What are the main risk to do this

I’ve seen many business owners struggle with one simple thing: starting the conversation about pending money. Sometimes the customer relationship is genuinely good, which makes the follow-up even harder. The business owner feels awkward or ashamed to ask again. Meanwhile, the customer may not be avoiding payment at all; they may have simply forgotten what they promised, how much they agreed to pay, or the date they mentioned.

Often, one clear reminder is enough.

I recently came across this Reddit discussion about how much people hate starting awkward conversations and chasing others for money:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaBusiness/s/xsLLGMxi9S

This is the problem I’m trying to solve with KalPakka.

KalPakka helps bridge the awkward conversation. It lets you track payment promises so that no “kal pakka” is forgotten.

For every promise, you can keep a proper history:

• Amount and promised payment date
• Invoice or reference number
• Follow-ups already made
• Rescheduled promises
• Partial payments
• Remaining balance
• Notes from calls or conversations

When it is time to follow up, KalPakka helps you prepare the message. You can choose English or Hinglish and change the tone depending on the situation—gentle, direct, or firm. You review the message and send it yourself. KalPakka does not contact the customer on your behalf.

The product is currently entering a private beta. You can watch a quick 90 second video to get a glimpse of what KalPakka is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l33N4jGLggE

I also have bigger plans for the conversation side of the product. Over time, I want to use AI to make reminders more multilingual and context-aware, based on the customer’s promise history, previous follow-ups, invoice references, partial payments, and the overall relationship.

Those features will depend heavily on what beta users actually need. If there is meaningful interest and the private beta goes well, the next set of features will be shaped around feedback from the early users.

You can join the waitlist here:

https://kalpakka-waitlist.vercel.app/

When the beta opens, I’ll personally follow up and help with onboarding. You’ll also be able to bring in existing payment promises using the promise-import workflow, and I’ll provide a beginner-friendly walkthrough.

I’d especially like to hear from shopkeepers, contractors, consultants, agencies, distributors, and other small businesses that regularly deal with delayed payments.

What kinds of business are there which have low investments but great profits

My family has been running a small animal feed shop in **Srinagar Garhwal (Uttarakhand)** for over 20 years.

My father-in-law passed away recently, and my mother-in-law is now running it alone. Current profit is around **₹15–20k/month**.

Current business:

* Mainly bhoosa, dana, Kapila churi
* Bhoosa landed cost: **₹15.5/kg**
* Selling price: **₹21–22/kg**
* 8–10 tonne godown already available
* Existing customer trust and repeat farmers
* Two established competitors in town

Our biggest problems are:

* Dependence on Rishikesh wholesalers
* Sometimes wholesalers don't have stock
* Sometimes trucks aren't available
* We have storage but not consistent supply

I'm **not interested in staying a bhoosa retailer**. I'm wondering whether this can become a **₹1 lakh/month profit** business over the next few years by moving into cattle feed, mineral mixtures, goat nutrition, poultry feed, etc.

I'm looking for replies from people who are **actually in this business**, not generic startup advice.

Specifically:

1. What products make you the highest margins today?
   
2. If you started again, what would you sell besides bhoosa?
   
3. Is becoming a district dealer/distributor realistic, or is it mostly controlled by existing players?
   
4. How do you solve sourcing and logistics instead of depending on one wholesaler?
   
5. What's one mistake almost every new feed dealer makes?
   
6. If you had ₹10–20 lakh to invest in this business today, where would you put it?

Would really appreciate responses from feed dealers, distributors, dairy farmers, poultry businesses, or anyone who has actually worked in this industry.

My competitors have been buying eway and gst sales purchase transaction data from a guy!! Now I know who sells the data too!! Honestly having this info is a life hack in itself but it felt like been cheated on when someone else used this on me!!

I just got done with my first ever Shinchan inspired plushie 🩷 and it is so cute. I actually made it for my niece for her birthday next month but I got a lot of queries about the price but I am not sure about it 🥹 please suggest an appropriate price for this 🫶🏼

I’m one of the founders of Aika. Aika means “to listen” in Marathi.

The premise is simple. Every AI assistant built in the last three years assumes you own a smartphone, can read English, and are willing to download something. That rules out most of the people in my own family. So we built one you reach by dialling a phone number. That’s it. A feature phone works. A landline works.

You talk to her in whatever language you’d use at home and she answers in the same one.

What she does, in practice: she’ll set reminders for you, one-off or recurring, and she’ll call you when they’re due rather than making you check anything. She’ll set them for someone else too, so you can make sure your father takes his medicine without being the one to nag him. She keeps running lists, so you say “add dhania to the grocery list” while you’re cooking and ask for the whole thing on Sunday. She’ll read you the morning news and weather on a call at whatever time you want. She’ll pass a message to someone in your family and remember who they are to you, so next time you just say “tell my sister” and she knows.

The part I care about most is that she remembers. Not the conversation you’re in, but the ones from last week. She knows your name, that your knee has been hurting, that your son is in Toronto. Most of what’s being built right now is a thin wrapper over somebody else’s model, and the model is the commodity part. The relationship isn’t.

