37 Profitable Business Ideas With Good Return on Investment

Everything you see in this world or every business, no matter how big it is now, was once just an idea in someone’s mind until someone came along and turned it into reality. The most innovative businesses like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc were all born out of ideas and experiments.

You might be looking for a profitable business but that’s not how it works. A profitable business is not just sitting back, planning, and chasing money, it is about jumping in the middle of things, getting your hands dirty, and overcoming whatever challenge comes your way. I mean No business is profitable until you are passionate about it. That’s why Paul J. Meyer once said –
“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon… must inevitably come to pass! “

Most Profitable and Realistic Business Ideas

Here are the 37 Most Profitable and Realistic Business Ideas with low to high investment requirements for everyone who wants to take a financial risk for making a profit-

1. EV Charging Station

We don’t see many electric vehicles on the streets in India but EV Charging stations are going to be crucial in the future as electric mobility is getting its pace. Electric vehicles are already selling like hotcakes in the Countries like Norway, Netherland, UK, USA, and Germany. Setting up a charging station in India now does not even need a separate license under the electricity act of 2003 and charging batteries of vehicles are categorized under a service. Finding the right place for setting up an EV charging station is very important. There are going to be around 6 to 7 Million hybrid and electric vehicles in India by 2020.

2. Blogging

There is something for everyone on the internet. Whatever skill you possess, you can write about it on your blog and get paid for it. No matter what you write about like marketing, farming, internet, home improvement, selling/buying, or anything you can think of if people find it valuable/helpful, you will definitely make money out of it.

5 basic steps you need to follow to start your own blog and make a profit are – Setup Your Blog, Start Writing Useful Articles, Promote Your Content, Engage with Your Readers and Turn Traffic Into Money.

• How to Start a Blog and Make Money
• 31 Ways You Can Make Money With A Website

Most people do 2 things to make money out of a blog – Advertising and Affiliate marketing. This means you make money when people see/clicks ads on your blog or buy something from your affiliate links. It’s hard to give a certain number of how much money you would make but it will always depend upon how many visitors visit your blog and how well you use your visitors/monetize your blog.

3. Buying/Selling Digital Properties

By digital properties, I mean websites/apps and domain names. Auction Websites like Flippa.com allows you to buy/sell websites and domain names. You can select a website according to your interest, add some new content, get a new design, promote a bit, find a buyer and sell it at a higher price.  It’s like buying old stuff at a cheap price, repairing them, and selling them at a higher price.

4. Tuition Center

Some things never go out of fashion like Education, Food, etc. Indian parents are obsessed with private coaching for their children. You will need to get top-class faculty and pay them well initially.

Location plays a great role in the success of a coaching center. A center surrounded by schools, colleges, and other coaching centers is more likely to flourish. You can’t set up your business too far from the hotspot at least until you are popular.

5. Play School/ Pre-School Franchise

Kindergarten/Preschool/Playschool is an educational center where children(age group – 2 to 5) learn a lot of things while playing before they can go to primary school. This is considered one of the best businesses for women in the education sector because women are great while dealing with children.

The Good thing is that you don’t need to worry about reputation, marketing, and other such aspects of school that a new business takes years to build. EuroKids International Pvt. Ltd., WONDER KIDZ “THE CONCEPT SCHOOL”, WOW KIDS PRESCHOOL are some examples of preschool franchises in India.

A Pre-School Franchise typically costs Rs. 2 Lakhs to Rs. 20 Lakhs(covers setup cost, brand fee, and training fee) and requires 150 Sq. Feet to 3000 Sq. Feet area with no objection certificate from society. Playschool franchises typically support staff training, branding, IT Support, Marketing, Promotional materials, etc and you can expect a 50% to 70% profit margin.

6. Real Estate Flipping

Buying a property(in bad shape) at a low price, fixing it(repairs and renovations), and selling it at a high price is another profitable business. Few types of renovations such as changing floor plans, adding bathrooms or bedrooms, etc that make a house more functional can increase the demand and price of the house significantly. Another way to enter in Real Estate business is simply buying land at a location that is going to be a famous spot in the future. In my opinion, the land is something that does not depreciate in value in the long run.

7. E-Waste Recycling

E-waste or Electronic waste is discarded electronics items (such as phones, TV, batteries, Computers, etc) that have always been a big concern for governments. The world is going to be full of electronics stuff in the future, so E-waste recycling can be a lucrative business idea. Electric Vehicles are probably not as eco-friendly as you might think. With the rise of electric cars, there will be more batteries that need to be disposed of. So Battery disposal service can be another good business idea in the future.

