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MSME Startup

Gift Shops: 5 Tips to Follow to Revive Your Gift Shop Business Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Gift shop Business
Gift shop Business (Photo Credits: Flickr)

Mumbai, November 6: Coronavirus pandemic affected every business across the world. From job losses to pink slips, majority of the companies have suffered.  It has been more difficult for small businesses, like gift shops, who had to remain shut for several months in the middle of the lockdown.

Gift shop business is a revenue-generating venture, provided you keep a few things in mind. Across the globe, in the past decade, this business has witnessed a huge growth because of the increase in application for inventive products and extension in the customer base.

Now with the ease in the restrictions, and with the economy opening up, these businesses have also started operating.

Here are 5 tips which you can follow to make your business successful: 

Have Strong Online Presence: In today’s age, there is no other alternative, but you need to have a strong online presence. From having an e-commerce website to allowing customers to discover your brand on social media platforms, you should never miss this opportunity.

Spend your funds wisely: After remaining shut for several months, it is very important to use your resources and funds wisely.

Choose Your Niche, Be Original: Remember there are thousands of gift shops in the market. Try and understand how your shop will be different from the rest. It is very important to be original in your idea in order to stand out from the clutter.

Pay attention to hygiene: Since you are opening the shop in the middle of the pandemic. You need to take care of the hygiene and pay other attention to precautions that need to be maintained amid the pandemic.

Make your shop look attractive: Being a gift shop, you will have different items to showcase. Design your shop in such a manner so that you can manage to attract the attention of the audience. Your shop may not be big in terms of the space, but utilise it with proper planning without making it look cluttered.

 

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MSME

MSMEs to Get a Boost As D&B India and NSIC Ink Pact to Create Ecosystem for Promoting and Fostering Growth of Micro, Small & Medium Businesses

A worker at an MSME firm
A worker at an MSME firm. | Representative image.

New Delhi, November 5: In a bid to foster the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India has signed an agreement with the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC). The pact aims to create an ecosystem for promoting, aiding and fostering the growth of MSMEs. A statement said, the partnership between the two will help MSMEs in India to increase their visibility, expand access to global markets, find potential customers, uncover new suppliers and channel partners, manage risk and identify growth opportunities.

With the new pact, MSMEs will also be able to leverage platforms like D&B Credit to make credit decisions, monitor the financial health of customers, assess credit risk and identify portfolio trends. The partnership will provide Indian MSMEs with access to Dun & Bradstreet’s suite of data and analytics solutions via NSIC’s countrywide network of offices and technical centres.

Julian Prower, chairman of the board and MD, Dun & Bradstreet India said, “By working with the NSIC, we expect to play a pivotal role in enabling the eco-system required to accelerate MSME growth and help achieve the government GDP contribution target of 50 percent of GDP by FY 2025.” Dun & Bradstreet India will also partner with NSIC to provide customized training and certification programs to help MSMEs better navigate the ever-changing global business environment, the release stated.

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Startup

What is the Difference Between a Startup And Small Business Venture? Here Are 3 Key Differences

Startup Vs Small Business Venture
Representational Image (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Bangalore, November 5: Startup is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable economic model. A startup is often confused with a small business, however, there are key differences which one needs to understand in how they function.

Amid the tough market conditions, it is difficult to run a small business and more difficult is to see a startup grow.

Growth Plans

Startups are different from small ventures mainly because they are designed to grow fast on limited resources internally. Startups have an essential need for rapid growth.

Small businesses also seek growth, but more conservative growth which includes creating reliable, long-term income streams.

Funding:

Apart from having different growth strategies, startups seek financial investment differently than most small businesses. Startups rely on capital that comes by means of angel investors or venture capital firms. On the other hand, small business ventures may tend to rely on loans and grants from financial institutions.

A startup requires constant investment at every stage of their growth, which will help them to reach the next level. This is the reason, why user number metrics are so important to startups as they indicate what percentage of their target market has been achieved.

