I thought to try out local refill centers to fit into my budget and quick service. I handed over toner to the person at refill center. He took some printout using the toner. His evaluation took about 3 – 4 minutes. He quickly quoted me Rs. 250 for refilling, Rs. 350 for Drum (this one does actual printing job) & Rs. 150 for PCR (this one collects excess ink powder). So total of Rs. 750/-

Rs. 750 according to me was high. I, like my dad, (he is a great bargain hunter) thought of bargaining. I asked him to do the job for me for 500 bucks finally there was mutual agreement between us to do the job for Rs. 550 which is approx. 27% less then his quotation. A thought ran through my mind how much this people are making that he easily allowed me a discount of Rs. 200.

This is how I came up with this article to reveal cartridge refilling business.

The search begins for locating wholesale market for Printer consumables which ended at Modi Street located in Fort Area in Mumbai. At Modi Street one can find many stores selling printer & toner consumables and also new toners at wholesale price. The study was conducted for Toner of Canon LBP 2900B. The facts of the study are listed as below:

Main Parts in Toner that need to be changed: Ink Powder, Drum, PCR, Magnet, Blade
? Ink Powder ranges between Rs. 45 – 60/packet depending on quantity. E.g. 80 gms powder will cost Rs. 45 while 100 gms. Powder will cost Rs. 60
? Drum ranges between Rs. 110 – Rs. 140 depending on quality
? PCR available between Rs. 40 –Rs. 45
? Magnet ranges between Rs. 40 – Rs. 55
? Blade ranges between Rs. 40 – Rs. 50

Comparison between Wholesale Price, Retail Price and Price of Chain Cartridge Refilling stations:

* It is assumed that 100 gms ink powder is used for refilling and all other products used are of best quality hence higher rate is considered for calculation purpose. In wholesale price Rs. 350 is for changing all the important parts (as mentioned above) of cartridge & refilling while the retail price is Rs. 1060 for same and Rs. 1750 is for changing all parts at Chain Cartridge Refilling station.

Analysing above numbers tells us that cartridge refilling is 200% Margin business even if you are a local retailer with one store. Imagine the margin of chain stores. Also starting up with cartridge refilling business is easy. You need a small shop or stall at good location and material worth Rs. 5000 to start with. Of course you need to have certain amount of technical and mechanical knowledge. It is advised that you buy dummy cartridges & toners from market and try your hands on that before taking up customer orders.

1. Eagles fly alone at a high altitude and not with sparrows or mix with other smaller birds like geese.Birds of a feather flock together.No other bird goes to the height of the eagle. Eagles fly with eagles,never in a flock.Even when Moses (Old Testament Bible) went to commune with God on the mountain, he left the crowd at the foothills.

Principle: Stay away from sparrows and ravens. Eagles fly with eagles.

2. Eagles have strong vision, which focuses up to 5 kilometers from the air. When an eagle sites prey- even a rodent from this distance, he narrows his focus on it and sets out to get it. No matter what obstacles come, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.

Principle: Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle you face and you will succeed.

3. Eagles do not eat dead things. He feeds on fresh prey.Vultures eat dead animals but not eagles. .

Principle: Steer clear of outdated and old information.Do your research well always.

4. The Eagle is the only bird that loves the storm. When clouds gather,the eagles get excited.The eagle uses the wings of the storm to rise and is pushed up higher.Once it finds the wing of the storm, the eagle stops flapping and uses the pressure of the raging storm to soar the clouds and glide. This gives the eagle an opportunity to rest its wings.In the meantime all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees.

Principle: We can use the storms of our lives (obstacles, trouble, etc) to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.

5. The Eagle tests before it trusts.When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down to earth with the male pursing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her. Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The male chases after the twig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases until hereaches it and has to catch it before it falls to the ground, then bring it back to the female eagle. The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a much higher altitude pursued by the male until she perceives it high enough, and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on for hours, with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of picking the twig which shows commitment,then and only then, will she allow him to mate with her!