8. Medical Store/ Retail Pharmacy

One of the easiest businesses to enter in the healthcare industry. Medical stores earn huge money. This is what One of my relatives working in the industry says. You deal with medicines so, of course, you need to fulfill the special requirements to start a medical shop. There are certain rules and regulations a medical store must abide by.

Like in India, the owner or one of the employees must have a degree in B Pharma/ M Pharma, and the sale of drugs should be made in presence of a pharmacist. Try to get a location either in the vicinity of hospitals or where there are no competitors. Network with doctors/hospitals to increase customer base.

9. Integrated Organic Farming

There are some farmers across India who are making more than Rs. 5 lakhs per hectare every year by adopting integrated organic farming. Integrated Organic Farming is doing Livestock, fish farming, and Regular Farming together. All the 3 actually support each other. It’s something like a waste of one industry and can be a raw material for another. All activities like Dairy, biogas, composting, and water harvesting is done together and is linked to each other in some way.

For example – Cow manure is used for biogas production, gas produced is used in the kitchen as well as to run various machines like fodder-cutting machines, and waste from plants is used for composting. It becomes a cycle and nothing goes waste. You can add mushroom/ginger/capsicum farming and beekeeping for more profit.

10. Medical Laboratory

Starting a Medical/Pathological lab is another lucrative business idea in the healthcare industry. There are already big brands like Dr. Lal PathLabs, Apollo Diagnostics, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, etc which are offering franchises to willing and qualified persons. The initial investment for most Pathological franchises varies from 2 Lakhs to 10 Lakhs Rupees and you can recover the capital cost in 1 to 3 years with a usual ROI of 25% to 100%.

There are hospitals too that offer vacant space for labs inside the hospital. You will have to buy your own machinery and equipment. The hospital owner/doctor usually keeps 40 to 60 percent of the total income of the lab.

11. Motorcycle Repairing Shop

3 Brothers run a motorcycle repair shop in my area and they make around 5k to 10K Rupees every day. How do they do it? Well, their shop is the oldest and most reputed shop in the region. They are hardworking and expert people. And most importantly, motorcycles are now household things so they never run out of customers. The profit Margin for 2-wheeler spare parts is good.

12. Juice Bar

I recently bought sweet limes from two different places. The price difference was amazingly high. At a regular shop, the price was 50 per KG while at mandi it was 22 Per kG(although I bought 20kg in one go). I think it can be even cheaper in bulk for regular buyers. Juice corners according to my calculations make at least 20% to 40% profit on every glass of juice after all the expenses like electricity, rent of the shop, the salary of employees, etc. Opening a juice bar is undoubtedly a profitable and lucrative business idea.

13. Hair Salon

A moderately busy Hair salon with 2 seats can make around INR 20k to 30k per month in a moderately populated area in India. Several factors like the location of the shop, quality of service, the population of the area, etc will affect the profit. But the good thing about this business is that you never run out of customers. The initial investment is low. INR 50 to INR 100000 will be sufficient to start a shop depending on several factors. When selecting a shop for rent, go for road facing shop having a residential area nearby.

14. Paying Guest

Students and working professionals are increasing day by day and they need space to live. Converting a house or your apartments for rent in Indianapolis in into Paying for Guest Accommodation or renting vacant rooms out can be a great way to make monthly rental income.  A PG located within a walking distance of colleges, hospitals, and universities is more likely to be occupied all the time and have high earning potential.

In India, If you convert your house into PG, it no longer remains a domestic space and will be considered a commercial property. So all the bills such as electricity are paid at commercial rates. In the same way, Every country or city might have different rules. So make sure you don’t ignore legal stuff before starting a PG business.

15. Online Tutoring

The recent pandemic has transformed the education industry. Online tutoring is in demand more than ever. There are numerous online tutoring websites where you can register and get paid for teaching online from home. Help students do their homework, complete their projects, and solve their doubts and you can typically make $10 to $50 per hour depending upon various factors. Good English and great command on your subject are mandatory.

• 15 Best Online Tutoring Sites For Teachers. Get Paid to Teach Online

16. Youtube

Want to make Tea? Search on youtube and you will find hundreds of recipes/tutorials. Why would someone upload such a recipe on youtube? The reason is simple. We see advertisements in between watching the video and this makes them some money. You can do the same to make money. In most cases, making videos does not cost anything. Make some tutorials or videos of whatever talent you have and upload them on youtube.

