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February 04, 2014
Start a  Businesss in Banana Fibre Extraction & Weaving

   

High quality banana fibre is used for making good quality paper and for blending in textile industry. You can start a business of extracting and weaving banana fibre. This business requires skills and good networking.

INTRODUCTION
Banana fibre is eco friendly like jute fibre. The technology of banana fibre extraction has been developed in South India where in a good number of banana fibre extraction units have been running very successfully. Some firms are exporting the banana fibre products.
Banana growing states of N.E.Region has adopted the technology from South and started production of banana fibre and fabric.
MARKET POTENTIAL
The banana fibre is being used for weaving attractive pieces of clothes, rugs, sarees etc. Besides, it is also being used to produce a variety of items such as hats, photo frames, trinket boxes, gift bags, picture frames, hand bags, belts, baskets and sandals etc.
Dresses woven out of natural fibres are in great demand inside and outside India.
PLANT CAPACITY



Capacity utilization

: 70%

Average daily production envisaged

: 10 Kg cloth.
Working days/year
: 25 days in a month and 300 days in a year.
Annual production
:


-
Door Mat
: 1000
Nos.
-
Floor covering
:
1000
Nos.
-
Screen
: 1600
Mt.
-
Durry
:
1500
Nos.
RAW MATERIALS
The main raw material for the unit is banana tree which is abundantly available in the State of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
1.
Cost of Banana Stem
:
1.40 lakhs
2.
Misc. items
:
0.20 lakhs
Total : 1.60 lakhs.
SUGGESTED LOCATION :
Banana growing areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
PROCESS
Banana Fibre Processing and Weaving :
The extraction of the natural fibre from the plant required certain care to avoid damage. In the present experiments, initially the banana plant sections were cut from the main stem of the plant and then rolled lightly to remove the excess moisture. Impurities in the rolled fibres such as pigments, broken fibres, coating of cellulose etc. were removed manually by menas of comb, and then the fibres were cleaned and dried.
This mechanical and manual extraction of banana fibres was tedious, time consuming, and caused damage to the fibre. Consequently, this type of technique cannot be recommended for industrial application. A special machine was designed and developed for the extraction of banana fibres in a mechanically automated manner. It consisted mainly of two horizontal beams whereby a carriage with an attached and specially designed comb, could move back and forth. The fibre extraction using this technique could be performed simply by placing a cleaned part of the banana stem on the fixed platform of the machine, and clamped at the ends by jaws. This eliminated relative movement of the stem and avoided premature breakage of the fibres. Thiswas followed by cleaning and drying of the fibres in a chamber at 20oC for three hours. This fibres were then labeled and ready for lamination process.
After extraction of fibre, weaving is done in the looms as per normal process like any other material.
MACHINERY
The major equipment required are :
Sl.No.
Particulars
Nos.



1.
Banana fibre extractor
2



2.
Loom complete with all accessories
4



3.
Bobbin circle
1



4.
Charkha
1



5.
Bobbin
100



6.
Pirn
100



7.
Shuttle
8



8.
Misc. items
L.S.



INFRASTRUCTURE
The major infrastructural requirement are :
Covered area
: 1200
Sq.ft.
Power
:
5
KW.
TOTAL CAPITAL REQUIREMENT
The total capital requirement including fixed capital and working capital is estimated at Rs.1.70 lakhs as follows. Of this, the project cost comprising fixed capital and margin money on working capital is Rs.1.55 lakhs.



(Rs. In lakh)
A
Fixed Capital :



Land and Building

Own

Plant and Machinery

0.90

Misc. fixed assets.

0.30

Preliminary & Pre-op. Expenses:

0.10

Total(A) :

1.30
B.
Working Capital :



Raw materials & Packing materials
15 days
0.09

Finished goods
15 days
0.20

Working Expenses
1 month
0.16

Receivables
15 days.
0.25


Total (B) :
0.70


Total(A) + (B) :
1.70   



Note : Working capital may be financed as :








Bank Finance (65%)

Rs. 0.45 lakh


Margin Money (35%)

Rs. 0.25 lakh.