Principle: Whether in private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.

6. Eagles prepare for training.When about to lay eggs, the female and male eagle identify a place very high on a cliff where no predators can reach; the male flies to earth and picks thorns and lays them on the crevice of the cliff, then flies to earth again to collect twigs which he lays in the intended nest. He flies back to earth picks thorns and lays them on top of the twigs. He flies back to earth and picks soft grass to cover the thorns, and then flies back to pick rugs to put on the grass. When this first layering is complete the male eagle runs back to earth and picks more thorns, lays them on the nest; runs back to get grass and rugs and lays them on top of the thorns, then plucks his feathers to complete the nest. The thorns on the outside of the nest protect it from possible intruders. Both male and female eagles participate in raising the eagle family. She lays the eggs and protects them; he builds the nest and hunts.During the time of training the young ones to fly, the mother eagle throws the eaglets out of the nest and because they are scared, they jump into the nest again. Next, she throws them out and then takes off the soft layers of the nest, leaving the thorns bare. When the scared eaglets jump into the nest again, they are pricked by thorns.Shrieking and bleeding they jump out again this time wondering why the mother and father who love them so much are torturing them. Next, mother eagle pushes them off the cliff into the air. As they shriek in fear,father eagle flies out and picks them up on his back before they fall, and brings them back to the cliff. This goes on for sometime until they start flapping their wings. They get excited at this newfound knowledge that they can fly and not fall at such a fast rate. The father and mother eagle supports them with their wings.

Principle: The preparation of the nest teaches us to prepare for changes; the preparation for the family teaches us that active participation of both partners leads to success; being pricked by the thorns tells us that sometimes being too comfortable where we are may result in our not experiencing life, not progressing, and not learning at all. The thorns of life come to teach us that we need to grow, get out of the nest, and love on. We may not know it, but the seemingly comfortable and safe haven may have thorns; the people who love us do not let us languish in sloth but push us hard to grow and prosper. Even in their seemingly bad actions they have good intentions for us.

7. When the Eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should.When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out.

Principle: We occasionally need to shed off old habits, things that burden us, or add no value to our lives.

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) modified and renamed an erstwhile Small Industries Cluster Development Programme (SICDP) and introduced the Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) in October 2007, aimed at:

-> Addressing common issues of MSEs such as tech-upgrade, access to markets, capital, etc.
-> Building Capacity of MSEs through creation of consortia, self help groups, associations, etc.
-> Creating or upgrading infrastructural facilities in the clusters.
-> Establising common facility centres such as testing labs, training centres, raw material depots, effluent treatment plants, etc.

Apart from MSE-CDP, the Lean Manufacturing Programme and Promotion of Information and Communicaton Technology are cluster-based programmes. The former trains clusters in eliminating manufacturing waste and streamlining systems, while the latter assists clusters in adopting IT application in their entire chain of business.

How to avail benefits under the MSE-CDP initiative?

-> Send proposals to the office of Development Commissioner (MSME) through concerned State Governments or institutes of Ministry of MSME.
-> An MSE-CDP Steering Committee will approve these proposals.
-> Mentoring activities and funding patterns of MSE-CDP can be accessed from:-

http://www.dcmsme.gov.in/schemes/ModifiedGuidelinesofMSE.pdf

SMS what does it means to normal people in india ?

A best way to express yourself, important message can be delivered to that person if he is busy and what else, No!!! It’s not, it is tool or the Marketers too wherein they provide you the best deals on mobile phone when you are on the way. The best deals are normally sms by which company deal with the relevant information As per TRAI data an average indian send around 29 sms a day. So you can imagine whats the rate for the growth in this industry. It’s being used not just to keep in touch with friends and family but to check bank balances, mobile bills, and status of train/flight to name a few. SMS is always 160 character and people think it to short to address the mass but in my view advertisment what we see is also too short it is hardly for 30 to 60 sec but they are able to answer the querries and they attract sales.

Why cant SMS.

