These days, DIYs have become the latest trend. Right from room décor to small fancy items, people are turning towards DIYs. The trend has especially seen a rise during the lockdown. But, the most interesting part is, people have found a way to earn while pursuing their hobbies.
Many people have already started making customised masks and selling them. Many households are earning a lot from these. But did you know? There are many more DIY products that people are selling, which we never even thought of. These simple ideas can be our next business options too!
TOYS FOR CHILDREN
Small toys made from cardboards, soft toys and puzzles have a high demand in the market. Ever thought you could earn with simple drop lemon in the cup game? This toymaker from Pimpri-Chinchwad had also never though. But when parents approached her, she started selling her DIY toys.
While speaking with Sakal Times, toymaker and a physiotherapist, Rucha Akolkar said, “Some of my friends visited my house and saw the toys that I had made for my three-year-old kid. So they asked me to make some for them as well. This is how the idea inspired me, and I started making more and more toys for the children. And I’m getting a really good response.” Rucha sells the toys under the banner Moody Tods.
JUTE BAG DESIGNING
After the State government banned the single-use plastic, people started making cotton bags and chiffon bags to replace them with the plastic bags. However, what turned most heads were jute bags. Initially, the jute bags looked simple and boring. Hence, Ashwini Welankar, a resident of Mayur Colony, came up with an innovative idea and started decorating these bags.
She makes beautiful paintings and designs on the bags. When asked about the same, she said that her friend asked her to decorate her bag and it clicked to her that she can start her own business with this.
Initially, her friends purchased these bags from her and then with mouth publicity and finally with exhibitions, Ashwini made her name. She runs a successful business and has sold more than a thousand bags to date.
GLASS PAINTING
Bhagyashree Jagirdar from Kothrud learnt glass painting just as her hobby. However, after making beautiful designs on the glasses, she thought of uploading those online. She got an excellent response and decided to sell those online sites.
Again, her glass painting is very famous, and people are loving the artwork that she is doing. She also makes paper lamps, paper flowers, vase and murals. “I was just doing these things as a lockdown time pass. But then, I just out of curiosity uploaded my work on Amazon, and surprisingly, I got a good response. Hence, I’m now working on developing more DIYs into businesses,” said Bhagyshree, adding, “I also have my own Instagram page where I teach people these simple DIYs.”
SOAPS AND BODY WASHES
Who doesn’t like using soaps in different colours and shapes? Ketaki Joshi from Mumbai liked making soaps. So she started making those and initially gifted them to her friends and relatives. They asked her to make more such soaps for them. So this is how her business started.
There are many more people around who make soaps and body baths and earn from those. Soap making, glycerine making, also different face packs and hair packs are the most budding businesses. If you know the right technique and proportion, the game is yours!
ENVELOPS FOR GIFTING PURPOSES
We all have used different envelopes at some point but never thought this could be another business option. Prajakta Adgaonkar came up with this idea. She started making beautiful colourful envelopes for gifting purposes. She has many customers lined up, and her business is doing really well.
She said, “I always wanted to do something different. I used to find traditional envelopes very boring. Hence, I started decorating the envelopes using ribbons, glasswork, shading and sand art. I never thought I would get such a good response,” added Prajakta.
TEACHING MAKE-UP
Madhura Bhat, a resident of Magarpatta, loves doing make-up. So she decided to make videos and teach make-up online. She conducts seminars regularly and gives tips for skincare and best beauty products to use. She can be found on Instagram, and along with her beauty tips, her weight loss and diet tips are also very sought after.
Madhura says it’s no rocket science. It is about your passion, interest, hard work and belief in yourself that can help you become successful. I loved make-up, and I got a chance to earn out of it. “Nothing is better than earning from what you love the most,” said Madhura.
There are many ways to start your business without a lot of investment. Just some research could help you with this. Following are different business ideas which not very popular yet, but are gaining ground:
HR Gifting (Love shopping? Then this job is for you! You can help big companies with gifting ideas for their clients and employees. Either you can purchase things for them or coordinate with the shop owners)
Online fitness coach (You can help people lead a healthy life by becoming a fitness coach.)
Teaching online (If you are good in music, dance, language, cooking, etc. this option is never-ending. You would always get people who are willing to learn different things especially, during the lockdown.)