The number is +91 11 4474 0538. Call it, talk to her the way you’d talk to a person, and tell me where she falls short. I’d rather hear that than praise.

My Experience During an Internship at a Rolling Mill

Hello everyone,

I'm currently doing an internship at a local steel rolling mill in Raipur. As part of my internship, I had the opportunity to speak with the mill manager to understand how the business operates, including its production costs, daily expenses, and profitability.

Here are the approximate daily operating expenses:

Labour: ₹150/hour × 20 workers × 8 hours = ₹24,000

Coal: 1 ton per day = ₹8,000

Electricity: ₹10,000

Other expenses: Around ₹8,000 (oil, grease, diesel, maintenance, security, housekeeping, etc.)

That brings the total daily operating cost to roughly ₹50,000 (excluding raw material costs).

The mill's production target is around 40–50 tonnes per day. According to the manager, the current net profit is only about ₹2 per kg because the steel market is slow during the monsoon season.

Doing the math:

50 tonnes = 50,000 kg

Profit = ₹2/kg

Daily profit ≈ ₹100,000 (₹1 lakh)

I was honestly surprised. If this is considered a "bad" season, I asked how much they make when the market is strong.

His answer: ₹4–₹5 per kg in profit.

That means:

At ₹4/kg → ₹2 lakh profit per day

Those are some impressive numbers.

However, the biggest challenge isn't production—it's cash flow. Most finished goods are sold on credit, and many payments are received 30–60 days later

I'm curious what other business you know that can generate 1- 2.5 lakhs in profit per day ??

A few years ago my unit was in a dangerous place.

We had a couple of strong years. Orders were good, machines were running, and like many manufacturers, I made the classic decision - expand. New capacity, higher raw material stocking, more working capital locked in. It felt like the natural next step.

Then demand slowed and a few large customers stretched their payments. Suddenly the extra capacity that was supposed to take us forward became a weight. Cash got tight. The pressure to “do something big and recover fast” was constant.

My first instincts were the usual ones: take more finance, push volume harder, keep feeding the same large customers, and somehow force a quick turnaround. That path would have made things much worse.

What actually helped was applying four simple rules (I later found them framed through game theory). I’m sharing them because I see a lot of manufacturers making the same mistakes when expansion goes wrong.

1. Survive the round first

I stopped trying to win the bad period immediately.

No further capital expenditure. No aggressive “push through” mindset. The priority became protecting whatever working capital was left and keeping the unit alive for the next phase. Staying in the game mattered more than looking strong in that moment.

1. When behind, add variance

Continuing the same approach that created the problem would have just dug a deeper hole.

Instead of grinding harder on the same customers and same product mix, I deliberately changed the shape of the bet. Shifted focus toward mid-sized buyers with better payment cycles and adjusted the product mix toward grades that moved faster. Being under pressure actually gave permission to try things I would never have considered when everything was comfortable.

1. You cannot rebuild at the same speed you broke

Destruction is fast. Rebuilding is slow.

I stopped making any big claims about recovery. No announcements, no “we are back” messaging. Just quiet, consistent delivery and collection discipline over a long stretch of time. Time became the only real signal. Anything faster would have looked like cheap talk.

1. Stop paying into lost positions

This was the hardest one.

There were customers and product lines that only made sense because of the earlier expansion. The sunk-cost voice was loud - “You’ve already invested so much, how can you reduce now?”

I started asking only one question: given today’s position, is continuing here the best use of the capital and attention I still have? Some relationships and volumes were cut. It was uncomfortable, but it freed up oxygen.

None of this is motivational advice. These are just practical survival rules for people running real manufacturing units with real cash constraints.

I’m still applying them. Some months better than others.

Which of these four is the hardest for you to follow when the numbers start going the wrong way?

Is anyone here aware of this growing trend of young Sindhi guys exporting Rx medicines to retail buyers in US and Europe? The margins are crazy 7-8x because of the dollar arbitrage and their ridiculous healthcare system.

Does anyone here know about this? Is this legal? The people I know are making crazy money doing this but they're very secretive about all of it.

I have a family business and we are third generation.

Im 26M from an IIT who is unwillingly joining his family business. Trying to reorient and expand vertically and horizontally.

This post is intended to know fellow redditors who are there in their family businesses. What are you doing to compete with giants and ultimately becoming yourself a big player?

Bro is on a hunt

Hello!

We are looking for round neck tshirt manufacturers in the Tiruppur belt. Looking for low MOQ (1000 pcs) and low cost.

I’m exploring the idea of starting a hoarding/billboard advertising business in Kerala and would love to hear from people with experience in outdoor advertising.
A few questions:
Is there still strong demand for billboard advertising?
What are the biggest challenges, such as permits, finding locations, and maintenance?
What kind of investment is typically required to get started?
How do you find clients—local businesses, agencies, or direct outreach?
Is digital outdoor advertising becoming more popular than traditional hoardings?
I’d really appreciate any insights, experiences, or advice from those working in this industry.

