pairing it with something else interesting that only you could offer and there you go!

8. Selling Your Art-form:
Are you a great artist? A graceful dancer? Or a soulful singer? Whoever you are, simply start your own channel on YouTube or create your own site and teach your art-form to the masses who are just as passionate as you are. Start an online tutorial service for a subscription fee and make money for each course that you chalk out. If you are not sure about doing it yourself, you have popular websites where you can get listed and become famous!

Now that you have a fair idea about all the avenues out there in the market, take your pick and start your venture! Here's wishing you all the luck and success :)

Hacks for homemakers to make money from home!

A homemaker, be it a male or female member of the house, is the true pillar of the family as he/she holds the house together with respect to innumerable tasks. You may be a new mother, a new wife, a person who's been asked to take rest at home for medical reasons or simply a homemaker by choice/customs. However, a lot of times, they too feel the need to live their passion, make some money and feel independent. Why not? They have every right to live their dream and feel content and a sense of accomplishment. So, for those who want to experience this feeling but don't know where to start, here are a few starting points that could help you discover your passion.

1. Cook some more food!

You may already be cooking for your family and receiving compliments for your variety and taste. Why not take this further and start your own catering service from home where you can pack small portions of your most popular dishes and sell them to your friends and neighbors? You can either wait for the word to spread through word of mouth or get listed on a famous site offering essential services to your locality.

2. Blog your way to success

If you are passionate about something and love to write, then start your own blog. All you need is a fancy name for the blog and a domain (you could go for the free version on Blogger or WordPress for starters and later upgrade it if necessary). You could blog about food, art, travel, fashion, or anything random under the sun. Enroll for Ad-sense program on Google to make some money. You could also create your own YouTube channel if you are a video person and can present good videos to the world!

3. Sell your stuff online

There are plenty of websites today that offer a free platform to people who are interested in selling their work online. Be it paintings, jewelry, handbags, pickles, antique stones or your own book, you will find a site that is willing to sell your stuff!

4. Conduct exhibitions at home

Take your friend or spouse along with you on a weekend to a wholesaler and purchase items in bulk. They could be saris, jewelry, handicraft items or even unique toys. Make an announcement to your friends and their friends through Facebook/WhatsApp and display everything at home with a profitable margin attached to the price tag of each item on a convenient weekend. 

5. Teach a skill of your choice

You may choose to teach online or at home. Select a skill that you believe you are the best at - dancing, singing, painting, academic subjects, yoga or even baking. Spread your knowledge for a fee that the skill deserves.

6. Go green with gardening

Cultivate a garden in your terrace/backyard with a variety of plants. Grow them to an extent from where others will feel comfortable and convenient to take care of. Sell it off for a good price and encourage the community to go Eco-friendly!

12 silly things you could save money on every month!

We all have a monthly budget around which we plan all our finances. And at the end of every month, we always end up analyzing how we lost all that money. I am no exception to this list and as a normal human being, I too started analyzing how much extra I was spending and where I could save some money. You just won't believe my findings. I was shocked to realize how much I was wasting on really silly things that could be well avoided. So here are some things that you could do differently to keep your bank balance happy!

1. Water bottles

Is it so difficult to carry a bottle of water in your handbag/backpack? Each time you purchase a bottle of water from the store, you end up spending 20/- Just imagine if you did this 5 times a week. 

2. Fancy coffee

Do you really need a super tall glass of coffee loaded with chocolate and cream and cookies and what not? All you really need is a hot cup of filter coffee that will wake you up and keep you active throughout the day. Glamorous coffees cost a bomb and yes, along with all those ingredients, it is also loaded with high calories.

3. Carry bags

How many of us have a collection of shopping bags stacked in our houses that are worthy enough to be displayed at a museum? Most of them are bags from supermarkets where we do our monthly shopping. Each bag costs nothing less than 7/- It is wiser for you to take some bags along with you when you decide to go shopping. This way, you would not only save some money but also help the environment by not collecting more plastic at home.

4. Share your cab

Why pay the whole amount when you can share it with a travel companion. You not just save money, but also get a travel buddy to chat with if he/she is interesting. If not, then you still save money.

5. Carpool

If you drive your own machine to work, you could look for options to share fuel cost with other co-workers who could travel with you in your car.

