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What workedA cottage-industry owner in Khansama, Dinajpur, in a Prothom Alo report · Started in 2016

Started hawking from a van, now 30-35 lakh taka of goods a month

Began on 31 October 2016 selling from a van. The unit now makes 30-35 lakh taka of hogla, jute and twine goods a month for more than 2 lakh taka of profit, with 54 permanent and over 250 contract workers.

This 35-year-old from Paschim Basuli village in Khansama upazila, Dinajpur, started a cottage industry on 31 October 2016 and at first sold his goods by hawking them from a van. The products are made from hogla leaf, jute and twine. The report says the unit now produces 30-35 lakh taka of goods a month and clears more than 2 lakh taka of profit, a margin of roughly 6-7 percent, so the money here comes from volume rather than price. The premises have grown from 30 decimals to 1.5 bighas; 54 permanent workers earn 8,000-12,000 taka a month and more than 250 contract workers earn 5,000-6,000. One worker says she used to make 120-150 taka a day when she started and now takes over 8,000 taka a month. The goods go to Russia, the USA, several European countries and the Middle East; the report does not say what the business cost to start.

Lessons

  1. 1.Sell first, build second: hawking from a van proved the product would move before any premises or payroll
  2. 2.Two lakh of profit on 30-35 lakh of output: this trade pays on volume, not on the price of a piece

Published with the person's permission, without revealing who they are.

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