Chennai is one of the largest metropolitans in the country and is bubbling with opportunity. Here, you will find the smartest brains,
The deepest pockets and a can-do attitude which is infectious. If you are someone who is looking to start their own business venture in Chennai, we say don’t wait just do it.
There is no better time than now. The city is home to thousands of successful entrepreneurs who have made it big right here.
We have compiled a list of the some of the most lucrative business ideas that you can implement right here in Chennai and make it big.
Also Read: Digital Marketing Services , Freelance Writing & Start a Blog
In this guide, we ranked and reviewed the 17+ best business ideas in chennai, along with our top 3 choices, so that you can pick the best one for you.
Business Ideas In Chennai (2022)
Want to jump straight to my top picks? My favorite business ideas in chennai is Digital Marketing Services and Freelance Writing.
1. Digital Marketing Services
Since all major businesses have gone digital, it only makes sense that digital marketing is where the buck is.
You do not have to go to a brick and mortar office in order to start your digital marketing journey.
There are many online places like Upwork and Fiverr that will let you pick and choose your digital marketing projects and pay for your services.
The best part about working with these platforms is that you get to know
Once you start working with these, you can be working on creating a digital presence for a jewellery company in the UK and a snacks brand in India at the same time.
All you need to do is create an online account and share your portfolio. Once you start getting requests, you get going.
Investment Needed:
2. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing can include anything from ghostwriting for a person wanting to publish their book,
Writing content for a business to put on their website, or writing articles, blogs, etc. There are many platforms that let you join them as a freelancer
And help you connect with prospective clients. Upwork and Fiverr are great examples of
Such platforms that connect millions of freelance writers to clients across the world.
When starting your journey with Upwork and Fiverr, you just have to register yourself, prove your efficiency and you are good to go. You can start accepting work assignments as per your convenience and interest.
Investment Needed:
3. Start a Blog
There is a reason why blogging has become such a huge deal. There is a lot to be earned by simply sharing your experiences and thoughts via writing.
When you start a blog, you can write on absolutely anything, the only trick is to interest enough people to read it.
Once you are able to divert enough traffic, you can start making money through paid promotions, product placements, ads, and more.
Blogger.com is one of the most beloved blogging platforms
And it is as simple as it gets. All you need to do is register yourself and start creating.
Investment Needed:
3. E-commerce & SEO Consultant
Ranking your website on search engines is not that easy anymore. There are a lot of pages striving for the same top spot.
That is where SEO or search engine optimization comes in. You can work as an SEO or E-commerce consultant for a business,
Helping them score better on their SEO and thus help them expand their business further.
Upwork and Fiverr offer excellent opportunities for SEO/E-Commerce
consultants where you get to work on multiple businesses across time zones at the same time.
The registration process is simple and once registered, you can handpick your projects and earn money.
Investment Needed:
4. Create Online Courses
If you are a subject matter expert and have knowledge of or experience in a particular field, you can create a business out of that knowledge.
All you need to do is go online and register with platforms like Thinkific. They let you create unique courses that you can then sell to earn money.
You get to decide how much you want to charge for a particular course and you can start earning straight away.
As and when people pay to get enrolled in your course, you earn money.
This is a great way to educate people, hone your teaching skills, and have an avenue of passive income.
Investment Needed:
5. Open an Online Shop
Online shops on Facebook, Amazon, and Instagram are all the rage, and why not. These give creative people a way to offer their products
That would have not been possible in a brick-and-mortar establishment. Online shops require minimal investment and in an environment,
Where people are looking for unique things, these are great places for handmade products.
ou can be selling everything from jewelry, and pottery to paintings or if you are not a creator,
you can simply be selling whatever you find in your local wares market and keep a neat margin for you. All you need to do is know how to make your online presence, through photographs, relevant information, and regular uploading.
Investment Needed:
6. Selling photography
If you consider yourself a decent photographer and your phone’s gallery is filled to the brim,
You can be making a lot of money with what you already have in your phone. All you need to do is upload these photos to a platform like Flickr or 500px
And wait for them to approve your photographs. Once the photographs have been approved, they become live on the platform for people to download and use.
When that happens, you start getting royalty, just like that.
So, if you own a camera or a good phone, half your job is done. All that is left is for you to register with a platform and get going.
Investment Needed:
7. Affiliate Marketing
If you are someone who wants to sell their selling skills and not a particular product or service, then affiliate marketing is the route you should take.
