Once, Kolkata was the city where almost every employable person was looking for a job. But not anymore! Today, the city is climbing the popularity charts for would-be entrepreneurs, who are happy to set up shop in the City of Joy. If you too have been watching this trend and are trying to find a business idea that will be profitable and fun, albeit unsuccessfully, you can try out coworking space in Kolkata to get ideas, mentoring, funding, and networking opportunities.
Here are some of the finest ideas that we believe are worth mulling over.
Mobile food van
People in this city are big foodies. From the simplest of items like bread and omelette to elaborate ones, such as dosas, idlis, and roti-sabji to snacks like bread pakoras, puris, paranthaas, and rolls, Kolkatans lap them up all. You can start a mobile food van to satiate the palate of the city’s dwellers. To finalise the menu, you can take a cue from the elaborate breakfast spread offered in the morning at Terreti Bazar or the BBD Bag shops that sell food from morning till evening to the area’s office goers and visitors. Once the menu is fixed, you can decide on some strategic locations, say near a school, shopping complex, office hub, marketplace, etc., where your mobile food van will stand during a specific time of the day to sell the food.
Fresh juice kiosk
Kolkata has long and scalding summers, which makes it the perfect place to set up a fresh juice kiosk. You can offer juices made from fresh seasonal fruits to provide relief to your customers’ thirsty throats. However, you need to choose your kiosk’s location carefully with adequate footfall all through the day to make this a profitable business.
Daycare centre
If you’re good with kids, you can set up a daycare centre. It would be a boon for the city’s working-class, where both the parents have jobs to go to and need someone reliable to take care of their kids during their absence. To start this business, you need to get a big space where the kids can safely do whatever they want to – read books, draw, talk, or simply play.
Tea shop
Coffee may be the brew of choice in other cities, but most Kolkatans still prefer their cup of tea. You’ll surely find coffee lovers in the city, but tea aficionados outnumber them. If you want to go traditional and evoke nostalgia, selling tea in clay cups (or bhar, as they’re called locally) could be a good idea. You’ll need to decide the varieties of tea you’ll offer – from black tea, milk tea, and green tea to pricier varieties like Darjeeling tea, Oolong tea, and more. Ideally, you should conduct a market survey to get an idea of your local customers’ preferences when deciding on the variety of tea you’ll offer.
Starting a clothing store, tailoring shop, grocery store, and second-hand bookstore in Kolkata are some other best business ideas that you can opt for.