Total :
Rs.
0.70 lakh.

C.
Capital Cost of Projec








Fixed Cost
:
Rs. 1.30 lakh


Margin Money for Working Capital.
:
Rs. 1.25 lakh




Total :
Rs. 1.55 lakh.

MEANS OF FINANCE








Promoter’s contribution (35%)
:
0.55 lakh


Term Loan (65%)
:
1.00 lakh.




Total :
1.55 lakh

OPERATING EXPENSES







The annual operating expenses are estimated at Rs 4.99 lakhs as given below :





(Rs. in lakhs)

1.
Raw materials
:


1.60



2.
Packing materials.
:


0.20



3.
Utilities
:


0.40


4.
Wages & Salaries
:


1.50



5.
Rent, Insurance etc.
:


0.30


6.
Other overheads.
:


0.35



8.
Selling expenses @ 5% on annual








Sales.
:


0.33


8.
Interest on term loan @ 12.50%
:


0.13


9.
Interest on bank finance








for working capital @11%.
:


0.05


10.
Depreciation 10% on M/c.
:


0.13





Total :

4.99



SALES REALISATION














Sl.
Items

Qnty.
Rates(Rs)

Value (Rs)
No.

















1.
Door Mat (13’ x 22’)

1000 Nos.
60/-


0.60








2.
Floor Covering (4’ x 6’)

1000 Nos.
300/-


3.00








3.
Screen

1600 Nos.
50/-


0.80








4.
Durry (2.5’ x 5.0’)

1500 Nos.
150/-


2,25











Total







6.65













PROFITABILITY
Based on the sales realization of Rs 6.65 lakhs and the operating expenses of Rs 4.99 lakhs, the profit at rated capacity utilization would be Rs 1.66 lakhs per year. This works out to be return on investment of 98%. The unit will break even at about 31% of the targeted annual production.

HIGHLIGHTS

The major highlights of the project are as follows :
Total capital requirement
Rs.
1.70 lakhs.
Promoter’s contribution
Rs.
0.55 lakhs.
Annual Sales realization
Rs.
6.65 lakhs.
Annual operating expenses
Rs.
4.99 lakhs.
Annual Profit (Pre-tax)
Rs.
1.66 lakhs.
Pre-tax return on sales

25%.
Break-Even Point.

31%.
No. of persons employed.

8 Nos.
SUPPLIERS OF MACHINERY
Addresses of Machinery and Raw Material Suppliers :
Supplier of Banana Fibre Extractor :
M/s Andhra Pradesh Agro-Industries Dev. Corporation,
Hydrabad
Looms and other accessories are available in the local market.

Banana fibre emerging good business proposition
BANANA fibre extraction is emerging as a good business proposition in Tamil Nadu and Kerala following good demand for the fibre.

Especially, three hamlets off Marthandam in Tamil Nadu — Thakkalai, Thiruvattaru and Mathur — have become the centre for banana fibre wherein every household of the village is engaged in the fibre extraction activity eking out their livelihood.
``Manual fibre extraction from the banana pseudostem is an arduous task,'' says Ms Kalpana, a research associate at the National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) at Tiruchi.
Ms Kalpana, who is engaged in a project on physiochemical and structural characteristic of banana pseudostem told Business Line that there was huge demand for the banana fibre, which was (blended with other natural fibres) used in making a wide range of goods as cordage, yarns, paper and paper cups, tea cups and tea bags, attractively patterned cloth, handbags/purses and shoes.
A tribute to the tear and tensile strength of banana fibre were the Japanese yen notes printed on paper from the fibre of the banana variety— abaca, she added.
``Because of the huge demand in the markets abroad, the pseudostem is not junked anymore,'' she said and pointed out that a kg of the fibre was bought locally only for about Rs 50. ``However, the maximum quantity of fibre that an individual can extract in a day would be just 500 g whereas in the mechanical process the same quantity could be extracted in an hour,'' she said.
Only wooden boards and metal scrapper are used in the manual fibre extraction process, Ms Kalpana said. NRCB had collaborated with a Mumbai-based research institute for developing a low cost mechanical device for the purpose.
According to her, over 5 lakh hectares of area were under banana in India, and the pseudostem alone would account for 28 million tonnes, from which the fibre, if extracted should weigh around 2.2 million tonnes every year. There are at least 117 different banana varieties. The fibre content in the wild varieties is said to be more.
She said that a survey conducted in the Nagercoil belt showed that four red banana plants could yield one kg of fibre as against 10 plants of the nendran variety. ``The fibre content is even less in commercial varieties like robusta.'' 
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February 01, 2014
Start a Business of E- Book Publication