With affiliate marketing, you take the product or service of a particular brand and create buzz around it.
Once the traffic starts to come in, you simply earn a share of the profits. There are several platforms like Amazon Associates
That help you to contact clients all over the world so that you can sell your skills at the best possible rates.
All you need to do is visit the website and register with Amazon. It is that simple.
Investment Needed:
8. Online Consultant
If you believe yourself to be an excellent consultant but do not want to waste your skills consulting for a single entity, then you can always find work online.
You can provide consulting services from the comfort of your home and choose your clients. This is a great way to add flexibility and enhance your portfolio.
Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are great places to go and find online consulting jobs.
All you need to do is visit their website, register, and start working.
Your consulting fees get negotiated before you start work and you get paid in regular cycles that have been decided upon by both parties beforehand.
Investment Needed:
9. Start a Housekeeping Agency (Website/App)
Another great avenue to start working with is creating an online housekeeping agency.
This can be done through the creation of a website or by building an application. The way housekeeping agencies work online is that you get clients online
And you can hire local professionals who work for you and visit people’s homes for different services.
You get to be the middleman and ease the entire process of finding work for the professionals
And finding competent people for the people looking for housekeepers. You simply earn every time a job is completed successfully.
Investment Needed:
The offline business way
1. Photography business
Photography businesses are blooming all over the country and Chennai is no exception. From wedding photography to commercial photography
And even photography studios, when it comes to photography, you can easily make a lucrative career out of it.
If you are offering services like wedding photography, event photography, product photography, etc.,
all you need is a camera and a small studio space where people can come down and reach you.
As long as you have an online portfolio, you do not need an elaborate setting for a photography business. You will of course need to invest in photography tools, a small space,
A team that includes ground staff, photographers, editors, technicians, etc. depending on the size of your business.
Investment Needed:
2. Start a Chennai-based Youtube Channel
You can document life in Chennai, talk about its history, languages, culture, architecture, people, food, weather,
Absolutely anything and as long as you do it with taste, you will be able to garner an online following.
Once you are able to attract enough people, YouTube pays for your video content and the videos you have made in the past also become sources of passive income.
Since Chennai has such a diverse community of people and people from this Indian state are spread all across the world,
Sharing the same values and culture, making a successful channel is not impossible.
Investment Needed:
3. Fishery /Seafood Delivery
When in Chennai, you can successfully start a fishery or a seafood business. The love of seafood for the people of Chennai is so intense
That you might not have to choose between the two either. When opening a fishery, all you need is the knowledge to keep the fish alive and healthy
And if everything goes to plan, it is a one-time investment. Once you have enough fish, you can sell your fish in the market or also have a delivery system
Where you drop them off at different eateries around the city.
Since the weather in Chennai is pleasant and the love for fish is unyielding, it creates a positive atmosphere for such a business.
Investment Needed:
4. Café
Chennai’s cafe culture is thriving and the best part about it is, that the more cafes there are, the more lucrative is the business.
In order for a cafe to succeed, it should have excellent food and service, an accessible location, and Insta-worthy interiors.
If you can give the customers a place where they can spend time in peace, they are sure to spend time at your cafe and eat and drink when they do.
In order for your cafe to stand out, you can choose to bring elements of another culture to the mix.
This can mean that your cafe can focus on Lebanese, Mexican, Italian, or English food, creating its own niche along the way.
Investment Needed:
5. Start Bharatnatyam Classes
Teaching Bharatanatyam in Chennai is a very lucrative business and the best part is that you do not need to be adept at it in order to open your own dance studio.
You can hire teachers and dancers and give them an excellent studio and there is no reason your business should not succeed.
Since the people of Chennai are entrenched in their culture and put a lot of focus on learning the arts.
This is something that has not changed over the generations and that is what makes this business idea even more attractive.
Investment Needed:
6. Start a Cloud Kitchen
If you are someone who loves feeding people but does not have the manpower or the finances to open a restaurant.
Or, if you are someone who loves to cook but does not want to include hospitality in their list of things to do,
Then this is an excellent business choice, especially in a city like Chennai. We say this because Chennai is expanding at an alarming rate
And you might not be able to succeed in your business if you have to take out rent.
However, you can always rent out kitchen space and prepare and deliver food through a cloud kitchen. With online delivery services reaching the remotest of corners, cloud kitchens have become a reality for many.