6. Public transport

If your house/office is connected through public transport, then why not use it? It's cheaper and faster most of the times.

7. Imprudent shopping

If you're a shopaholic, then you need some rehabilitation for sure. Don't shop unnecessarily. Only buy what you need. You could really forgo a Gucci purse and take a lesser priced variant that would still serve your purpose of carrying cash and cards.

8. Save electricity

Do you switch off lights and fans when you walk out of any room? Ensure that you do, because these simple practices could save a lot in future.

9. Credit Card payment

Did you know that by not paying your credit card bill entirely, you are losing credit points along with an increased interest rate that gets levied on you? You could easily avoid that by paying the whole amount before the prescribed due date.

10. ATM cash withdrawal

Each time you withdraw money at the ATM with your debit card, you incur an additional fee. Plan your finances well in advance and make minimum trips to the ATM.

11. Bill payments

Make sure that you pay your telephone, electricity and other bills on time to not incur an additional delayed payment charge.

12. TV channels

You all must be paying a huge sum on internet connection that offers great speed and connectivity by now. Why not connect your smart TV on WIFI and watch your favorite shows on Hotstar or any other similar app, rather than paying extra money on every channel?

Well, there's my list. I practiced most of these points and found a major difference in my savings. Go ahead and try them yourself to know how well it could work for you!

The Ultimate Guide to Avoid Credit Card Frauds

Credit card scams and thefts have suddenly risen in the West and is trickling down to other countries as well. It is not possible to always avoid something like this from happening, but it is in your hands to provide some resistance to this activity and buy yourself some time to stay protected. We thought of jotting down a few tips and tricks that would prove useful to anyone and everyone.

1. Put your credit cards in a safe place
Ensure that all your electronic cards are safely kept in a wallet or pouch and keep this close to your body making it difficult for thieves to access them. Do not keep them in the back pockets of your loose and low-waist denims or shirt pockets. All the ladies out there, make sure your purse is properly zipped and is in a secure place. Also, carry only a couple of cards at a time. Do not carry unnecessary ones all the time. Keep them in a safe vault at home. Another important thing to note is that you must not leave your card exposed to the public eyes for a long time. After your transaction is done at the mall, immediately put the card inside your wallet.

2. Shred all your credit card statements from time to time
Crooks often dig garbage cans for scrunched up credit card statements and make use of your billing information to somehow make a transaction. So, check that all papers carrying any account/credit card information is shredded to pieces before it reaches the dump.

3. Never sign credit card statements without checking
Always make it a point to see the amount of your transaction before signing the receipt. Zero may not have a value before any digit but when the same zero is added after a digit, it makes a huge difference.

4. DO NOT share your credit card details
You may receive a call from a fraudster posing to be from your bank, or get an email from a scamster who claims he's your personal financial counselor. In any situation, never ever share your account details. Even during online shopping, opt for "Cash on Delivery" whenever possible, else make sure the payment gateway is authentic and popular. And yes, always ensure that you do not share your credit card information with friends or relatives whom you trust via SMS or WhatsApp. Everything on cloud is having the provision of backup. Stay alert and smartly share your details using a pre-determined code of some sort.

5. Immediately report loss or theft of credit card
The minute you realize that your credit card is missing, without losing a second, call up your bank and report its loss. This way you will block your card earlier and not give the fraudster enough time to make a transaction.

6. Check your monthly billing statements thoroughly
Verify each and every transaction reflecting in your billing statement. In case you identify any unauthorized charges, immediately inform your bank about it and get it sorted.

7. Set super strong passwords for your cards
You may be an impulsive online shopper, saving your card details with different websites like Amazon, Shoppers, etc. Be assured that you have set really tough passwords that would even make James Bond crazy!

8. Be aware of skimmers at gas stations and ATM booths
A lot of rogues place skimmers onto the credit card readers that will store details of your card for these guys to come later and retrieve that information. Check properly that these readers are devoid of such malicious instruments.

As they say, prevention is always better than cure; it is indeed better to stay alert by keeping in mind simple things that can help you stay secure and protected from such scams. Hope this information is useful and helps you stay safe in the digital world!

In case you have some more brilliant tips that you could share with our readers, please feel free to mention them in the comments below.