Interesting Kickstarter Products-1

Innovative Bird Feeder

“True Innovation is coming up with a product that the customer didn’t even know they needed”Extinction of the Exclusives:Birds are the most lively and charming creatures existing on Mother Earth. They play a vital role in the food chain. Extinction of bird species is increasing at an alarming rate. Major reasons for bird extinction are as follows:Aggravated Human Population , Contamination of soil by excessive use of fertilizers,Poor Air Quality,Destruction of Forests and Natural Landscapes.Although some of us are not directly involved in such extinction , we all are involved in the same without our knowledge. Every lock has its key. What if we could rectify the situation with an innovative product? Then Kickstarter has got an offer for you.Bird Buddy:Kickstarter is evolving as a hub of innovative products. One product that has recently caught my eyes is a Novel Bird Feeder. Everyone of us would have done a bird feeder out of cardboard or waste materials and would have placed it in our homes. The joy we get while the birds are fed with the feeder is astonishing. But sometimes we would forget to refill the feeder or while we are out of town we wouldn’t be able to feed them and have a look over them. The Bird buddy will save you at those times.Unique Features of Bird Buddy:Magical Moments captured are treasures to be cherished:Bird Buddy has a camera in it and it captures every featured friend who is benefited by your benevolence. It will also recognize them and send a notification to your mobile regarding their visits. It also identifies the arrival of birds using their voice with the help of its built in microphone.Weather Resistant: In our childhood days , we would be agonized when the bird feeder crafted by us were destroyed in rainwaters.Bird Buddy is safe all day , everyday.Win Win Situation:Bird watching is an art that is underrated. Watching those little creatures enjoying their meal is an unmatched emotion. Sometimes our little lovelies are frightened by our presence and fly away in the middle of a meal. But with Bird Buddy it’s a win-win situation for both. The birds enjoy their food at peace whereas we could get a sneak peak of them at our comfort zone.Easy to use:The bird buddy is simple to operate and maintain. It has a built-in battery to power the microphone and camera. The refilling option is very easy.Cool Add-ons:Bird Buddy comes up with cool add ons like solar roof , wall and fence mounts.The product has got more than 20 backers till June 2021. Hope this might bring back joy in our lives and enhance the food chain.

Startup Stories – Nua Women

Nua women

Menstrual Hygiene:

Menstrual Hygiene is the area with the least awareness in India. It is pathetic to know that only 18% of women in India have access to better sanitary hygiene. The rest percentage of the women make use of economic alternatives to pads like cloths unaware of the side effects caused by them. This is primarily due to the fact that despite everyone knows about periods, their frequency they consider it a  disgrace when discussed in public. Pads that are primarily composed of synthetic material are constantly in contact with the skin surface causing rashes, infections, etc.

The Launch:

Nua women was launched in the year 2017 in Mumbai by Ravi Ramachandran and Swathi Kulkarni with the goal of making the menstruation cycle to be hassle-free. The market of sanitary pads in India enormous due to the population prevailed in here.  But it never remained as an untapped market.  Amidst the global competitors like Whisper, Stayfree, Nua Women was launched. Hence it was expected to make a Herculean effect to gain the attention of the audience and capture the market.

Novel Nua Women:

While certain startups were hustling to capture the market with their innovative market, Nua women choose either way. Following are the reasons for their triumph in India:

  • User experience: They understood their customers clearly at the early stage of its launch. Hence they ensured that they would provide not just a product but an experience. They came up with a plan where their users can choose pads according to their flow. Most of the women would have definitely wished for such a plan as the flow varies between day 1 to day 4. 
  • Marketing: While the primary pad brands were advertising with animations of pads, Nua women started to advertise by forming a community. In the community, women expressed thor period concerns, queries, and pains. The engagement was kept active and all their concerns were addressed. Social media played a vital role in the exposure of their product. This was one of the primary reasons for their initial funding by LIghtBox Ventures.

They also partnered with some women influencers and made promotional videos. The videos clearly explained their product and made very women connect it with their life. Their advertisement in partnership with the Youtube Sensation CheekyDNA won the Best Brand Integration Category Award at StreamCon.

  • Subscription: In the industrious world, everyone is running to balance their work and life. When the product is proven to reduce their time and efforts then it’s for sure a hit in the market. Women normally forget to refill their pads and in such cases, they use pads from their friends or from the sanitary vending machine at their workplaces. The change in brand may cause them discomfort. Hence Nua women came with a subscription plan where they can pay for a period of 3 months and pads will be automatically refilled every month.
  • Rash-free pads: Rashes are the most primary concern of women while purchasing a pad. Nua women customers are saying the rashes have considerably reduced after its usage. 
  • Stress-free Disposal: If you are the one who is irritated by the disposal of pads, Nua women has got your back. Every pad comes with a disposable cover and the way of disposal is smooth.

Funding Facts:

Initial Funding: Series A funding of 5.4 Million Dollars by LIghtBox Ventures in 2019.