Investment Needed:
7. Sell Ready-to-cook Spice Mixes
Chennai, like the rest of India, is spice obsessed. To be honest, this is exactly what makes us stand out in world cuisine.
When in Chennai, you can choose to sell the flavors from around the country or from the very heart of Chennai as well.
Since the city is cosmopolitan in nature, you will find people from all over the country and the world living here
And by offering to them the very taste of their homeland, you can actually start a profitable business.
Ready-to-cook spice mixes are available throughout the country but these packaged brands miss out on the home-cooked feel. You can start your own unique spice mix brand and start making money.
Investment Needed:
8. Security Agency
Offering peace of mind is a business that has always been in constant need. You can start a security agency and hire trained professionals
Who can take care of people at risk. Security agencies offer security personnel for buildings, individuals, and other spaces.
You will need to get licensed ammunition, and communication devices and also have a strong network.
Investment Needed:
9. Boat Tours and Rentals
Since Chennai is situated on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, opening an entertainment business based on water is naturally a good idea.
You can choose to open boat tours and rental businesses. What you will need is a fleet of quality boats, knowledgeable guides
Who can create fun tours and detailed itineraries showcasing different parts of the waterways, and a helmsman. You can also rent out the boats to your peers or to customers.
Investment Needed:
10. Gift Shop Business
Gift shops have been very popular in India for the past many decades now. The best thing about opening a gift shop is that you can include everything
From stationery to home decor, toys, and cards. These appeal to people of all ages and many people visit gift shops
When they do not have any idea what to gift someone. All you need is a shop with an attractive display and gifts that fit every budget.
The investment required to open a gift store includes the actual location, furniture, decor, goods, personnel, and an inventory system.
Investment Needed:
11. Vacation Rentals
India is a popular holiday destination and Chennai welcomes hordes of domestic and foreign tourists every year.
That is why the vacation rentals market in India is always abuzz. You can start a vacation rental right in your home,
Given that you have enough space and can provide basic amenities. You can also get registered with sites like AirBnB and start earning through your own property itself.
In order to make your space stand out, you can invest in a theme.
People love traditional settings when it comes to South Indian homes and you can definitely take it to your advantage.
Investment Needed:
12. Small Hotel Business
Small hotels include bed and breakfast options or hotels having a handful of rooms. You can always convert a small property in Chennai into a hotel
Or you can buy a small hotel and work on its management. As discussed before, since Chennai has a large footfall of tourists every year, small hotels are generally lucrative.
The primary things to take care of our comfort, safety, availability of food, and additional amenities.
As far as small hotels are concerned, you can create a pleasant experience by keeping the rooms and bathrooms clean and functional,
A reception that is helpful and food that is hygienic and tasty.
Investment Needed:
13. Computer Training Center
There is a whole segment of people in India who are struggling to adapt to the computer-centric environment which seems to have sprung upon them.
Computer training centres are a great place for people of the older generation, people who do not have access to computers and people
Who are looking to widen their job opportunities by learning computer skills. You can open a computer training centre by renting out a large space, hiring tutors and stocking up on computers.
Investment Needed:
14. Transportation Business
Chennai is bursting with businesses, schools and young professionals who all need daily transposition services.
You can start an intro-city transportation business or go the B2B route and start a goods carrier company.
Both of these are in high demand and the chances of success are high, given that you are able to invest in the vehicles and infrastructure required.
For a successful transportation business, you will need the vehicle of choice; it can be buses, trucks, vans, etc.
The next thing you need is a place to park and related personnel, including drivers, conductors, etc.
Investment Needed:
15. Local Language Tuition Classes
People come to live and work in Chennai from all over the world. For many of them, it becomes important to learn the local language and some do it out of the love of languages.
Offering language coaching in local languages is a great business idea that does not require a lot of investment when it comes to preparation.
You can start it from the comfort of your home with just one person, which is you. If you want to take it to the next level,
You can also take it online and sell your pre-made courses.
This allows you to have passive income increasing your total profit.
Investment Needed:
16. Event Planning
Everything from weddings to birthdays and success parties today are grand events that do get instagrammed.
That is where event planning becomes one of the most lucrative businesses. You can start by planning smaller events.
It does not require as much capital as it does knowledge and networking. You should be able to orchestrate the actions of scores of people,
Meet with different parties and be able to pull everything off within a budget.
