After landing in troubled waters, I decided to dissolve my e-commerce business. I had come up with the idea after changing too many jobs.
I must confess that I have faced numerous hurdles. Getting licenses and clearances was a real task. The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME) allows registration of enterprise online with Aadhar card and pan card, but there are numerous other hurdles that one is bound to face after the registration is over. The MSME act 2006 has made it optional to get approval by the concerned GM (DIC) local district authority, but the interesting part is that banks won’t accept your registration.
I was asked by the State Bank of India to get approval from the municipal authority which defeats the purpose of registering online with Udyog Aadhar. The likes of HDFC and ICICI Bank did not want to accommodate accounts for MSME.
Somehow, I managed to start my online store named Shopping Babe, but I found it difficult to keep track of the expenses. Also, the costs being incurred were way too much.
I do not come from a wealthy family, which means I do not have abundant financial resources at my disposal. Also, since mine was a new business venture, I found it hard to find investors. The fact that my startup wasn’t a ‘private limited’ venture also ended up complicating things.
The government says that you do not need to pay the GST if you are not crossing the 40 lakh-turnover mark, but if you are selling something online, then you need to pay the GST.
The worst part is acquiring a place on rent for setting up your office. It costs a lot of money. I bought office space at We Work, which only patronizes big startups or the ones having venture capital funding. I rarely found any support or guidance in taking the business forward. The events were only about giving freebies and other promotional activities to entertain the ones working in big startups or corporates who have rented the space there.
You rarely find a place there or support, If you are struggling to set up a business. There is no place for aspiring entrepreneurs in India. The venture ran out of steam and I was left with no money. In no time, I was bankrupt.
I realized that I can easily register a business in Estonia. The formalities and the paperwork are not a problem. Bank accounts can also be opened with ease. As far as India is concerned, it is the wrong place to do business.