Latest Funding: Pre Series B funding of 7.4 Milion Dollars by LightBox Ventures and Kae Capital in June 2021.

https://inc42.com/buzz/nua-raises-7-1-mn-in-funding-led-by-lightbox-ventures-kae-capital/

https://entrackr.com/2021/07/funding-in-indian-startups-this-week-28-june-03-july/

https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/divo-to-now-offer-digital-content-influencer-marketing-services-201221

https://www.vims.ac.in/blog/menstrual-hygiene/

https://inc42.com/startups/lightbox-nua-sanitary-napkins-women-wellness/

Thinking of education app : unacademy is answer

Photo by ShotPot on Pexels.com

Founded in 2015, the platform was initially introduced as a YouTube channel by Gaurav Manjal back in 2010. With its primary headquarters residing in Bengaluru, Unacademy is India’s biggest learning platform which brings together expert Educators for millions of students who are in the requirement of enhanced quality education. 

The Unacademy app is available not only for 10+2 students but also for college applicants who are qualifying for competitive exams like CAT, GATE, UPSC, etc.

Unacademy’s Progress 

Unacademy offers over 2,400 lessons, covering subjects from a variety of competitive examinations. The platform currently comprises thousands of online educators as well as over 250 million total views for their YouTube videos. As the online learning platforms rise in importance the platform will definitely only continue to grow.

INITIAL BEGINNING

Unacademy initially began as a YouTube channel that offered free education for whoever visited its channel. When some extent, its founders began considering the prospect of bit by bit monetizing their expedited services leading to the birth of Unacademy, an official learning platform that offered free classes.

COURSES ON UNACADEMY

Unacademy offers courses for all popular entrances such as UPSC, SSC and bank exams, railway exams, defence exams, JEE and NEET preparation, State PSC, NET exams,  GATE, ESE and IIT-JAM, NEET PG, TET exams, Management & Foreign Studies, CA, CS & Law exams, CBSE and Personal and Skill Development

Conclusion

Backed by major massive companies like FacebookAmazon, General Atlantic, and redwood Capital, Unacademy has been fending well for itself. At this stage, the platform holds associate degree optimum chance to require its business to larger heights, equipped with a team that’s driven to form the simplest out of its on market resources.

https://getinstartup.com/roman-saini-the-success-story-of-unacademy/

Story of startup : flipkart

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Flipkart was founded in October 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny bansal former employees of amazon and graduated from IIT Delhi. It is an Indian company who had its headquarters in Banglore. Initially the company started online book sales with country-wide shipping.

Being a two-man startup, they took care of everything from developing their website to delivering books. they’d managed to deliver 20 shipments in 2007 itself. In 2008, that they had moved into a 2BHK apartment .

Slowly, their business began to boom and by the end of 2009, Flipkart had managed to sell books worth ₹4 crores. In brief span of time, Sachin and Binny had managed to grow their company at an incredible pace and that they had also developed their personalities as entrepreneurs.

With new partners and more investment, Flipkart was able to dive into the electronics category. So they started selling mobiles in 2010.Flipkart had gathered enough fame to build that quantity of trust among its customers. They come up with a superb idea of introducing Cash on Delivery as mobiles were costly thing as compared to books.

And then later they came with ideas like return policy. These features were liked by customers. Flipkart began to expand its market to different products and acquired many ecommerce websites. You may be suprised to know that flipkart also owns myntra.

Thank you for reading.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipkart

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.flipkart.com/&ved=2ahUKEwjfpuGi4LrxAhWAIbcAHT6qCHYQFjAAegQICxAC&usg=AOvVaw0v_i-rdbD-oVZOBoKBuRP8

TOP 9 Small Business & Start-Up Ideas for 2020 (ONLINE FROM HOME)

Today, we’re going to talk about TOP business ideas for 2020. They are not going to be those obvious ideas that you can think of yourself like starting a restaurant or a car wash; we are going to talk about ideas based on recent trends, recent growing markets.

How To Start A Business

A very important rule! If you decide to start your own business, your motivation shouldn’t be because someone said: “It’s going to be a great business!”. Your perfect business idea should consist of the following things: it should be something you like doing and it should be something you are really good at.

1. Coworking Space

Remote workers are spurring on a new revolution for white-collar professionals, as many roles traditionally set in the office space transition to working via the web. Since loneliness is an all-too-common affliction for remote workers and working from a coffee shop isn’t always the quietest choice, the appeal of shared coworking spaces grows each year.

2. Posture Corrector

Nowadays, people constantly hunch over their phones and laptops, it’s no surprise that there’s been a rise in back and neck pain. The keyword “posture corrector” gets about 74,000 monthly searches proving to be a great startup idea for new entrepreneurs.

3. Fitness Tech

Apps related to diet and fitness account for 3.31% of all app on the Apple Store. People are constantly on the move. Making it possible for consumers to fit daily workouts conveniently into their crazy schedules closes another barrier to a healthy lifestyle.

4. Men’s Cosmetics

Men’s cosmetics industry is worth approximately $3.4 billion. One of the most popular niche products targeting men is beard oil, a part of the male grooming industry that makes approximately $6 billion in annual sales. Approximately 39% of American men have beards.

5. Food truck

Food trucks represent all the benefits of a restaurant but without the initial investment of a brick and mortar business space. Only 10-20% of food trucks fail, whereas the failure rate for new restaurants can be as high as 90%.