If you look at SMS many of the telecom service provider have their special schemes coming for the youngster and other mobile phone usage. Like Airtel is coming up with the ads which shows that you can get inquiry about the paying guest on your mobile with the minimum charge, or you can search job on your mobile while you roam. There are many such schemes which are available with the different telecom service providers of songs, product menu, delivery of birthday gifts to your friends and relatives or to your loved ones. So the SMS has started a new range where you can get SMS when you want. This you called it has a Customer service by the Service provider.

But today being lot of SMS being sent by the marketers as created a cautious in the industry where people prefer to go and use the service which say “DON’T CALL OR SMS” This has created a limitation in the sms sending to the mass. So whenever we have to send a promotion we need to decide on the following points where we can send a quality sms.

1. Target audience

2. Age Group

3. Location

4. Quality of SMS

SMS: Miscellaneous Uses India:

SMS Contests – TV Rules were in the reality show where in people send sms in bulk to make sure that their favorite participant win.

Buying food has become an interesting past time compared to a decade back.
Men too are taking an active part in this chore. Times have changed from going to the kirana store and giving the list to the owner who packs the stuff in a bag and gives it to you. These days it has become a ritual to spend a couple of hours or more in a huge retail shops browsing through the aisles picking up stuff reading about them and then choosing what the consumers want.

There is an invisible bond that forms between the consumer and manufacturer when the consumer picks up a product and starts reading the label.
The opportunity for the consumer to interact with the products has increased immensely because of the retailers who have come into play in the arena of food. The only way a manufacturer can forge a strong bond with the consumer through his product is by maintaining consistency in quality, honsety and accuracy in the information provided on the label.

The consumer will have more trust on the product if it is labeled properly and repeated patronizing will be higher only when the consumer trusts the manufacturer. The manufacturers need to trust the consumer to make the right choice and come back for their product based on quality of the product than by withholding or inaccurate information. And this is the only way to build the market for a product which will withstand the test of time.

The various annual competitions conducted by E-Cell are:

*Envision: Product Design Competition
*Eclairez: Social Entrepreneurship Challenge
*Negocio: Web 2.0 and Mobile Application based Competition
*Cleantech Challenge: Clean Technology based Business Plan Competition.

Deadline for 1st round Submission: 15th Novermber, 2010

Contact: Chanakya Hridaya
chanakya@ecell-iitkgp.org
+91 9674450231

For more details, visit http://www.ecell-iitkgp.org/competitions/

The amount of time taken for investments due to the complex procedures leave many in frenzy. But it’s the internet services that are going to help everyone bringing about a relief while carrying out investments. It has become a huge resource for people who don’t have to spend time checking and re-checking forms, applications etc as the internet will not allow you to make mistakes.

So let’s have a look at the services offered by the net.

ONLINE BANK ACCOUNT
This service helps you to check your account from anywhere without much hassle. You can transfer funds, make payments, pay your electricity, phone bills without the use of checks. An easy method for those who still find banking complex.

ONLINE SHARE TRADING
Well those who are tired of the traditional method of purchasing and selling shares, this online trading method is a boon. You can view prices real-time, with data such as the best five ask and bid price, along with other parameters like the day’s high, low and the volumes traded. You can also analyse your portfolio online. “Today, a total of 11% of all equity trades are executed online, compared to 9.5% a year ago,” says Aseem Dhru, MD and CEO, HDFC Securities. The ‘lite’ versions launched by some brokerages work fine in case you are using a low speed internet.

MUTUAL FUNDS
Now Mutual Funds can also be bought online. It’s just a click away. You don’t have to sign for every investment and there is less paper work. And if you are a new user and have just no idea how to get about such sites; then there are various sites that give a detailed overview of the whole process-something like “Mutual Fund for Dummies”.

COMPANY FDS, BANK FDS AND BONDS
Though they carry higher credit risk, company fixed deposits offer a higher interest rate than banks. “We do a due diligence before recommending fixed deposits to our investors,” says Mr Arora of ICICI Securities. You can invest in fixed deposits online.