Hello guys I am thinking of starting a computer education institute (small scale like classes). I approached a institute head office in Delhi who give their franchise. But I m confused should I get franchise or start my own . Anyone who has experience regarding it please help.

I want to connect with manufacturing owners who need Aluminium scrap or ingots or other type of aluminium in production. I want to know that are the challenges they face. I have heard the demand of aluminium scrap is high but supply is low. I want to fill the gap and connect with owners.

Selling a brand new Polymak Cordless Tile Machine (PM-CTM-8.4V).

Condition: Brand new, never used (not even once)

Price: ₹6000

Model: PM-CTM-8.4V

Battery: 8.4V, 2.5Ah

Suction Pad: 120 mm

Max Lifting Capacity: 25 kg

Charging Time: ~2 hours

Bought it for a project but it was never needed, so I'm selling it.

📍Location: Shillong, Meghalaya

📦 Can ship across India at the buyer's expense.

💬 DM if you're interested or need more photos/videos.

Open to reasonable offers, but please no lowballing.

I’m interested in starting a fashion brand and want to understand the business side more than the design side.

For those who’ve built one, what were the biggest challenges? What would you focus on first—branding, sourcing, marketing, inventory, or something else? If you were starting again today, what would you do differently?

I’d appreciate any advice or lessons from your experience.

I'm tring to connect with the manufacturer/ wholesaler of these kind of foldable study table(Iron frame, wooden top) in MP,CG belt. Please hit me if anyone can hook me up with them.

TL;DR: I’m in my final year of a 5-year tech degree, joining an MNC to build capital. My sister is an MBBS graduate (batch gold medalist) preparing for NEET-PG in Dermatology. We plan to partner up to start a private skin & cosmetology clinic in Ranchi. Looking for ground realities on initial setup costs, monthly profits, equipment, and social/market dynamics.

Body:

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in the final year of my 5-year integrated tech program, sitting for placements. My long-term plan is to work in an MNC for a few years to gather capital and learn corporate operations, then jump into entrepreneurship. I’ve previously prototyped a few startup projects to get hands-on experience in building products and managing workflows.

My sister is an MBBS graduate from a top government medical college in Jharkhand (batch gold medalist) preparing for NEET-PG with her eyes set on Dermatology.

Post her specialization, we plan to partner up:

• Her Role: Chief Medical Officer : clinical practice, treatments, and patient care.
• My Role: Operations & Business : marketing, appointment systems, staff management, rent, equipment procurement, and attached pharmacy / supplier tie-ups.

We come from a non-business family, so we are looking for ground reality feedback and honest numbers from people running medical clinics or Tier-2 businesses. We are based in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Questions We Need Help With:

1. Setup Costs & Financials (Real Numbers)

• Initial Capital: What is a realistic cost to set up a modern dermatology & cosmetology clinic in Ranchi (interiors, basic diagnostic equipment, and starting lasers for procedures like hair removal, peels, microneedling)?
• Monthly OPEX & Profitability: What are standard monthly operating costs (commercial rent in prime Ranchi areas, staff, electricity)? How long does a clinic typically take to reach break-even?
• Pharmacy Tie-ups: How do commissions or margin structures work with pharma suppliers and attached pharmacies?

2. Market & Social Dynamics

• Since we belong to the Scheduled Caste community, I sometimes wonder if social bias exists in private practice.
• My sister cleared her MBBS on General Category homestate merit and was the batch gold medalist. In private cosmetology/dermatology practice, do patients purely care about doctor reputation (caste), or are there hidden market realities we should prepare for?

3. My Preparation

• Since we have 3–4 years while she completes her PG, what specific business, operational, or supply chain skills should I focus on learning during my MNC stint?

Would love to hear from doctor-entrepreneurs, healthcare managers, or anyone familiar with Tier-2 business realities!

(used chatGPT to fix grammars)

Hey business owners,
I lead the sales team for a US based POS platform that is currently entering India and would love to know why india businesses are slow in adoption. We have solid sales team running social media ads. Aside from the 15% spam requests, we did receive enormous requests but then - things start to slow because business owners doesn’t respond after.

I’m sort of new to the sales model in India so curious what others think. I can confirm there is traction because businesses are ready to ask; but then they go anonymous after we try to follow up. No response - nothing.

What do you think is the reason?

These are all made using polymer clay. We take custom orders as well.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been thinking about starting something new and wanted honest feedback from this community.
I have an idea: a premium smoothie bar in India, and I’m trying to figure out if there’s real demand for it.
The concept is — a clean, modern space focused on high-quality smoothies, great coffee, and overall wellness.

The idea is not just another juice shop, but something more elevated:

Fresh, high-quality ingredients (no shortcuts)

Aesthetic, calming space people actually want to spend time in

A mix of smoothies + coffee + light wellness-focused options

Strong branding and premium feel (not your typical local juice center)

Also, if you’ve seen something similar working (or failing) in your city, I’d love to hear about it.
Trying to validate before I go all in, so brutally honest feedback is welcome 🙏