       

If your are thinking of starting online business , you may want to consider creating and selling informational eBooks on your website. EBooks are generally shorter and easier to create than a traditional printed book.

What is e-book ?


An eBook is an electronic version of a traditional print book that can be read by using a personal computer or by using an eBook reader. (An eBook reader can be a software application for use on a computer, such as Microsoft's free Reader application) Users can purchase an eBook on diskette or CD, but the most popular method of getting an eBook is to purchase a downloadable file of the eBook (or other reading material) from a Web site (such as Barnes and Noble) to be read from the user's computer or reading device. Generally, an eBook can be downloaded in five minutes or less.
Although it is not necessary to use a reader application or device in order to read an Ebook (most books can be read as PDF files), they are popular because they enable options similar to those of a paper book - readers can bookmark pages, make notes, highlight passages, and save selected text. In addition to these familiar possibilities, eBook readers also include built-in dictionaries, and alterable font sizes and styles. 
Some eBooks can be downloaded for free or at reduced cost, however, prices for many eBooks - especially bestsellers - are similar to those of hardcover books, and are sometimes higher. Most eBooks at Barnes and Noble, for example, are comparable in price to their traditional print versions.
EBook Publishing for Marketing or as a Business
Even if you decide not to sell eBooks for a profit, you may want to create eBooks for free distribution to your website visitors as a way of promoting your business and capturing leads by having those who want to download your free eBook complete a form with their contact information.
If you do decide to sell eBooks for a profit, you can create an entire eBook store for only a fraction of the price of a brick and mortar bookstore. All you need is a unique information product and a target audience and, essentially, you're in the eBook publishing business. Contrast this to the many millions of dollars it would take to open a traditional book publishing business.
Creating an EBook Store
Once you have created and published several eBooks, you can create an eBook store. Those who visit your store will appreciate the options and the instant ability to download eBooks containing information they need. And, with shipping costs on the rise, free eBook downloads are a budget-friendly commodity.
Selecting Topics for EBooks
Almost everyone has some sort of knowledge that can help others. If you need inspiration or help organizing your thoughts into eBooks you can publish, you may want to consider investing in a guide that teaches you how to market your knowledge. A good guide to try isMake Your Knowledge Sell. This eBook can teach you how to develop your knowledge into an online business. You will also learn how to target a customer base and make your business succeed.
 EBook Writing Skills
If you are concerned with your ability to write eBooks and express your ideas, there are tools on the market that can help. One example is the Make Your Words SelleBook. This comprehensive guide can teach you how to write informative copy that sells.
With a small amount of knowledge and a large amount of determination, you can give your customers the ability to download eBooks that you created. And who knows, you may even make more money than you ever imagined by becoming an eBook publisher and owning and marketing your own eBook store.

Steps to an eBook Business

Step 1: Market Research

Conduct keyword research to determine the amount of people searching online for particular niches.  This will tell you how many people are searching each month for certain keyword phrases. One of the criteria is you need at least 30,000 – 50,000 searches per month (roughly) on specific relevant phrases based on Overture data before you continue the research process for that niche. This is to ensure there is enough potential traffic to make significant sales, but is only one condition that needs to be met.  
Researched and how each topic area was disqualified or qualified for the next step, based on the following criteria -
  • How much and what quality is the free information already available online on the topic?
  • How many competing products/books are already for sale?
  • How many adwords campaigns are currently running on the search phrases?
  • Is it an inch-wide and mile-deep niche?
As you can see, it’s not just about a demonstrated need in the marketplace based on search data, there is also competitive intelligence conducted way before you even start planning the creation of your ebook. 

