FICCI FLO, under the leadership of 43rd National President, Ms. Puja Garg, hosted an informative webinar titled “From Passion To Profession: Taking Your Small Business Forward. This upskilling-focused virtual version was hosted for FLO members under the National MSME initiative, led by Initiative Lead, Ms. Ruby Garg, and Co-Lead, Ms. Jyoti Jain. The session helped attendees understand how to transform hobby-based activities into sustainable, scalable ventures in a competitive and digitally advanced landscape.
Ms. Geetha Premkumar, MSME lead from FLO Chennai, opened the session by welcoming the speaker and highlighting the opportunities available in the MSME domain for women entrepreneurs. Also, National President, Ms. Puja Garg, talked about how the MSME initiative empowers women entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey by equipping them with knowledge and skills to excel.
CA Sampath Kumar, Partner at V.V.S Kumar and CO., provided valuable insights and practical guidance for creating a profitable small business with structure, clarity, and commitment. He delivered a presentation on the differences between hobbies, income activities, and formal businesses.
He highlighted common risks and mistakes made by women entrepreneurs operating from home, including mixing personal and business finances, underpricing products, and a lack of proper documentation. According to Mr. Sampath Kumar, the formalization of a small business through registrations like OGM and MSME is quite important for enhancing credibility, access to capital, and limiting personal liability.
Key Takeaways
- New entrepreneurs should start small to build confidence and gain expertise in their respective domains.
- Proper business registration and awareness of government schemes are important for women entrepreneurs.
- Formalization of business allows entrepreneurs to shift operations from informal to formal status, allowing access to loans, government contracts, tax benefits, and legal protection of assets.
- An activity turns into a business when profits start to generate through daily orders with specified timelines and quality requirements.
- Top risks of running a business from home include mixing personal and business finances, underpricing products, and a lack of proper business structure.
- Key disciplines for business success are clarity in goals, commitment, consistency, and the establishment of clear boundaries with respect to customers, and operations.
Impact & Outcome
Around 193 attendees participated in this engaging webinar about building small businesses by turning passion into a profession. The session included a Q&A segment where participants sought guidance on practical steps for transitioning passions into businesses, managing financial risks, and handling societal constraints. Overall, this webinar, hosted under the MSME initiative, focused on guiding participants about growing their businesses rather than pushing for fast scaling.