6. Healthy Fast Food

Think about why people flock to their favorite fast-food chains. The price, speed, and convenience offer consumers a quick way to eat on the go and on a budget. With high demand and low competition, healthy fast food makes a great business idea for 2020.

7. Reusable Bags

As people become more conscious of the waste they produce in their homes, some are starting to use reusable bags to lower the amount of plastic waste. Business ideas centered around preserving the environment can help you build a socially conscious brand.

8. Smart Apparel

With smart apparel’s surging growth rates, this niched industry is looking to net over $4 billion by 2024. This subsector is still so new, making it fresh for innovative ideas from budding entrepreneur techies.

9.Travel Consulting

If traveling is your passion and you are always updated about things like best airplane ticket options and hotel deals, then you fit the bill. You can start by helping your family and friends, securing the best travel deals and selling rewards flights.

Hope these ideas are useful to young budding minds out there looking forward to being Entrepreneurs of tomorrow!

TOP 7 ‘WORK FROM HOME’ BUSINESS IDEAS IN LOCKDOWN 2020

the spread of Corona Virus and strict lockdown in the entire nation, everybody is looking for – Work from Home options. However due to the shutting down of businesses, Companies are not in hiring instead they are laying off employees due to recession. Many home-based businesses can be started with very little money and very little experience. How do I know? Because I’ve been there and I’ve done it.

You can begin small, even part-time. And then you can grow them at your own pace. You can make excellent profits even with a very small home-based business. And if you want you can grow it into a much larger enterprise. So even if you don’t have much experience or savings, you too can start your own home-based business and become highly successful.

The key behind a successful business is finding out the DEMAND in the market depending on the situation and customer needs. With Corona Virus being the topic of this year, the demand for related products like hand sanitisers and disinfectants have surged more than these manufacturing industries could ever imagine.

But what can I do sitting at home? It all starts with an idea, hence here are the Top 7 business ideas that can be executed from home during covid-19 pandemic:

  1. Tiffin / Lunchbox Service:

After the entire Nation shut down, many students who lived in hostels and bachelors who were dependent on outside food were left hungry and starving. At such times starting a Dabba Service will not only earn profits but also blessings from these people struggling to find home-cooked food.

In order to run Tiffin service successfully, you will require more than a passion for cooking. Furthermore, you will need good planning and management skills as well as flexibility to successfully handle any last-minute changes required by customers.

How successful your Tiffin service will be will depend mainly on having good reputation. For this business setup to succeed therefore, you must be able to meet the needs of your customers and have the ability to work well under pressure.

Things you require for a Successful Take-off:

  • Table cloths 
  • Kitchen facilities
  • Tables
  • Tiffin boxes
  • Serving equipment
  • Utensils – silverware, glassware
  • Simple but healthy home-cooked meals preparation
  • Online Tuitions & Tutoring:

Schools and Colleges have shut down leaving a big stress among everybody. Students are concerned with completing their portion without their teachers. At such times the need for online assistance for education is at a rise.

Online tutoring is a profitable business. This industry is developing rapidly with advent of innovations, technologies and wide spread usage of the internet. Parents and students are comfortable with online tutoring websites for their personalized learning requirements.

PRIVATE ONE-ON-ONE TUTORIALS (ONLINE) -

Things you require for a Successful Take-off:

  • Start a face-to-face video conferencing.
  • Speak to each other with high-quality and excellent voice.
  • Write, type, erase and draw in distinctive colours on digital advanced whiteboard.
  • Text chat via instant messaging.
  • Upload and share files.
  • Alter message progressively with other person seeing what you are doing. Access the session from all devices.
  • Mask Stitching and Selling:

The world has changed. Not only has the world economy shut down, but people are also on edge. This is likely because we can’t leave our homes, and this can lead to isolation. Nowadays you cannot spot a single person on the streets without a mask covering their face.

If one is good at stitching at home, then this is a golden opportunity to not only earn money but also get creative. People are bored of the old plain mask and hence are looking for designer and customised masks. One can use their own imagination and entice people with your unique masks.

MAP: 3 places to drop off homemade masks for Round Rock health ...

Things you require for a Successful Take-off:

  • Face Mask Cloth
  • Mask Inner Ear Loop threads
  • Paints, beads, needle works
  • Stitching machine or sewing machine
  • Needle and thread
  • Online Fitness and Yoga Coach:

The threat of coronavirus has left the fitness industry ailing and barely able to stand with smaller gyms on the verge of shutting down, larger chains contemplating huge losses and unemployment becoming a very real prospect for many thousands of trainers and support staff.

However, if you have a laptop and good functioning internet connection you can become a fitness coach for everybody missing the gym and looking for services from home. With people wanting to keep themselves fit and improving their immune system, Yoga trainers are high in demand.

WARNING! What they don't tell you about taking your yoga business ...

Things you require for a Successful Take-off:

  • Create a virtual workshop using online studio software
  • clean background
  • remove clutter and distracting objects
  • place select “yoga” objects in frame if desired
  • Use a tripod if you can
  • Test to make sure that the camera can capture you in all your poses
  • Use impeccable, clear language (don’t rely on video)
  • Embrace imperfections! Be human and carry on.
  • Cake Baking for Special Occasions:

Are you the one that makes killer cakes for every birthday? Do you churn out to-die-for donuts? If you’re ready to turn your talents into a profitable bakery, you’ve come to the right place.