Step 2: The Survey Site

Once the disqualification process is over based on current market conditions, next  step before investing in the creation of the ebook – a survey site.
A survey site is a one page website that asks people if they are interested in the topic they plan to create an ebook about. They use a basic namesqueezestyle page, but they don’t offer information in exchange for an email address like a traditional squeeze, instead they ask people who come to the site whether they are interested in a book/website on the topic and what is the most pressing questions they would like to see answered.
Here’s an example survey site template text:
Thank you for reaching my site.
I need your advice.
Currently I am in the process of building this site to help you improve your business and technical writing skills.
I would really appreciate your feedback and ideas on what you would like to see on this site.
In fact if you have any tips of your own that you’d like us to include please tell us about them. We’d of course acknowledge your contribution.
What do you want to see on this site?

Email:
Name:
Your comment:
If there is a good percentage of respondents to the survey site and the feedback is positive, you have an idea of what topics to cover in the book and what conversion rate to expect once the product goes live. Generally the amount of people who fill in the survey is indicative of the conversion rate you will get for the ebook. It won’t be exactly the same, but if someone is interested enough to respond to a survey they are probably interested enough to buy as well, and your sales page will pull all the right triggers to make the sale (hopefully!).

Step 3: Pay Per Click Traffic

To drive traffic to the survey site and eventually the ebook sales page.  Daryl uses Google AdWords. Daryl did a great introduction to AdWords for the workshop attendees, which provided just enough information to get a grasp of how it works.
AdWords pay per click is the main traffic source used for the survey site and about 500 visitors per day is a good amount for the purposes of collecting data. From that traffic you can gauge what the market thinks about your idea for an ebook and what sort of click-through-rate to expect. Once you have a few days worth of information, switch off the traffic and it’s time to decide whether you will create the ebook.
This extensive research process really blew me away when I first heard it from Daryl. It’s the scientific nature of the process, including the very tight real-world metrics collected, that ensures a good chance of launching a product that succeeds.
For most people, myself included in the past, you tend to think about book ideas first, then start creating one, perhaps writing it yourself, and then you launch it and no one buys. That’s because you didn’t figure out if the market had a need for it and instead you just assumed because you considered the idea good, that it would sell. That’s completely backwards.

Step 4: Creating the Product

Daryl ran through various ways they create products, but in general the process involves hiring a ghost writer/researcher and arranging interviews with experts. The ebooks are around forty pages and between ten and twenty thousand words. Writing and researching is outsourced via sites likeRentacoder.com and experts are contacted directly for interviews over the phone, which can be recorded and transcribed.
It is quite clear that the content creation step is largely in response to market needs. Once you find pressing problems people have, you search for experts that can solve the problems and compile their knowledge and expertize into a book. All that work is done by other people, you provide the strategic direction and instructions. You don’t need to find experts either, if the ghost writer can produce the book simply by conducting research online, that’s fine too – the importance concept to understand is that other people produce the content, you just need to be the driving force to get it created.

Step 5: Selling the eBook

Once the product is ready you have a landing/sales page written, and here Daryl and Andrew recommend you have a professional copywriter at least review what you or someone else have written, or if you have the money, hire the copywriter to produce the whole sales page.
Good copywriters generally charge about $2,000 for a copy review and around $10,000 for writing a sales page – so yes, this is a huge investment – but since the copy ultimately sells the product, it’s worth it. If your book starts generating $500 a day you quickly recoup your costs, even if it does $500 per week it won’t take too long to make your investment money back.
Copywriting is an art form. It requires marketing savvy, skill with persuasive words and an ability to innately understand what the consumer desires. This skillset is not common. Copy is the main interface that converts prospects into customers and if you don’t nail this part of your process you are wasting all the energy you put in to get to this point.
Daryl says to aim for a 1% conversion rate, which is not unrealistic, but may require ongoing tweaking of certain areas. The sales page is one place you can do things like split testing of headlines and other copy elements and you can do similar tests with the words in your AdWords campaigns. The idea here is to keep testing and tweaking until you break that 1% mark and then keep looking for other ways to drive more traffic to the site, which was a topic discussed on day three.
If your funds are tight you can have a go at writing the copy yourself. Just remember that if you don’t make many sales when you launch and all the metrics were good up to that point and you have lots of traffic, chances are it’s your copy that is letting you down. This might be an area where you look to bring in a pro copywriter or study some materials from expert copywriters so you can learn what works. A basic understanding of good copy can carry you very far in the Internet business world.