Once your channel has 1000+ subscribers and 4000 watch hours in the last 12 months, apply for monetization. Adsense will definitely approve your application if your channel has unique and useful content. That’s it. Once monetization is on, ads will start appearing to viewers, and accumulated money will to sent to your bank account on 21th to 26th day of every month if the total earnings at the end of last month crossed the $100 mark. To get an idea of earning, 1000 views from Asian countries will bring around $1 to you.

• How to Make Money on Youtube

17. Spirulina Farming

Conventional farming can not feed the world. Here is the Good news for those who want to do something new even if they have a very short area of land. According to what I have seen, 1 acre of land can earn you around 2 lakh every month. The world’s first superfood Spirulina is one of the most nutrient(loaded with Protein and antioxidants) food on the planet. It’s in demand because of its medicinal value and this is why you can sell it at good rates.

Spirulina cultivation can be done in ponds, basins, tanks, and pools filled with alkaline water outdoors or indoors under certain climatic conditions. The ideal temperature is 25 to 38 degrees. Sunlight is mandatory. Certain minerals are added to water to generate optimal conditions ensuring the growth of spirulina. Spirulina becomes ready for harvesting in 14 to 21 days. Racks can be used to filter/dry it. Spirulina powder is sent to a lab for testing and 1 KG powder of it is sold for 1000 Rupees in the market.

It’s new, investment is low, and demand is high so it’s a profitable business anyone can do. There are certain places you can go for training. 1 Week of training will be sufficient to start things on your own.

18. Content Writing Business

Content writing is filled with money, you just need to tap in the right way. The web can not run without content. Content has always been the king for bloggers. There are people/organizations looking for great writers. You can make a team of writers or start writing your own for different websites. A website about your services will be very helpful to promote and sell your writing skills. Fix prices and stick to them. Market yourself and grow your network.  You can also find your client on freelancing websites like freelancers.com, guru.com, Fiverr, etc.

• 50 Best Websites That Pay To Write Articles

19. Develop a Mobile App

If you have a great idea in your mind that you think people would love, you can create an app around it. You will require little or no money if you are skilled enough to build it on your own otherwise get your app developed by some app developer. You can Explain your ideas to your friends/family members, they might support you financially if they love your idea. Once you have your own app on the play store, there are various ways you can monetize it and make money even while you are sleeping.

20. Web Development

It’s becoming hard to survive for any business without an online presence now. Every business needs a website. The reason is very obvious. A website increases sales by converting its visitors into customers. You can help businesses by starting to develop websites for them. You can make your own web development company or start working as a freelancer web developer on freelancing websites like guru.com or freelancers.com. Keep improving your coding skills and stay in touch with the latest trends in the web development world.

• Top 20 Ways To Make Money Online Without Investment

21. Slipper Making Business

Slippers are household things always in demand. Let me explain how the slipper-making business is profitable. You basically need 3 machines –

• Sole Cutting Machine to cut rubber sheets in different shapes and sizes,
• Sole Printing machine to print the company name, the size of slippers and
• Grinding/Finishing machine to make edges and rough areas of slipper smooth.

The cost of all the machines required in the slipper-making business should be around INR 150000. The Major 2 raw materials are rubber sheets (INR 300 to INR 600 Per sheet) and strips (INR 5 per strip). The manufacturing process is simple. Cut the sheet to the desired size with a sole-cutting machine, print the sole, fix the strap, and finish the rough part.

With these machinery and raw materials, one can make around 500 Pairs of slippers on a typical day with a manufacturing cost of 20-40 Rupees per pair. You can sell them in bulk at the rate of 40-60 Per Pair making 20-30 Rupees profit. In this way, a small setup can earn you INR 20000-30000 Per month.

22. Tiffin Service

Serving Home-cooked meals is a recession-proof business. If you love cooking food and are living in an area surrounded by a lot of students and working people away from home then You can go into a tiffin service business. To try it out, you can start serving a small no. of plates at first nearby. Giving a personal touch to food always works. You can expand your business later on once you know you are made for it.

If you deliver quality food, You will get free support of word of mouth advertising. You can register your business on a website like Foodpanda or Zomoto which will help you get more orders.

23. Franchise/Chain Store

A popular brand store you have seen nearby was most probably a franchise. A franchise is a marketing concept companies use to expand their business by giving licenses to the people like us to open their stores in different areas and sell their products/services for commission. Some of the popular chain stores we see in the market are Nike, Adidas, Dominos, Reebok, Amul, etc. There are thousands of such stores offering franchise opportunities. This way you can use the big brand name or their reputation to make a profit.