No matter what the situation, the show must go on. Cakes have been the symbol of any kind of situation since centuries. But with all CAKE SHOPS and bakeries shut, one cannot access them for special occasions. If you are a good baker, then this is your time to shine. Homemade cakes will be a hit and people will be assured about its safety.

What To Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate | My Dog Ate Chocolate Advice

Things you require for a Successful Take-off:

  • Mixers
  • Oven
  • Dough proofer
  • Bakeware
  • Tools for measurement
  • Ingredients as per flavour
  • Refrigerator
  • Bread slicer
  • Dough mix
  • Cardboard boxes
  • Piping bags
  • Dairy products
  • Display case
  • Gardening and selling Organic Fruits & Vegetables:

If you are interested in gardening at home and have enough space to grow more for everyone then organic farming is a great business idea. With today’s vegetables being produced with pesticides and chemicals

Growing a garden for profit is something that definitely needs to be kept simple. The reason is that if you try and do a whole bunch at once, then you won’t be great at any of it. If you pick a few simple and small things to start out with, then you can work to perfect those things and be much more successful.

I learned that the hard way because I wanted to sell EVERYTHING out of my garden. Well let me tell you, that is impossible without a team of employees. You just can’t do it well, so don’t try it.

Discover the joy of growing a kitchen garden – Green Station

Things you require for a Successful Take-off:

  • Put them in baskets
  • Order personalized boxes with your logo/brand name on them
  • Make signs that tell about your unique produce
  • Include a recipe card for how to cook with it
  • Organize the different colours in patterns
  • Put the containers on their sides so they appear to be “overflowing” with fruits or vegetables
  • Incorporate wheelbarrows, gardening tools, flowers, etc. into your display
  • Build your own shelves to sell from that stand out
  • Design a logo or picture to use for your new “business”
  • Take attractive pictures of your produce for your display
  • Use tablecloths or nice napkins that make it feel more high end and less dirty.
  • Customised T-shirts and Dresses Painting :

Whenever people think about starting a business, a t-shirt company is probably one of the first five ideas that come to their mind. Why? Well, t-shirt printing business looks like fun and cool. To some extent, they are right. Being your own boss, having own t-shirt designs, selling them with your brand label, having people supporting your work – that’s happiness. Isn’t it?

If you enjoy T-Shirt painting, then there is a whole lot of millennial generation ready to throw all their money at your unique art and designs.

Henry Li showing how to paint a T-shirt with liquid acrylic paints ...

Things you require for a Successful Take-off:

  • Plain t-shirts
  • Fabric paints
  • Tracing paper
  • Sunlight
  • Innovative and creative designs
  • Trendy drawings
  • All size t-shirts

So there you have it in a nutshell- First you need to decide where you are going to sell your produce. Then you can decide what you are going to sell.

Remember your business will grow if people are happy with what they buy from you. Make it look nice, and only sell the best you have.

Now you are all ready to go for it! Good luck!

Do you need a Business License to sell on Etsy?

Etsy is one of the most popular online shopping sites which provides wonderful DIY craftworks and many other similar products. Though it’s one of the most valued sites for online shopping websites, one question always pops up when a seller anticipates setting up one’s business. The question is if one needs a business license to sell one’s products on Etsy. Many sellers have repeatedly tried to know the business license policy’s details through the official website of Etsy. The policy regarding if the business license is necessary or not is available on the policy page of Etsy. Also, there are many articles on the internet that have given some ideas regarding the business license policy but not in a very detailed manner. Hence, here’s all the information you need to know to clear your confused minds about what to do and what not to, whether to get a business or not, how to start with the entire procedure before you set up your business on Etsy.

Importance of Business License to sell on Etsy

A business license is a permit which a merchant or a seller needs to get once he/she sets up the business to profit from it. If you are the budding entrepreneur or have a small business that you want to set up on Etsy, you need to go through the details here.

First and foremost, the need to have a business license depends entirely on how you wish to perceive Etsy’s career. For instance, if you pursue working as a seller as your profession or you are working as a seller just as a hobby or passion. If you decide on being a fulltime seller on Etsy, you would have to get that business license to be legal with your business. Your business will only be considered legitimate if you have the permit in the form of a business license. Once your store becomes legalized, you can start working as a fulltime business merchant on Etsy, without any further delay.

To apply for the Business License or not?

Now, I guess you’ve already made up your mind to pursue this as your business, and hence, you need to be sure about a few more things related to the need for Business License here. Firstly, if you’re gaining profit from your store on Etsy, if the answer to this is yes, you would have to report how much amount you are earning from the store and inform it to the IRS. Secondly, if your Etsy store is set up on partnership or LLC, you would have to get an EIN to continue with your business here, and you would also need to get the business license. Here, EIN stands for Employer Identification Number. This is important if you have a partner or multiple partners in your business. 

Types of Business Licenses for Sellers

There are three types of business licenses for business merchants on Etsy. It mostly depends on the seller’s location or ownership or kind of products he or she sells here.