IPOS
Investors applying in IPOs can use the Applications supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) route. If you have an online broking account, an ASBA application can be done at a click of a button.

INSURANCE
Insurance companies like HDFC securities and Religare offered Insurance facilities online. You can buy certain Ulips and term insurance online.

CREDIT CARDS
Credit cards usage is very popular on the internet as it’s easy to purchase stuff through it. And with increased security measures, it’s faster and safer. You get reminders for your bill payments and help you to keep track of your expenses.

HOME LOAN SERVICING
Many banks like HDFC Bank allows customers to pay home loan EMIs online. This works best when you are stationed abroad.

With so many services just a click away finances can be easily taken care of. The amount of work and tedious nature of the job involved while doing investments leaves everyone exhausted. But the internet has been a boon and it would be fruitful for all to use it diligently.

“You absolutely do not have to give away something great for free,” said Michael Dearing, a former eBay executive who is a teacher of the Launch Pad class. “If you build something great, people will pay you for it.”

It’s great how small things turn big in a short span of time. If we rewind few months back we’ll see how a simple college project turned out to be a goldmine for these two young college graduates. Ankit Gupta and Akshay Kothari were super excited as they would be one of the first few people to lay their hands one of the sought after products of Apple-the iPad. But little did they know that two months later they would be famous; on New York Times, NBC’s Evening News and TechCrunch a powerful technology blog. After their purchase, they had developed software as a part of their college project that aggregates news from various sources. It became a huge success and they were living a dream. Sitting on a goldmine with most companies trying to figure out how to do so, their start has been enviable. While 30,000 iPad users have downloaded their app so far, there are two million users out there. There are soon launching this same application on the iPhone which has an estimated user list of 3 billion people worldwide making this application one of the most successful applications. They have won not only attention but also huge sums of money. A true success!

Kothari is from Ahmedabad, while Gupta is a genius from IIT Bombay. At Standford while studying they got accepted to a programme called “Launch Pad”. The idea of Launch Pad was simple: build a product and launch a company in three months. While they got iPad which was truly enriching for people in love with technology, they discovered that news consumption experience had left them frustrated. So they ventured out to make an application in order to solve their ongoing frustration; which led them to start their college product. So they went about building their product which was difficult at start as many advisors from the Silicon valley told them to “try something else”. But they were not going to be put off by criticisms. “Basically, I think once you set out to do something, you must put your whole heart into it,” Kothari says. It was a great experience. They started to solve this problem and build up a whole new application which would later on shake up the entire technological world. “On day 1, people were like, ‘this is awful’,” Kothari says. By day 5, testers were asking if the app came bundled with the iPad. “Then we knew we were on to something,” he says. It was hard work, they researched, they tried, they tested and they perfected it.

Then came the issue of marketing. “We feel it’s the key. Most engineers think if they build an awesome product it will sell itself. We knew that approach was not going to work in a crowded app marketplace,” Kothari says. They uploaded videos on YouTube attracting attention and finally TechCrunch a powerful Silicon valley Blog reviewed it which went on the top of the list and hasn’t moved ever since. “We have been incredibly fortunate to be in an environment that encourages entrepreneurs,” Kothari says. The lessons they learnt not only taught them to become a tech designer but also taught them entrepreneurship.

“So many of our really smart friends in India opt for some stupid job in a bank after they graduate because of the comfort of a salary. Both of us passionately believe that young people should set out to do something on their own, and if our little success inspires anybody out there, that will be our biggest reward,” Kothari says, with heartfelt sincerity that didn’t seem to care if he was sounding a bit clichéd. Cliched or not we thoroughly like this duo. Small business ideas can be really rewarding if you believe in it, so keep your mind open to everything; you never know what’s next. Here is a toast to the success of these two talented Indian boys. Well, they have truly made us proud!

