Had you been planning to start up a business and then Covid-19 happened? You may have faced setbacks, but 2021 could finally be the time to put your great idea into motion. By following the steps in this article, you’ll be launching your new business in no time.
:Launch a new business
Business Plan
First and foremost, you need a business plan. Perhaps you drafted one last year. Now is the time to return and reassess it. What are its weaknesses and how can you strengthen them? You need to spend time researching how you’re going to get funding. There are lots of grants opportunities out there. You also need to figure out your budget and how you’ll spend your money. You want to cover all areas: from start-up costs to a marketing strategy.
On that note, you’ll want to thoroughly plan your marketing strategy. How are you going to present your brand? You’ll want to think of a strong, catchy, name that people will remember. Then you need to think about how you’re going to spread this name both on and offline. Printed banners are a fantastic solution if you’re looking to make an impact. Remember: the more people paying attention to your brand, the better. Organic word of mouth is key to spreading your business.
Research
Although it’s important to get the attention of as many people as possible, you also want to make sure you’re attracting the right kind of people. Who is your target demographic? Remember you can make this target as small or narrow as you want. Check out your competitors and see what they’re doing. What can you do better? You can figure out your unique selling point (USP) Find a hole in the market and implement a way to fill it.
Before you officially launch your business, it’s a good idea to test it. You want to find a fast, cheap, and robust way for testing. These methods can vary depending on your type of business. Whether it’s setting up a trial website, or selling goods in a market: use the test as a way of communicating with customers and see what works and what doesn’t.
Starting a new business is a daunting task, but it’s also full of opportunity. You’ll get out what you put in, so you’ll need to work hard to help yourself succeed. What do you think is the best strategy for a new business?
MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise), loans are mostly offered to start-ups and small business owners. In this intense moment of lockdown, many startups and small businesses are incurring a huge loss, the government offered assistance by rolling out MSME loans for startups and small business owners. After this news, many startups and small business are working hard to get there business registered to this loan.
What is MSME Loan?
MSME loan is an unsecured loan defined by the Indian Government and RBI, that is provided by various financial firms to startups and small businesses on a short term basis.
You are eligible for this loan if Your business is involved in either of the two classes—the manufacturing or service sector.
For investments in the manufacturingsector:
Micro – Less than Rs.25 lakh
Small – More than Rs.25 lakh and less than Rs.5 crore
Medium – More than Rs.5 crore and less than Rs.10 crore
For investments in the service sector:
Micro – Less than Rs.10 lakh
Small – More than Rs.10 lakh and less than Rs.2 crore
Medium – More than Rs.2 crore and less than Rs.5 crore
Name of proprietors or partners or directors along with their age, academic qualification, address, telephone number, and experience
Existing activity
Name of associate concerns and nature of the association
Mention the existing credit facilities, if any
List out the proposed credit facilities
How to Apply for an MSME Loan in 9 Simple Steps
Visit udyogaadhaar.gov.in website. This is a national portal for registration of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
Fill in the information like Aadhaar number, Name of the Entrepreneur. Once you enter all the details click on validate and generate OTP.
Registration for MSME loan
3. You will receive an OTP on your mobile number which is linked to your Aadhaar card. After you enter the OTP click on validate and an Application form will appear.
4. Fill in your personal and professional Details.
MSME Details
5. After Registering Different types of loans will be shown. Click on apply Now on the loan you require for your business.
MSME different types of Loan
6. Once you enter the loan amount Fill in information about your business to proceed further
MSME Business information
7. Fill in your personal information
MSME loan Other information
8. Attach the Documents Required such as Aadhar card, Address proof, KYC etc.
9. Once you complete the process, a Declaration form will Appear. Click Agree on declaration form and you will be successfully registered for MSME loan.
An application number will be provided to you keep that application number for further reference.
According to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 enacted by the Government of India, the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) are categorized into 2 classes – Manufacturing and Service Enterprise.
Enterprises with Rs 1 crore investment and Rs 5 crore turnover would now qualify as micro enterprises.
Businesses with an investment of less than Rs 10 crore and turnover less than Rs. 50 crore will now be classified as small enterprises.