Different brands have different requirements before they let anybody start their chain store. For example, If you want to start a LIBERTY shoe store, you will need an area of 1000 sq. Feet, 20-30 Lakh Rupees investment, and 1 Lakh Franchise/Brand Fee. Once you are approved, they offer support such as training, marketing assistance, field assistance, etc.

Visit websites like franchiseindia.com to find opportunities and requirements to start a brand store. Always select a brand that you really love and can promote passionately with your heart and soul.

24. Selling Online

You can sell homemade crafts or other stuff online. Some people buy products in bulk from Alibaba at cheap prices and sell them on other commercial websites like Amazon, Flipkart, etc at higher prices. I live in Haryana but I can sell a product to someone living in Kerala(2800 KM away) without going out of the home. That’s the power of online selling.

You can increase your sales and expand your business by starting to sell your service or product online. Becoming a seller on E-commercial websites involves online registration, Product Listing, Pricing, etc.

25. Stock Market/ Mutual Funds

An investment of 10000 Rupees in Wipro in 1980 has grown to approx. 450 Crores now. Yes, you heard it right. It’s Crores, not thousands. There are numerous such examples. Before you get your feet wet in the world of the Stock Market, you need to understand the potential risks involved. Invest wisely.

Pick stocks of good companies. Be patient and hold stocks for a longer period. Read books and advice from great investors. Do a lot of research before buying stocks. Understand terminology. You will need a bank account, Demat account, and trading account before you can start investing in India.

• How to Start Investing in Stock/Share Market In India

To be on the safer side, you can systematically invest in mutual funds. Mutual funds allow you to invest a small amount of your income every month. This way you can save money for retirement and other big causes over a longer period. Let’s get an idea of the return on Mutual Funds. If you invest 3000 every month in mutual funds, your investment will generate a return of 98,52,221(near 1 Crore) after 25 years if the rate of return remains 15%.

26. Selling Photos Online

In the world of the internet, there are always more ways of making a profit than one can think of. Have you ever thought that photos you capture in daily life can be sold online? Well, there are various websites that allow you to upload your photos and if someone likes your photos he can buy them for money. Usually, your work will be used in magazines or websites. Shutterstock, Fotolia, istockphoto, and Dreamstime are some popular websites that pay you to sell photographs.

These websites work on a simple principle. They connect photographers and clients and if a deal happens, photographers get money, clients get creative work and the website gets its commission. All you need is a great camera and photography skills to start this business of selling photos online.

• 15 Websites That Pay You for Selling Photographs Online

27. Wedding Planning

The wedding industry in India is large. It’s over $50 Billion, the second largest in the world, and increasing at a rate of 25%-30% annually. Spending money on weddings is considered a matter of pride in India. So wedding planning can be a flourishing business in such conditions. What do wedding planners actually do?

A wedding planner designs a wedding keeping needs and budget of his client in mind. They take care of both venue and menu for a wedding and give a special touch to all the ceremonies and customs. Wedding planning involves Designing invitation cards, finding the best florist, caterer, and DJs, and managing every other little thing from beginning to end in a multi-day affair wedding.

So someone who loves meeting people, understands colors, fashion, and customs in different religions and regions, has great communication skills, is multi-tasking and quick decision-maker can be a good wedding planner.

To start a wedding planning business, you will need an office, a team, and Rs. 2-3 lakhs in Hand because most of the clients will pay you after the wedding. You will always need to stay in contact with caterers, tent and lightning houses, banquet halls, hotels, Confectioners, jewelers, makeup professionals, florists, etc. You can start with a small wedding to gain experience.

28. Packers and Movers

Packing and moving is another flourishing service-based business opportunity that doesn’t require a very large investment. It involves disassembling, packing, loading, transporting, unloading, unpacking, and rearranging household goods usually. To start a packing and moving business, you will first need to make a company and get it registered. Set up an office. Advertise your business on websites like Justdial. If you own a vehicle then it’s good otherwise tie up with transporters.

29. Micro-Tasking Platforms

There are micro jobs websites that connect employers and employees/freelancers. Employers create small tasks and freelancers complete those tasks to get paid. Doing small tasks like signing up for a website, like Facebook/Twitter/Instagram pages, subscribing to youtube channels, etc can earn you a regular income. Some popular micro jobs websites are Microworkers, Mturk, Clickworkers, Picoworkers, Fiverr, Figure Eight, and Onespace.