  • A Basic Business Operation License: This license provides you with the allowance to spread your business locally. You need to know how far you can spread your business in geographical terms, and this license helps you to operate your store within that periphery. You must get the idea of how far your business can reach from the local business administration office. You can contact them and know the details regarding the same.
  • An Employer Identification Number: As mentioned earlier, an Employer Identification Number is only required if you have a partnership business or LLC. Other than that, you don’t require an Employer Identification Number. If you are the owner of your store, mostly the case on Etsy, you don’t need an Employer Identification Number. This is only for the business sellers who have more than one or multiple partners attached.
  • A Home Occupation Permit: The Home Occupation Permit is needed if your business is based out of your home. You need this permit if your work is out of your home, like most other Etsy sellers. This kind of license is prevalent on Etsy because here, most sellers have their business set out of their homes.

Where to begin with the Business License?

Most readers now would want to know where to begin and where to go to get the much-needed business license. The entire process of how to get a business license pretty much varies from one place to another. The rules and regulations are pretty different from one city to that of another. You would have to make a proper conversation with the local SBA to know the complete detailed procedure of setting up your business and where to start. Once you contact them, you become aware of the entire process in your area or city, without any further confusion.

How safe is Etsy if you don’t have a Business License?

Etsy is mostly safe if you’re pursuing this platform as a hobby. Once you start making a profit out of your business, you need to get that business license done. Otherwise, you might risk getting caught by the IRS. The safest way to go about it is to make up your mind if you wish to make your store a profit-earning business for you or not. If you want to make this as your business, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You never know when you get caught without a valid business license. My advice would be to apply for that business license as soon as you make up your mind about making Etsy store your business platform or not.

If you’re pursuing your Etsy store as a hobby or as your passion, you don’t need to have a business license. You can continue with your hobby as a seller, as much as you want. You won’t get in any trouble. As the name suggests, the business license is only for those who are seriously taking Etsy as their start-up career or as an entrepreneurship platform for their business.

How to decide if it’s business or not?

The entire choice depends upon how you see your store, whether you see it as a hobby outlet or a business outlet, whether you want to make a profit out of your store or you are just doing it because you like doing it. The entire decision is yours. Also, the business license depends entirely upon this decision of yours. Many sellers get confused even after making their Etsy store, a business platform, about if they would gain profit or not. This is a very legitimate confusion, and one might always have this doubt on their mind. If you feel you need to be wholly assured of your decision and how profitable it is turning up for you, there’s always a path. You can opt for a five-year exemption, which would automatically postpone your choice on whether to get a business license or not. You can work on your business store for five years and see whether it makes a good profit on your profit. Once you’re satisfied with the feedbacks you would be getting, within the particular framework of five years, you can quickly go for the business license and make your business legalized and legitimate.

Etsy, as a business site, is business-friendly. So, you got nothing to worry about when it comes to your start-up career there. You can start with your store any day, even now, just after reading this article and follow the procedures to make a hobby out of it or a profitable business out of it. But you would have to keep in mind a few things before you jumpstart your business career. You cannot continue your business once you are making a profit. You need to report your profits and your earnings to the IRS. You would find many business holders there, who are using unfair means to continue gaining advantage without making their business legitimate. They are going to get caught someday, and they would have to pay a hefty sum of fine to the IRS. You should stay clean once you set up your business. Other than that, you need to contact your local business administration and get the remaining details about the business license. They would start with your paperwork once you understand the whole procedure. Once more, if you are a seller on Etsy who is not looking for profit there, you are not a business seller. You don’t need to apply for the business permit if it’s a hobby. But you surely need the business license once you are planning to make your business legalized and legitimate.

Who pays for Shipping on Etsy?

Apart from the business license, many sellers also face doubts regarding how who pays for shipping on Etsy. So, I am going to cover that part along with the business license details I gave previously. Etsy has a detailed shipping policy which is available on their website. Irrespective of that, here is some essential information regarding the shipping details.

The buyer pays for the shipping charge, no doubt in that. Many buyers only look for free shipping products so that they don’t have to pay for the extra costs which come for the product. Along with the buyer, the seller also has to pay a certain amount to Etsy for the transaction and the shipping of the product. If you charge a shipping fee for the products you sell on your store, you will find a shipping transaction fee. Even if you ship the product for free, you need to pay a certain percentage as the transaction fee. The transaction fee is compulsory for the seller. It doesn’t matter if you are charging the buyer for the shipping transaction or not; you need to pay 5% of the transaction cost anyway. If you charge the shipping fee, you need to pay 5% of the shipping transaction cost and 5% of the transaction cost. This is Etsy’s policy, and it is given in a detailed manner on their personalized website. 

The only profitable way to sell your products is to divide the shipping transaction between you and your buyer. If you try to make the buyer pay most of the shipping transaction cost, they might not end up ordering your product even after liking it. Many buyers remove the products from the cart once they see the shipping charge more than usual. It’s better to divide the shipping transaction cost and not let one party pay the entire or the higher amount, neither the seller nor the buyer. Also, it would not be profitable if you end up selling the product, free of any shipping charge. You would end up paying the shipping transaction cost on your own, which might turn out to be a loss on your part. You need to calculate the entire cost and divide it skilfully to make the product look pocket friendly for the buyer and profitable for the seller. 

