Vishwas Verma shared his experience to show that small businesses like selling tea or juice are not as easy as they look. The Visiting Faculty at Lloyd Business School said that, when he bought tea for ₹15, he immediately started calculating its cost and profit margin.
Every salaried employee does the calculation at least once in their life, he quipped. People often think such businesses are simple and profitable. In a viral Instagram Reel, Verma explained why they are not. The viral video has garnered more than 7.5 lakh 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, about ₹10,000. So, he and a friend expected steady extra income. They sold juices, protein shakes and eggs.
However, they soon faced complexities. The price of fruits, especially pineapple, kept changing daily. They sold pineapple juice for ₹90.
But, one pineapple was needed for one glass. With the cost of the fruit and a cold press machine for pure juice, the actual cost was almost ₹₹90 per glass.
“I just cannot understand how these juice vendors even make money,” he said.
He tried selling boiled eggs
Vishwas Verma also tried selling boiled eggs, thinking it would be easy to make a profit. He assumed eggs cost ₹5 each and planned to sell them for ₹10 after boiling.
However, in winter, eggs were sold for ₹7 to ₹8 each. This reduced the margin sharply. On top of that, some eggs cracked during boiling, causing direct losses even before sale.
He faced similar problems with protein shakes. The price of protein powder kept rising, increasing input costs. But, customers were not always ready to accept higher prices. What looked like a simple profit idea became difficult in reality.
They also introduced personal training at ₹150 per session, which was seen as premium and had some demand. Ironically, Maggi noodles were added as well.
Buying at ₹11 and selling at ₹30 seemed profitable on paper. But, they had not considered rent, labour, time or effort. These hidden costs reduced actual profit.
Verma realized that small businesses involve many unseen expenses and risks that people often ignore from the outside. He finally realized why the shop’s rent was low.
Very few customers came apart from gym members. Low rent usually means low footfall. They depended on only 30-40 gym visitors, which limited earnings.
The experience has taught him that small businesses are not as easy as they appear from the outside.
“Now, I understand how things work, and I could probably do it better. But, whenever you step into businesses like this, it is not as simple as it seems to sell a ₹15 cups of tea,” he said.
