Women on Wings, a consortium partner in this project who supports PRIA in designing content and strategies for economic empowerment of informal workers, held a workshop on 'How to Make a Business Plan' in October. The workshop covered the basics of beginning a business, such as who would be your customer. What are you planning to sell? How do you make a financial plan? What are the fundamental components of any business?

The workshop's learning was used to run similar workshops with women domestic worker groups. The group had previously gathered a lot of ideas for the business they wanted to start during the previous visioning activity. They narrowed down the business ideas in this session and came up with four broad options: launching a domestic worker placement service, starting a bedsheet manufacturing business, starting a duppata manufacturing business, or starting a mosquito net manufacturing business.

During the discussion, a few members of the group stated that they would handle the marketing because they are good at conversing. As a second phase, they were instructed to conduct customer analysis for each business they wish to establish, as well as market analysis to determine who else in the market sells the same product as them and how their product differs from others. The group is now working on their own business plan. Ambia, who is domestic worker and part of the group said, “It’s good we are planning everything because we all had our favourite things in mind and sometimes without analysing the business and product, we just start it because we like it.”

After collectively participating in the entire process, the workshop of creating a business plan will finally bring the group together, and they will appreciate each other's choices and decisions.