• 13 Best Micro Jobs Websites to Make Money Online

Let’s see it from a business perspective. You can help people get their work done. Like if a client is looking for 1000 subscribers on his youtube channel, you can help him find subscribers. You create a task on one of the microtask websites and send subscribers to your client’s channel. Charge your client a little higher than what you have spent on getting this job done on the micro job website. That’s your profit. You can create your own website to showcase your skills, find your clients and help them get various things done. Great thing is that you can do all of this from your home.

30.  Paid Online Survey

This won’t make you a millionaire but have the potential to generate consistently good income. There are various online survey websites you can join. They conduct surveys you can complete from home and make money. Just make sure you join 5 to 10 survey sites so that you never run out of new surveys. Some of the popular survey websites are Toluna, GlobalTestMarket, Ipanelonline, Cashcrate, Yougov, ThePanelStation, etc.

• 15 Legitimate Survey Sites with Payment Proofs

31. Polyclinic/Private Medical Practice

Polyclinics are small versatile clinics offering various general medical, diagnostic, and treatment services. Other than your educational Degree and registration number,  you need some legal and statutory requirements such as a no objection certificate from society, a permission letter or trade license from a local municipal authority, and enrollment with a biomedical waste authority, etc. Your local medical association can assist you regarding these requirements.

Medical equipment is costly and you will need moderate to heavy investment. One of my relatives has a partnership with a private hospital. He is not actually a doctor and he only takes care of administration and operational areas. I mean This is a way you can enter the healthcare industry without being a doctor.

32. Laundry Service

The laundry business is yet to be organized and has huge potential for entrepreneurs. Laundry is completely an urban matter where our people are in jobs and don’t have time to wash and iron clothes. You can try it on a small scale at first if it’s working for you. Buy required washing materials in bulk and don’t spend money on rent. Rather do all the washing at your home. Keep pickup and delivery free. A responsible, quality, eco-friendly and punctual laundry service business is more likely to be successful.

33. Tea/Coffee Stall

If you can manage to get a tea/coffee stall in an area surrounded by a lot of offices, it can be a hugely profitable business. Make sure you don’t compromise the quality of tea. A rainy city with Cool weather and a lot of tourists can be a perfect place for a tea/coffee shop. According to what I have seen, a tea stall owner who never run out of customers does not earn any less than a govt employee. The initial investment is low in coffee/tea shops.

34. Arbitrage Business Ideas

Arbitrage is buying something at a certain price and selling it at a higher price in different markets at the same time. For example – renting a room at 1000 Rupees per month and renting it out to someone else at 2000 Rupees per month. Profit in this example is 1000 Rupees. This was just a rental arbitrage idea. You are open to thinking about arbitrage ideas in any of the industries.

35. Bridal Store

People all around the world spend a lot of money on weddings. A bridal store is a shop that sells bridal wear or wedding dresses such as Lehengas, Gowns, tuxedos, etc. Opening a Bridal Store is a highly profitable business, especially in North India. You can even charge 30%-50% more on a bridal Lehenga than its manufacturing cost and if you offer it on rent, it will recover its manufacturing costs in 3 times. Rather than selling all kinds of bridal stuff, Try to be specialized in very few kinds of products. You can hire expert master tailors and other staff.

36. Vegetables and Fruit Stores

A study was conducted across different cities in India and it has been found that vegetable shopkeepers are selling vegetables at more than 48.8% of the wholesale price. The most profitable vegetables are cabbage, brinjal, chili, tomato, garlic, and cauliflower. The same is the story of fruits. You just have to make a large customer base to turn this opportunity profitable.

Good behavior, negotiation skills, discounts for regular customers, and quality of fruits/vegetables and service will help you drive more customers to your store. Store vegetables/fruits as less as you can and always sell fresh.

37. Affiliate Marketing

This is perhaps one of the most profitable and rewarding activities you can do online. You recommend products and services to people, and when they buy, you make a commission as a profit. Let’s see how it works.

You create an affiliate account on amazon and generate an affiliate URL for a product worth 1000 Rupees and post the link on your Facebook page with 10000 followers. Suppose the commission on the product is 2%. If 50 followers out of 10000 buy the product, your total commission will be 1000 Rupees for doing almost nothing. Now you can imagine the potential of affiliate marketing.

The only investment in this business is the time you spend on making your web property popular. You can do affiliate marketing even without owning a website or blog. A popular Facebook/Twitter/Instagram page with a lot of followers or a youtube channel with a lot of subscribers will be sufficient to generate passive income for you.

Conclusion

A profitable business idea for one might be the worst idea for another. Have you ever started a business? Share your experience via comment. You can also suggest new business ideas to add to this list. Share the post if you found it useful.