Vishwas Verma shared his experience to show that small business like selling tea or juice is not as easy as it looks. Visiting faculty at the Lloyd Business School said this when he bought tea ₹15, he immediately began calculating her cost and profit margin.
Read also | ‘From one chaiwala to another’: British tea seller gets viral moment with PM Modi
Every salaried employee does the math at least once in their life, he joked. People often think that such businesses are simple and profitable. In a viral Instagram Reel, Verma explained why they are not. The viral video has received more than 7.5 million views so far.
Verma tried a similar idea himself. He opened a small shop in Gaur City, Greater Noida, near Black Vigor Gym. He hoped gym members would buy healthy items. The rent was low, approx ₹10,000. So he and a friend expected a steady income. They sold juices, protein shakes and eggs.
However, they soon faced complications. The price of fruit, especially pineapple, changed daily. They were selling pineapple juice for ₹90.
Read also | These small business owners are putting artificial intelligence to good use
But one pineapple was needed for one glass. Considering the price of the fruit and the cold press for the pure juice, the actual cost was almost ₹90 per glass.
“I don’t understand how these juice sellers even make money,” he said.
He tried selling boiled eggs
Vishwas Verma also tried selling boiled eggs as he thought it would be easy to make money. He predicted the price of eggs ₹5 each and planned to sell them for ₹10 after cooking.
In winter, however, eggs were sold for ₹7 to ₹8 each. This caused the margin to drop sharply. In addition, some eggs cracked during boiling, causing direct losses even before sale.
He faced similar problems with protein shakes. The price of protein powder continued to rise, increasing input costs. However, customers were not always willing to accept higher prices. What seemed like a simple idea for profit actually turned out to be difficult.
They also introduced personal training on ₹150 per session which was considered premium and had some demand. Ironically, Maggi noodles were also added.
Read also | Trump moves student loans to Small Business Administration
Purchase on ₹11 and sell to ₹30 seemed profitable on paper. But they didn’t consider rent, labor, time or effort. These hidden costs reduced the real profit.
Verma realized that small businesses involve many invisible expenses and risks that outsiders often ignore. He finally realized why the store’s rent was low.
Very few customers were other than gym members. Low rent usually means low running. They were dependent on only 30-40 gym goers, which limited earnings.
Experience has taught him that small business is not as easy as it seems from the outside.
“Now I understand how things work and I could probably do better. But whenever you get into a business like this, it’s not as easy as it seems to sell ₹15 cups of tea,” he said.