Putting The Pieces Together

Demonstrated various things that you need to assemble to build your ebook business. They covered many of the more common needs you have as an Internet marketer – everyone has the same issues – including how to set up survey sites (using Dreamweaver in the case of the Grant’s system), taking payments online, recording camtasia videos, split testing copy, email autoresponders, shopping carts, payment gateways, keyword research, niche selection and a whole host of other topics, many of which you will find covered in the archives of this blog. 
What Does a Publisher Do?
If ebooks are to sit along side traditional textbooks as vital learning resources, it is important to ensure they are of high quality - and to do so without compromising on digital progress. Below I've compiled some tips and best practice - for publishers and authors alike.
Topic choice
Many academics who publish ebooks have noticed a gap offered by the textbooks in their field. As a result, they choose to fill that gap by writing an ebook which is often shorter than a traditional textbook but which is makes an important contribution to knowledge. This point is reiterated byRichard Franklin, director, Abramis Academic Publishing who explains that "cutting edge" work published online often bypasses the need for the author to have an established online presence. Original or new work published as a short ebook can also help stimulate interest in the author's author work.
Multimedia
Another great way to make your book stand out is through movement and sound. Dr Chris Tisdell, a mathematician at the University of New South Wales, for example, published an ebook which includes YouTube clips where video is used to provide explanations of equations. I personally enjoy podcasts and could imagine a lecturer commenting on his/her book while the reader is going through it (of course, you should be able to turn it on and off, like with a museum guide). These elements would make the ebook memorable.
Editing and peer review
In our survey, Derek Atherton also expressed his concerns that ebooks "may not have gone through the reviewing process of some publishers". It is true that printed textbooks have quality insurance through editing as standard but it is up to ebook publishers to compete with them. One way to do this is through peer review, using colleagues within the author's department or faculty, or through one of several emerging websites on which authors can share their work for review.
Adaptability and interactivity
After the ebook has undergone peer review, it is ready to go online. The speed of transformation from concept to published material creates a dialogue between authors and their students sooner than with printed books. We ask our authors to update their ebooks every two years, at the latest. The ability to frequently revise an ebook means it quickly loses obsolete content or gains fresh content, and has a life of its own throughout the academic year and beyond.
What this encourages is listening: the ongoing success of an online publication depends on the author's ability to listen to his or her readers. In one example of how this could work, Dr Chris Tisdell told Computer World Australia that he tries to "post [his videos] as soon as possible after the lecture, as students probably see the value of course materials decline with time".
Interactivity can make students feel like they are part of the writing process. Ideally, in my opinion, every update should be accompanied by an explanation of why it is necessary. I like to think the reader then becomes more critical of what they're reading.
Presentation and format
Ebooks should be presented as simply as possible with links to new chapters which lead to other URLs. Text that fills up 100% width of screens is not desirable, especially if the reader wants to go offline. PDF is a good format, as it can be downloaded, saved, read when offline, and even printed. This allows someone who has used to print to slowly adapt to the electronic format.
To encourage academics into online publishing, it is perhaps worthwhile to redefine what a book is. Think of it this way: ebooks are not only simply books on a screen. They have their own distinct learning function and a place along side the traditional medium. Perhaps, as they evolve, they will not even be called books, but will instead have their own unique name, that recognises their unique value.
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