You may need to go through the policy guidelines available on the Etsy website to get a detailed idea regarding the shipping transaction cost and the transaction cost and calculate what makes it profitable for you and lucrative for the buyer. Once you are in the midway, you might become satisfied with the profit you would be making even after you pay 5% of the transaction cost and 5% of the shipping transaction cost. But keep in mind that many sellers opt for free shipping so that buyers find the product more lucrative and end up buying more. You need to decide wisely how to move forward with the shipping cost. Rest assured, the buyer is the one who pays for the major part of the shipping cost.

How Starbucks captured the coffee & the world…!!!

With nearly 30,000 cafes across the world , Starbucks has become over just a household name. From its iconic cups, often adorned with misspelled names, to the espresso inside them, Starbucks has catapulted from one coffee bean shop in Seattle to a sprawling $80 billion business over the last 47 years.

Starbucks has a 'void in innovation' and healthy beverages won't ...

Starbucks sales account for 57 percent of the total cafe market. Yes, 57 percent, nearly two-thirds of all coffee sold at cafes in the U.S. comes from a Starbucks. But this impressive expansion hasn’t come without growing pains. With more than 14,000 locations in the U.S. alone, Starbucks has spread itself too thin. Having too many stores has led to fewer transactions at individual stores. To compensate, the company has raised prices. But doing this too quickly or too often can drive customers away. So how did this happen? And what’s a coffee giant to do about it? The year is 1970.
Three college friends, Zev Siegl, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker decide to get into the coffee business. They found a mentor in Alfred Peet, founder of Peet’s Coffee and the man responsible for bringing custom coffee roasting to the U.S. He knew the coffee industry inside and out, especially the gourmet end. He was the most educated coffee guy in the country at that time. So with Peet’s help, the three friends open Starbucks, a coffee bean shop and roastery at Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market in 1971. Peet provided the young entrepreneurs with roasted coffee beans and connected them with coffee brokers until they could set up their own roastery and source their own beans. For the first decade, the founders opened five more locations in Seattle. At this point, contemporary coffee consumers might have noticed a glaring absence: actual coffee drinks. But that’s the thing about the 70s coffee culture: it didn’t really exist outside the home. There were no coffee bars nor was there much of a requirement for espresso-based drinks. You purchased coffee beans and you either took them home as beans or we ground them for you in the store. Nobody expected to urge a beverage at a Starbucks coffee store until after 1980.

Starbucks Story - CEO, Founder, History | Coffee Company | Success ...
Starbucks’ initial focus was bringing high quality beans to consumers who were more accustomed to instant or canned coffee, but that changed with the addition of one man. The company hired its first really professional Director of Marketing and Sales, and that man was Howard Schultz. And he couldn’t figure out why we weren’t selling beverages. In 1983, Schultz travels to Italy and returns with an idea: turn the coffee bean stores into cafes. Starbucks served its first latte the next year. The experiment was a success, and four years later, Schultz partnered with investors and bought Starbucks for $3.8 million. He was only 34 at the time. Schultz pursued a strategy of aggressive expansion. By the time the company went public in 1992, it had 165 stores, in 1996 it had opened more than a thousand locations, including its first international cafes in Japan and Singapore.
Growth was so rapid that, just three years later, Starbucks opened its 2,000th location. Schultz switched from CEO to Executive Chairman in 2000, at which era Starbucks operated 3,500 stores in additional than a dozen countries. Between 2000 and 2007, the number of Starbucks cafes more than quadrupled, from 3,500 to over 15,000. During this era , the corporate opened a mean of 1,500 stores per annum , including 2,500 in 2007 alone. Sales shot up from $2 billion to $9.4 billion. Consumers were increasingly ditching their kitchen mugs for these iconic paper to-go cups. But then, Starbucks hit a wall: the 2007 financial crash. That year, its rapid growth screeched to a halt and its stock price plummeted by 50 percent as cash-strapped consumers backed away from pricey coffee habits. So, Starbucks brought back Howard Schultz. This news alone caused Starbucks stock to increase by 9 percent.

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Schultz halted growth and focused on customer experience. He shuttered cafes – more than 600 in 2008 and another 300 in 2009 – and laid off around 6,700 baristas. A month after his return, Schultz ordered Starbucks to shut all of its U.S. locations for one afternoon so he could retrain more than 135,000 baristas about how to make its signature espresso. Schultz’s goal was to remind customers what they loved about the brand by making the stores an experience, not just a place to get a quick coffee. They stopped selling breakfast sandwiches and brought back in-house grinding, infusing the cafes once again with that fresh coffee aroma. Schultz even mandated the removal of automatic espresso machines. These made service faster, but removed much of the romance and theatre of watching baristas craft each cup of coffee. Schultz’s makeover worked.

