Employability and Entrepreneurship Skills
This domain combines job-readiness with the basics of running a small retail business. Questions cover resumes, interviews, the business plan, licences and break-even.
Job readiness
- Resume: one page, reverse chronological, action verbs, quantified achievements, no false claims.
- Cover letter: state the role, why you fit, give one concrete example, request an interview.
- Interview: research the store, answer with STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result), groom well, carry documents, ask one thoughtful question.
- Workplace: punctuality, shift discipline, honesty in cash handling, teamwork, awareness of POSH obligations.
Entrepreneurship
- Business plan: idea, target customer, market research, location, competition, operations, staffing, pricing, marketing, finance, risk.
- Legal: Shop and Establishment registration, GST once turnover crosses the threshold (₹40 lakh for goods and ₹20 lakh for services generally; lower in special category states), FSSAI for food, Udyam/MSME registration, trade licence, fire NOC.
- Funding: own funds, Mudra loan, bank loan, PMEGP. Keep business and personal accounts separate.
- Break-even (units) = fixed cost ÷ (price − variable cost per unit).
Worked example
Fixed cost ₹40,000 a month, selling price ₹200, variable cost ₹120. Contribution per unit = ₹80. Break-even = 40,000 ÷ 80 = 500 units a month, about 17 units a day. Below 500 units the shop makes a loss; each unit above adds ₹80 towards profit.
Traps that cost marks
- Including variable costs in the numerator of break-even.
- Treating revenue as profit.
- Applying the GST threshold to profit instead of turnover.
- Inflating experience on a resume - it fails at reference check.