‘Easy money’ isn’t easy: Noida content creator learns side hustles lesson the hard way as food stall fails

NODIA: A Noida-based content creator has cautioned salaried employees against assuming that side street businesses are an easy route to extra income, recounting how his own attempt at running a small food outlet quietly slipped into losses despite looking profitable on paper.

Vishwas Verma says the idea of “easy money” often strikes salaried employees in the most ordinary moments — including while buying something as small as a Rs 15 tea.


In an Instagram video, the Noida-man recalled how he would instinctively calculate the seller’s potential earnings and assume the business must be highly profitable.

According to him, this line of thinking is common among people working regular 9-to-5 jobs, who often believe small food businesses are simple to run and offer quick returns.

Verma admitted he once thought the same way.

Motivated by the belief that low-investment ventures can generate steady profits, he decided to try his hand at a side business himself.

Along with a friend, he rented a small shop i basement near a gym he frequented.

The space was available at a modest monthly rent of Rs 10,000.

On paper, the numbers appeared straightforward. The rent was modest, the target customers were fixed, and the products seemed easy to source and sell. But once operations began, Verma said the assumptions quickly fell apart.

He started offering boiled eggs, juices and protein drinks. With steady salaries and spare cash, the duo assumed the business would sustain itself with minimal effort.

That assumption, Verma said, turned out to be their biggest mistake.

One of the first challenges emerged while selling fruit juice. Pineapple juice, a popular post-workout option, proved difficult to price correctly due to fluctuating fruit costs.

Despite selling a glass at Rs 90, they later realised the price barely covered expenses. Even investing in a cold-press juicer failed to help, as one pineapple yielded far less juice than expected.

Also, eggs were rarely available at the rate they had budgeted for. Most suppliers quoted prices closer to Rs 7 or Rs 8 per egg in Winters.

By the time they tried selling the eggs at Rs 10 apiece, the losses had already piled up, turning what seemed like a simple profit idea into yet another expense-heavy exercise.

Even products with seemingly high mark-ups, such as instant noodles, failed to make a difference once fixed costs like rent and staff salaries were factored in.

It was only later, Verma said, that the reason behind the low rent became obvious — the location had virtually no footfall beyond gym members, severely limiting daily sales.

Wrapping up his account, Verma stressed that his post was not meant to discourage entrepreneurship but to underline the importance of groundwork.

Many full-time employees chase side hustles believing they require only spare money and simple calculations, he said, when in reality every business demands market understanding, planning and on-ground experience.