Starbucks | Description, History, & Facts | Britannica
The company’s stock soared more than 143 percent in 2009 and same-store sales rebounded. Starbucks has posted positive same-store sales ever since. During Schultz’s makeover of the cafes, Starbucks barely opened any new stores. But the pace picked up again in 2012. By 2017, Starbucks opened nearly 3,000 more locations, ending the year with 28,000 cafes round the world. However, this brings us back to the first problem: profit cannibalization. Over-saturation, particularly in urban locations, has spread sales thin. Because Starbucks has numerous locations, customers do not have to be loyal to only one. So albeit Starbucks overall sales are growing, its individual same-store sales won’t reflect it. Compounding this problem are changing consumer preferences. People are shying away from sugar-laden calorie bombs. which happens to be one of Starbucks’ staples. These signature Frappuccinos contain an average of 57 grams of sugar. That’s more than double the recommended daily limit of sugar. So, to combat these problems, Starbucks is changing once more . The company announced the closure of 150 stores in 2019. That may seem like a drop in the bucket for a sprawling company like Starbucks.

Starbucks App Users Now Drive 17 Pct Of Sales | PYMNTS.com

The company’s biggest undertaking is its new line of upscale stores: Starbucks Reserve Roasteries. These massive, 20,000-square foot stores are designed to be a tourist destination. Here, Starbucks baristas and bartenders’ experiment with different brewing methods and craft new, innovative beverages. These have proven popular. In the first weeks, the Shanghai Roastery made an average of $64,000 every day, which is double what a regular cafe makes in a week.

TIPS ON HOW TO CREATE A STARTUP IN COLLEGE AND HOW TO FIND A SUITABLE CO-PARTNER

Before starting, there are tons of books which may offer you an honest flavour and understanding of Startups:Zero to one , The Lean Startup, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, etc. You will not become an Entrepreneur by reading books, but you’ll definitely have a far better understanding and a few motivation – so you want to read them

Google, Facebook, Microsoft. All three companies were started by college students and now they’re among the most important companies within the world. Students feel inspired by such success stories but often don’t have a transparent idea of what they really want to realize once they start a business.

The following points give a thought on the way to start your own company while being in college.

  1. Prioritize
    It is getting to be very difficult if you are doing not have a transparent plan of your business goals. Do not set a really horizontal bar initially as this puts unnecessary stress. Plan your day beforehand in order that you’ll allocate sufficient time to both academics and start-up and strictly say no to activities which don’t align together with your interests.
  2. Choosing right courses
    Colleges provide various electives on entrepreneurship, management. Select such courses which can help to find out about how businesses operate, grow and performance at an outsized scale. This helps in bridging the gap between academics and entrepreneurship. This also helps in networking with compatible students, alumni which may be an enormous boost during this startup journey.
  3. Funding for startup
    There are several colleges which permit their students to pitch their business idea. And if selected a particular amount is allocated to assist them start performing on their plan. These programs are an enormous motivation as they don’t need to worry for the cash within the initial stages. Also make use of the college alumni network to connect to successful entrepreneurs who can help you.
  4. Finding a mentor
    A mentor helps in clearing up doubts and may prevent you from making a wrong decision. Attend various e-summits, business events, alumni meet hosted by your college and you’ll find people willing to guide you during this journey.

Tying it together
There will be people to demotivate you and doubt your goals. Turn a deaf ear to them and believe that this can be achieved. Enjoy the journey so that it does not seem like an additional burden. Do not get upset by the initial roadblocks and keep doing your part.
For making the startup successful, finding the proper co-founder may be a vital thing that one must do. There will be so many challenges in this journey and it is better to face them together rather than doing it alone. Great teams persevere, and success breeds success.

  1. Networking
    Networking is much more crucial than you think. Attend different events like entrepreneurship summits, business seminars etc. Use social networking platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook to your benefit.
  2. Attend e-summits organised by universities
    University professors know many entrepreneurs, alums who are trying to find suitable persons matching their interests and business plans. Discuss your plans with them and you maybe lucky enough to seek out the support.
  3. Meet colleagues from previous jobs
    If you met someone in your previous job with an entrepreneurial spirit, try to follow up with that person. If you both had thought of owning a company at some time, now is the time to work on that dream.
  4. Explore common interests outside of work.
    Searching for a co-founder is often tricky. It involves taking to consideration multiple factors, the foremost common being compatibility. Make sure you recover together even outside of your work. Strengthen the bonding in various ways like enjoying sports or checking out each other’s reading tastes.
  5. Jointly define long term and short term goals for the startup.
    The enthusiasm maybe very high initially but its real test is within the end of the day . Come together on decisions such as various short term and long term goals for the company. Decide on vision of the corporate , the mission which it wants to accomplish.
  6. Clarify each one’s role
    Make it very clear about the roles each one is going to play. Take responsibility for the decisions which you are going to take. Plan in such how , that the co-founders function without having to interfere in each other’s jurisdiction.

Importance of INTERNSHIPS for college students!!!

In the world full of competitors to be successful student/businessman etc. should have a different approach. They need do things which have already less participants. It would be best if none of the competitors are present, it doesn’t mean you have to do very odd thing. Everyone needs a better lifestyle and a proper career so that they can live luxurious life with the family, for that we have to start at early as possible and gain the maximum experience. There are many of the websites nationally and internationally that provide work to college students as in the name of freelancers some of the popular sites are:

1- Internshala

2- LetsINTERN

3- LinkedIN

4- GlassDoor

5- Hello Intern

6- Twenty19

7- AngelList

8- Indian Internships

9- Oyster Connect

10- Interlelo

The above listed Internship site are the popular one yet there are many more to be listed.

