Every Indian woman, irrespective of her educational or social qualifications, can earn money. Practical ideas in the articles in this column will show you how you too can earn.
Mahalakshmi is the goddess of money, prosperity and wealth. When a marriage takes place in India, everyone in the new bridegroom's family happily says about the new bride that, "Mahalakshmi has come into our house to light the lamp." No Indian says, "Kali or Saraswathi has come."
You will find only a few Mahalakshmi temples in this country - especially in the South India - because, I think, every Indian household is a temple and every housewife is a Mahalakshmi, the presiding goddess of money at her home.
It is a magnificent social custom and an emotional idea reserved for Indian movies, television serials, text books, stories, public speech and editorials.
In real life, most Indian women always live amidst financial difficulties. They are dependent on their husbands for everything. They train themselves hard to live within the income earned by their husbands. They deny even their simple wishes and legitimate needs. They shrink inwardly and outwardly. They believe their husbands' income is the maximum income of the family.
It is a mistake to live with unfulfilled needs and in financial difficulties. It is a mistake that can easily be set right by a small change in your attitude - a small change that can bring a big change in your financial life.
Such a change can generate an additional income of a few thousand rupees for every Indian family.
Every Indian woman can earn through self-employment. Every Indian woman, whether a housewife or not, can be an entrepreneur. The requirements to become your own boss are simple.
There are only two basic requirements. First is that you must believe that you too can earn money. Second is that you must give your mind, heart, body and soul to your venture. That's all. If you fulfill these requirements, you can create prosperity in your life.
Without women creation is impossible. However, you, the Indian woman, have forgotten that you are the force of life, Shakthi. It's time for you, the Mahalakshmi, to remember the forgotten truth that you have the capacity to create prosperity. If you become conscious of this truth and take some meaningful steps to earn money, you will be surprised how simple it is to earn money.
Invoke this truth in your heart. Light this lamp. Then you and your family will be bathing in prosperity in the near future.
But, where will you begin?
You can begin only where you are. Each of us has different natures, personalities, requirements and circumstances. We must try our hands in things at which we are good and naturally flower. This approach will open up many immediate income opportunities.
The opportunities range from hi-tech to low-tech, from manual to automatic, from product to service, from global to regional and from rural to cosmopolitan. In this issue, let's consider a common opportunity that every Indian woman has the capacity to capitalize.
Cook Your Prosperity
Every Indian woman is an expert in cooking. You already have a skill that you use day in and day out for your family. You can use this skill to make money immediately.
School children carry their lunch in lunch-boxes. Every morning, most housewives - especially working women - find it very difficult to prepare healthy, quality and delicious lunch for their children in the middle of the other household work.
You can solve their problem by offering lunch packets to school children and earn a few thousand rupees a month. If you have just ten parents, you can earn more than two thousand rupees every month. You do not need any additional resources, equipment or space to carry on this venture.
Prepare a menu of food items that you will supply every day of the week. Standardize the menu. Do some research and make it healthy and safe for kids.
Find out the cost of preparation. Then double the cost to arrive at your sales price. Many restaurants work at 50% sales margin (that is 100% margin on the cost). As you do not have overheads, your price will be significantly lower than restaurants.
You need an assistant who will deliver the food packets at the parents' places. If all the children gather at a particular bus-stop, you can deliver the packets at that place. It will save time and energy. You must assure the parents that if you miss the bus, you will deliver the packets at school. That will give peace of mind to the parents.
I spoke to a few parents in a small town and asked them how much they would pay for such services. All of them said that they would pay Rs.300 and above per kid per month, if the food was good and the service was reliable.
Then, I spoke with a woman who has some knowledge about the business of food supply to factories. She said that the direct cost would be Rs.130 in this case. So, the gross profit will be Rs.170 per kid.
You will spend a few hundred rupees on packing materials. Part-time assistant - you need a delivery boy with a bicycle only for two hours a day - will cost Rs.750 a month. Hey, you are creating jobs too!
If you have just ten customers, who have 2 kids each, then you can earn Rs.2,500 a month without leaving your house, without learning anything new and without any big investment.
Work on the above idea and come up with your own business model. You will start making money even from next week. Yes, from next week.
In the next issue, let us see how you can make money through internet with the ordinary skills you already have.