The company has 80 franchisees and would be adding another 20 very soon. This has been planned keeping in mind the success of year 2010 for travel and tourism companies. In the last few years, the company has successfully tapped markets in tier II and III cities like Meerut, Varanasi, Patiala, Siliguri and Raipur, among many others. Cox and Kings India registered 18 per cent growth in net profit in March 2010 quarter in comparison to its previous March quarter.

Cox and Kings is headed by Mr. Peter Kerkar. Cox and Kings is one of the few travel franchise businesses in India to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Cox and Kings was listed on 11th Dec. 2009, raising over Rs. 610 Crore (USD 13 Million).

Cox & Kings as a franchisor grants the franchisee / entrepreneur the licensed right to own and operate a business based on the Cox and King’s travel business concept, using its trademark. Cox and Kings would
help the franchisee start the business, providing training, assistance with, site development and ordering inventory, advertising and marketing support. To benefit from this business opportunity, a franchisee needs 250 to 1,000 sq ft of space and to make an investment of Rs 10-15 lakh.

Cox and Kings has started to franchise (A Year ago), joining other travel franchise businesses like, Travelport, Raj Travels and others.

About the Author
Dhawal Shah is an entrepreneur and franchise expert with many years of experience. He publishes FranchiseExpo.in the fastest growing franchises for sale search engine, helping buyers and sellers of franchise opportunities. FranchiseExpo.in has many resources to help you on your journey to start your own business, sell your existing business or open a franchise. FranchiseExpo.in has hundreds of franchises for sale in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Inditex opened its first Zara store in India on May 29, 2010 in the Saket region of Delhi, having announced its plan to do so in September 2007. In accordance with Indian regulations on foreign direct investment (FDI), the Spanish fast-fashion retailer partnered with the Tata Group, India, to form a joint venture in February 2009. Inditex owns 51% of this partnership while Tata’s subsidiary Trent Limited holds 49%. Due to various challenges the company faces, store expansion will remain slow, with only one further store opening planned for 2010.

Inditex has relied heavily on global expansion to maintain its sales momentum due to the heavy impact of the downturn in its domestic market. Indeed in 2009, 98% of new stores opened outside of Spain. Asian markets are a particularly strong source of growth for Inditex. It already operates stores in South Korea, China and Japan, where it opened a combined 63 stores in 2009. Similarly to China, India presents lucrative potential in the form of a rapidly growing middle class. Moreover, its clothing retail expenditure is forecast to grow at a faster rate than neighboring China with a CAGR of 6.7% in the period 2009-13, compared to China’s 5.3%, according to Verdict’s Global Retail Database.

Zara has launched its stores at Select Citywalk and DLF Promenade mall, in New Delhi and in the new extension of the Palladium commercial centre in Mumbai. Lara Dutta, launched the Zara apparel brand at Select Citywalk. It is the first store of the company in India. It has more than 14,000 square feet in one floor where the brand show its women’s, men’s and children’s collection. Zara is the second Spanish Retailer to enter India, after Mango. Although Mango expanded in India, by the franchise route.

However, the company faces several hurdles. Current regulations on FDI in India stipulate that foreign single-brand retailers must pass a 49% stake to a local partner. This involves the retailer sharing company details and data it would not normally divulge. Furthermore, franchising stores means that the retailer loses some control over how these are operated, which many companies fear may damage their brand. Consequently, single-brand retailers are often wary of entering the Indian market. For a clothing retailer like Zara, additional concerns include the relative lack of seasonal variation and the distinct, consolidated style of dress among Indian women which differs greatly to Zara’s existing ranges. We reported back in March, 2009 that Spanish Retailer Zara has finalised its India Strategy with Trent.

About the Author
Dhawal Shah is an entrepreneur and franchise expert with many years of experience. He publishes FranchiseExpo.in the fastest growing franchises for sale search engine, helping buyers and sellers of franchise opportunities. FranchiseExpo.in has many resources to help you on your journey to start your own business, sell your existing business or open a franchise. FranchiseExpo.in has hundreds of franchises for sale in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.