  • Internships not only make a student financial independent at college life but it plays a very important role as while on last year of college it boost the CV and the chances of selection in your dream company gets increased by 10 folds.
  • Internship help a student start to build a professional network that can be a resource for the student.
  • Internship also help student to decide a second option of career and also can make it as a part-time works on his professional job.
  • Many companies are in search of students who have already completed an internship related to professional job which will also help student to do the work which is of his choice and already experienced on it.
  • Internships provide a great impact on confidence of the student which will help a lot in the actual job.
  • Students gain knowledge and get aware on how to talk with superior person, how to keep conversation on and most importantly how to influence anybody with the power of the words.
  • Students also get hands on to manage the task assigned. They also get to know to give a separate time table to each task and mange the workflow while studying.
  • They get the professional guidance even if they fail to mange the task as the internship provider cannot force any student and they encourage the student on compilation of task.

 

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This are the most benifits of the Internship…Hope it will be helpful.

If you are in college and not having any internship, than go for it…It will prove helpful in the future.

 

How can Start-ups and Businesses overcome the downturn because of COVID-19?

The COVID-19 has created a pandemonium for start-ups and businesses all around the world. Most of the start-ups and businesses are facing a downturn in their financial market. We know it’s a very hard time for all, and we all are trying very hard to survive through the pandemic. Most of the employees are in fear of losing their job security. The start-up entrepreneurs are afraid of not getting any proper upcoming projects. Every start-up enterprise and business are going through terrible times now, financially. The employees are trying to survive without pay. The economy of the country is degrading day by day. 

Hence, we are here to see what can start-ups and businesses do to overcome the downturn because of COVID-19. If we have the will to make progress, we are surely going to overcome this pandemic. Even if the market is not as fast-paced as before, we still can develop the businesses financially. All we need to have is a proper strategy to make the progress happen, to survive COVID-19. Here is a list of strategies that start-ups and businesses can follow to overcome the downturn.

Strategies to overcome downturn due to COVID-1

Communicating with regular clients 

Every business company or a start-up must have a regular set of clients. Try to communicate with your customers regularly. Even if the pandemic resists you from gaining any new project, you will still have your old clients. Try to keep your old client satisfied. You will get the support you need from regular clients.

Manage your team for new strategy plans

Your old strategies won’t be of any help now. You need new ideas to make new strategies. To have new ideas, you need a working team led by a strong leader. The leader has to make the team members understand how important it is to make strategies. If you want to overcome the financial loss your company has faced, you need to strategize everything. 

Make small plans rather than bigger ones

Your only goal, for now, is to survive the pandemic with as low financial loss as possible. So, make smaller plans rather than long-term plans. You should have a plan for the upcoming month, rather than the year. Plan every day out and execute the plan meticulously.

Pay attention to investment

Now, you won’t have a lot of funding. Your company would already suffer heavy losses, due to a lack of new projects. Hence, try to keep the investment at a bare minimum. Don’t invest in huge projects at the moment. Look for smaller projects. In this way, you can save funds for your company. This is not the time to invest your money, because you have no idea what the future holds.

New ideas and methods

You need to understand what is important at the moment. You have to impress your clients, and for that, you need to bring in new ideas. You have to focus on the necessity rather than the exuberance. Every new idea has to be convenient and needed by the customers. There is no need for fancy ideas. It’s highly unlikely that a customer would be interested to invest in any fancy project. You have to modify your methods according to the need of the moment.

How to save your company from financial loss?

Financial loss is inevitable for any company in the current scenario. But you can save your company from becoming bankrupt. You have to make your employees work towards the satisfaction of the existing clients. The employees would get paid based on their work. You have to make a new rule for your employees, which would stay consistent until the company is back on track. Your employees would get paid for the amount of work they are going to produce. You need to plan out work for every employee you have. Even for a start-up company, you need to keep your employees as well as your clients happy. Your employees are the pillars of your company. In this way, you can satisfy both the clients and the employees. Apart from that, you have to make small teams of members, headed by one leader. Make them work on small projects. They would get paid based on every successful project they execute. In this way, your company won’t suffer from a lack of work. Also, your employees would get paid for executing the projects wonderfully.

The best way to overcome financial loss is to not invest huge amounts on any projects now. Take up small projects, which would be easier for the employees to finish, and also in time. Try to invest less as much as possible. Only invest in projects you think would be fruitful for your company at the moment.

How to make plans and strategies to overcome financial loss?

The focus should be on new plans and strategies, for a small amount of time. Once the pandemic ends, the situation of the company would improve for the better. Now, you need to focus on new plans. Have a team of members who would give you proper strategies regarding new projects. The projects have to go according to the strategized plan. Every project should be well planned and simple. All the employees have to keep in mind, that it is better to have simple plans to work on, rather than complicated ones.

Therefore, it is not hard for any start-up or business to overcome downturns. Your employees are your strength. You all can work together to keep your company out of financial loss and debt. You need to focus only on what is needed and how you can work together to develop for the better. Work with your employees and plan out the upcoming months properly to achieve success. Your company will progress if you execute the plans properly. The more united you are with your employees, the better it would be for the company.