The best event planning business is one which is able to make a lot of profit while keeping the clients happy.
Investment Needed:
17. Car Washing Business
Car washing business is a no-brainer if you have your own space and the money to invest in the equipment.
Based on your budget, you can start an automatic or manual car washing station. You will need space, equipment, and personnel.
The number of people required decreases drastically when you have an automated system and you can charge a lot more too.
With manual car wash, you are always dependent on the people who work for you for the quality of the car washing experience.
However, if you are placed at a convenient spot or are able to make loyal customers, this is a business that really pays.
Investment Needed:
18. Pet Store and Service Business
People are adopting more and more pets, especially in the larger cities like Chennai. Opening up your own pet store or pet care business is a great idea.
You will need trained and knowledgeable professionals who can handle the animals with care and if you can give the pets a pleasant experience,
You will become a go-to. There are many pet owners who complain about bad experiences or the lack of places
Where they can leave their pets when they are away.
This opens up the perfect opportunity for pet stores and day cares to earn by simply taking care of the animals.
Investment Needed:
19. Electronics Repair
A good handiman is always in demand since homes are elaborate machines that need regular upkeep.
That is why this is a business that does not go out of business. All you need are trained professionals and a lot of equipment.
You can also start online bookings and make it a local superstore of sorts where people get to book services online for a fixed cost.
Investment Needed:
20. Grocery Shop
Cities are expanding and so are their grocery needs. Grocery stores work best when they cater to a smaller segment of the area and do not have a lot of competition.
Alternatively, very large departmental stores that stock everything under the same roof are also good places to start.
You can make these as small or large as you want and expand whenever required.
Investment Needed:
Government Schemes That Support New Businesses in Chennai
The top governmental schemes that support new businesses in Chennai are:
- Subsidy for businesses that are employment-intensive (employment-intensive subsidy)
A business is eligible for a 5% capital subsidy of up to Rs. 5 Lakhs if they have employed at least 25 workers for a minimum period of 3 years within the first five years of commencement of production. - Subsidy for manufacturing units (capital subsidy)
For all the businesses who have set up small manufacturing units anywhere in Tamil Nadu, a capital subsidy of 15% is offered on the plant and machinery, of a maximum value of Rs. 30 Lakhs. - Subsidy on agricultural business
If you are an agricultural business then you are eligible for a capital subsidy and employment intensive subsidy. You can set up shop in all 385 blocks of Tamil Nadu and receive the same benefits. - New Entrepreneur Enterprise Development Schemes [NEEDS] Scheme
NEEDS is a scheme set up by the Tamil Nadu government to encourage entrepreneurial spirit. If you are someone who holds a diploma or a degree from a recognised institution
And are a first generation entrepreneur within the ages of 21 and 35 (general category), 21 and 45 (special category), then you are eligible for this subsidy.
This is a capital subsidy that is available on projects that cost Rs. 1 Crore or less. The subsidy is of 25% which means that you will be able to avail a maximum of Rs. 25 Lakhs.
Tamil Nadu is one of the most prosperous states in the country and is an ideal place to start a business. The government of Tamil Nadu also supports all kinds of efforts for entrepreneurship through its many schemes.
If you are in Chennai and thinking of opening a business, there is an online or offline choice for you. You can start something with almost zero investment in terms of money or begin a business worth crores of rupees.
The chances of success remain the same for all types of businesses right here in the city.
With Tamil Nadu’s burgeoning wealth and rise in entrepreneurial spirit, the future for businesses in Chennai looks bright. If you are thinking of taking this leap, we say now is the time.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which is a profitable business in Chennai?
Some of the most profitable businesses in Chennai are cafes, car washes and food trucks. Apart from these, you can also venture into online business or start a fishery, delivery service, gift shop, tuition centre or even a transport business.
2. What are the most successful small businesses?
If you are looking for business opportunities on a small scale, you can always look to open a grocery store, cloud kitchen, gift store or choose to sell services and goods like spice mix, tuition centres, dance classes, etc.
3. What are the 5 most profitable businesses?
Some of the most profitable businesses in Chennai are opening cafes, repair stores, clothes shops, pet stores and car wash among others. Online businesses like digital marketing, copywriting, etc. are some other options as well.
Here are my best business ideas in chennai:
Also Read: Check out my reviews of the best image editing software, the top choices for video editing software, and my full guide to start a blog for beginners.