‘It’s not easy money’: Why this Noida professional’s failed gym-side hustle is a wake-up call for salaried employees

Attracted by the relatively low rent of Rs 10,000, Verma and a friend decided to open a small outlet selling health-focused items, expecting steady demand from gym members. “We went into it without thinking,” he said. “We both thought that the Rs 10,000 rent is low, and we have surplus income, so we started this business.”

However, the venture soon flopped. The shop offered juice, protein shakes and boiled eggs, but pricing and costs proved harder to manage than expected.

Describing one of the challenges, Verma said fluctuating fruit prices made it difficult to set margins. “We hit our first roadblock, for example, while selling juice. So I started selling pineapple juice. But do you know the rate for a pineapple in the market? The price changes daily, so we couldn’t understand how much to price our juice at,” he said.

The shop priced pineapple juice at Rs 90 per glass, only to realise they were barely breaking even. “We got a cold-press machine too, thinking we would be able to extract a lot of juice. We barely got one glass from one whole pineapple,” he recalled.

Verma said they had initially assumed eggs could be bought for Rs 5 each and sold for Rs 10, but the numbers did not add up. “Everywhere we tried, we found eggs being sold for Rs 7 or 8. And then when we tried to sell them for Rs 10 per egg, we always ended up ruining three to four eggs in the process of cooking,” he said.

“So there too, we ended up making a loss,” he added.

Even popular, low-cost items did not help. Verma said selling a packet of Maggi costing Rs 11 for Rs 30 still failed to generate a profit once expenses such as staff salaries and rent were considered.

“Finally, we realised why the rent for the shop was so low, because no one aside from gym-goers was frequenting that area,” he said.

Reflecting on the experience, Verma said many salaried employees look to side businesses as a way to supplement their income but underestimate the preparation required. “This reel isn’t meant to scare or discourage anyone. It’s my personal learning that every business demands understanding, research, and real-world exposure, not just surface-level calculations,” he said.

Watch here:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Vishwas Verma (@gptnlife)

The video quickly gained traction, prompting a wave of reactions. “This is the real content creation. Great job brother,” a user wrote. “More than 90% foods/beverage related outlets are closed before their first birthday,” another user commented.

“The most important thing is to calculate everything before hand before starting anything. And usually you can get a cart to avoid paying rent, police department will just take some money from you to let you stand anywhere,” a third user reacted.