The definition for medium enterprises has been revised upwards to an investment of Rs 50 crore and a turnover of Rs 250 crore.
All private and public sector banks in India have objectives prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for lending to the MSE sector. Under these guidelines, domestic stated commercial banks (except small finance banks and regional rural banks) and foreign banks with more than 20 branches will allocate 7.5% of their Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) or credit equal to the amount of off-balance sheet exposure, to the micro enterprises sector.
I am an MSME entrepreneur. Will banks extend any guidance to me besides offering me a loan?
Yes, entrepreneurs in the MSME sector can avail the listed services offered by banks:
Financial literacy and consultancy support
Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSEITs)
What happens if I fail to make the payment for my MSME loan on time?
In cases where the buyer is incapable to pay the supplier, he/she shall be liable to pay compound interest with monthly rests to the supplier on the amount from the appointed day or on the agreed day, at 3 times the bank rate declared by the RBI.
Are there any guidelines laid down by the RBI regarding interest rates on MSME loans?
Yes, RBI has advised all banks to rate the interest rates on MSME loans only regarding the base rate to enhance transparency in lending rates.
This was your complete guide about MSME, if you have any further query you can visit your nearest bank branch and inquire about MSME.
During the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Indian SMBs (small and medium businesses) are facing various challenges in running their operations smoothly. These challenges include access to remote working solutions with secure and scalable environment, disaster recovery and advanced security with device management and threat protection. Microsoft has announced the launch of the Back2Business Solution Boxes to help SMBs maintain business continuity and start their cloud adoption journeys.
Needless to mention, COVID-19 has created havoc all over the world. Many countries are currently going through economic slowdown and global crisis like layoffs and increasing unemployment. Startups and small and medium businesses are no exceptions. They are facing more challenges due to limited capital and resources to keep the operations going.
To provide support in keeping these businesses running through any interruptions and reducing on-premise infrastructure management costs, Microsoft has launched the Back2Business Solution Boxes on May 12. It will help Indian small and medium enterprises or SMBs continue their operations without interruptions. These offerings aim to boost employee productivity and improve customer engagement.
Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 11,000 employees. They provide sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian start-ups, businesses, and government organizations. To help Indian SMBs, Microsoft has decided to bring together offerings across Azure and Modern Workplace. Azure is a cloud computing service created by Microsoft for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications.
Harish Vellat, Senior Director of Small and Mid-Corporate Business, Microsoft India,
“Small and medium enterprises are an integral part of the Indian economy. We’ve witnessed their resilience and entrepreneurial energy in action as we build the new normal in these difficult times. In our efforts to support these businesses operate today without constraints and be future-ready with the best-in-class technological platform and solutions, the Back2Business Solution Boxes offer speed in deployment and usage and flexibility with pay-as-you-go pricing, along with our commitment to privacy and security.”
Microsoft will offer Cloud computing through Azure & Teams
Back2Business Solution Boxes
Microsoft will provide near-term challenges through COVID-19 offerings around Windows Virtual Desktop and Microsoft Teams. Microsoft has also designed some solution packages to accelerate the cloud adoption journeys of SMBs. These are designed to help increase legacy systems and migrate workloads to Azure or modernize apps and websites. These solution boxes are standard and easy to customize according to requirements of customers.
The boxes come in four variants –
Starter: Designed for small organizations that require remote working and collaboration solutions in a secure environment.
Booster: Developed for mid-sized businesses that need both online and desktop applications, customer management, backup service, and a secure disaster recovery strategy.
Modern Business: Designed for SMB customers who require a simple security foundation along with their productivity suite.
Advanced: Developed for SMBs that need advanced security capabilities, cost reduction and better infrastructure management.
Microsoft mentioned that their partners have the additional flexibility of customizing the boxed packages with their own value offerings for migration and deployment. Microsoft’s partner ecosystem is at the centre of delivering technologies and driving business transformation for its customers. Together with its partners, Microsoft is committed to helping the small and medium business community in India navigate the current challenges and scale up their operations seamlessly.
Yash Gupta