Risk-Taking Capability

Compared to small business ventures, startups have an aggressive risk-taking capability. A startup undertakes several risks like- product risk, market risk and financial risk. For a startup, it is also very important to know their customer and why, how and where they buy related products is arguably the most important risk factor to assess before launching the product. For startups, the risk is mainly tougher because the product is new and it will be a different experience for the public.

Small businesses also take risks, but they are usually of a different nature. The time to prove their success in the market is usually more.

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Startup

RBI Says ‘Promoting Startup And Ensuring Their Survival is Critical in Generating More Employment’

Startup
Startup (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Mumbai, August 25: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that the promotion of young firms and startups and ensuring their survival is critical for generating more employment generation and higher productivity-led economic growth in India. RBI’s annual report for 2019-20 mentioned that it will be essential to reorient resources and policy focus in this direction.

RBI in its report mentioned that Indian IT firms are already leading globally in terms of developing applications using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), robotics, and blockchain technology. This niche advantage needs to be leveraged to strengthen India’s position as an innovation hub, coupled with India’s ‘Start-up India’ campaign which recognises the potential of young entrepreneurs of the country.

Commenting on the economic growth revival of the country following the impact of coronavirus, RBI said that the government’s consumption will continue to support current economic demand while private consumption is expected to lead the recovery.

 

 

 

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Finance MSME Startup

Ministry of MSME Issues Circular Stating RBI’s Criteria for Classification of Enterprises Under MSMED Act, 2006, Here Are the Details

Ministry of MSME
Ministry of MSME (Photo Credit: PIB)

New Delhi, August 24: The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium and Medium Enterprises on Monday issued the Reserve Bank of India’s notification for clarifications of small and medium and medium enterprises in the country. The re-classification of MSMEs have been done by the Union government under the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 and is effective from July 1, 2020.

Under the Gazette notification, released by the RBI and reissued by Ministry of MSMEs, several criteria have been mentioned which contains the definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises as per Section 7 (I) of the MSMED Act, 2006.

Definition of MSMEs under MSMED Act:

Micro Enterprise: A firm where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed Rs 1 crore. Also, turnover does not exceed Rs 5 crore.

Small Enterprise: A firm where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed Rs 10 crore. Also, turnover does not exceed Rs 50 crore.

Medium Enterprise: A firm where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed Rs 50 crore. Also, turnover does not exceed Rs 250 crore.

Apart from this, the RBI notification mentioned composite criterion of investment and turnover for the classification of MSMEs. It says that if an enterprise crosses the ceiling limits specified for its present category in either of the two criteria of investment or turnover, it will cease to exist in that category.

The notification said that all the enterprises — whose Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) are listed against the
same Permanent Account Number (PAN) — will be collectively treated as one enterprise. Adding more, it said that the turnover and investment figures for all of those entities will be seen together and only the aggregate values will be considered for classification of MSMEs.

Calculation of Turnover:

For the calculation of investment in plant and machinery or equipment in an enterprise, RBI said that it will link Income Tax Return (ITR) of the previous years filed under the Income Tax Act, 1961. For new enterprises — whose ITR details are not available — the investment will be based on self-declaration of the promoter of the enterprise.

However, those relaxations will end after the March 31 of the financial year in which it files its first ITR. Also, purchase — invoice — the value of a plant and machinery or equipment will be taken into account excluding GST — on self-disclosure basis — if the enterprise is a new one without any ITR.

Among other details, RBI said that it will exclude exports of goods or services or both while calculating the turnover of any enterprise for MSMEs for classification. Adding more, RBI circular stated that information related with turnover and exports turnover for an enterprise will be linked to the Income Tax Act or the Central Goods and Services Act (CGST Act) and the GSTIN. For an enterprise, who don’t have PAN, their turnover will be considered on a self-declaration basis for a period up to March 31, 2021. Following this, PAN and GSTIN will be mandatory.