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Curriculum Everyday Business Case Studies

Everyday Business Case Studies

Economics through the lens of familiar small businesses - a chai stall, an auto-rickshaw, a tiffin service, a barber, a tailor, a phone repair shop, a cloud kitchen, a home tutor, a beauty salon, a highway dhaba, a tent house and a print shop - each showing a key business idea.

  1. The Chai Stall: Margins and Volume How a roadside tea stall earns a living on tiny margins per cup by selling in high volume, and what drives its profits. 📄 Read-aloud
  2. The Auto-Rickshaw Driver: Utilisation and Ownership How auto drivers earn money, why renting versus owning the vehicle changes their income, and how app platforms and CNG costs matter. 📄 Read-aloud
  3. The Tiffin Service: Economies of Scale at Home How home-based tiffin businesses grow from a few customers to many, using bulk buying and routine to cut costs, and the challenges of growth. 📄 Read-aloud
  4. The Barber Shop: Selling Time How a barber's income is limited by time, why busy hours matter, and how pricing and extra services can raise earnings. 📄 Read-aloud
  5. The Tailor: Custom Work vs Ready-Made Clothes How neighbourhood tailors compete with ready-made clothing, adapting by focusing on alterations, festive wear and customisation. 📄 Read-aloud
  6. The Phone Repair Shop: Skills and Spare Parts How mobile repair shops earn from skilled labour and spare parts, why right-to-repair matters, and how changing phone designs affect them. 📄 Read-aloud
  7. Everyday Business Case Studies: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on the chai stall, auto-rickshaw, tiffin service, barber and tailor. 5 questions
  8. The Cloud Kitchen: Food Without a Restaurant How delivery-only kitchens cut rent and service costs but depend heavily on food delivery apps and their commissions. 📄 Read-aloud
  9. The Home Tutor: Pricing Knowledge How private tutors set fees, the difference between one-on-one and group classes, and how online tutoring has changed the business. 📄 Read-aloud
  10. The Beauty Salon: Repeat Customers and Services How neighbourhood beauty parlours build loyal customers, earn from a mix of services, and cope with seasonal wedding demand. 📄 Read-aloud
  11. The Highway Dhaba: Serving Travellers How roadside dhabas on highways serve truckers and travellers, why traffic patterns matter, and how new expressways can make or break them. 📄 Read-aloud
  12. The Tent House: Renting for Weddings How tent houses and wedding service businesses earn by renting equipment for events, and how extreme seasonality and asset use shape their economics. 📄 Read-aloud
  13. The Print Shop and What Small Businesses Teach Us How a photocopy and print shop adapted to the digital age, and the common lessons from all the small businesses in this module. 📄 Read-aloud

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