Life Lessons : Growth

Every city has its own tales to talk about. Observing the people and the city itself can teach us valuable lessons for management and even life, giving new dimensions to life and self-realization that many books often fail to answer.

One such lesson answers the question :

• How do you grow your business ?
• What does it take to grow ?
• Who do you call your competitor and how do you view them ?

Growth

Pune, Oxford of the East. Thousands of students from across the country and beyond come to the city in search for good education and better lifestyle. Next to one such management educational institute, on a busy street was my shack. "Amrut Chaiwala" as it was proudly called, in the name of my father “Amrutlal”. Right from the beginning I involved in the art of making tea. Yes, it's an art. Adding the right amount of ingredients, based on the quantity of tea you need to prepare, will the tea taste exactly the same, as always. Hundreds of people; students, teachers and others alike, visit our shop everyday and enjoy the refreshing chai and snacks. My father in his mid fifties, short, muscular man, works very hard brewing the tea, making snacks and serving happy customers. The best thing was hearing all the endless chitchat on topics ranging from politics, sports, economy to culture, management styles to gossips about the staff. 

After coming back from college, I used to come here and help father with the duties, happily listening to the gossips. Next to our place was a shabby little shed consisting mostly of a big platform and some tin sheets covering the sides, most of which were torn and broken. It was operated by a very old women and her grandson “Chotu”; couple of years younger than me, who offered vegetable upma ( a semolina based delicacy). They seemed very poor and even had no board or any other depiction denoting they offered snacks. Very few and specific people, who were regulars, even knew about it and ordered from there.

One hot summer evening, while father had gone out to buy some supplies, I was making the preparation for brewing tea. The street was bustling with noises of horns, yelling, engine roars and the chit-chat, gossips, laughter of the people around filling the entire space. While one eye was busy aiding the preparation of the tea, the other eye was gazing around to take any orders. I saw familiar group of people coming towards me and identified them as Ramesh and his friends. My eyes stopped to see Ramesh holding up his hand showing four fingers. A gentle nod and the order was placed. Four special tea along with four cream rolls. They are what we call Regulars. who visit almost everyday around the same time where just a glance is enough for communication. I saw him move to the next shed and order some upma’s.

Few months pass by and the world was gripped by recession. The chit-chat and gossips was now replaced with people throwing advice on economics to anyone who was listening. While the tea business was not as severely gripped in terms of daily footfall the rising cost of the materials and lower profit margins meant big impact on the savings. A few weeks earlier father had met with a near fatal accident and the treatment had already reduced the savings substantially. 

It was just another afternoon, a time when the business is pretty relaxed. There I saw Ramesh coming towards me with someone very senior to him. Giving order for 2 tea's he introduced me to the senior.

“Two special tea. This is my mentor, a famed economist and a family friend. Make the tea, special masala today.” said Ramesh.

On eyeing the next shed, which was in more miserable condition than earlier and seeing no one inside he enquired.

“Where is Chotu ?” gesturing to the next shed.

“He should be nearby, will be back in a minute or two”.

A few minutes later Chotu arrived at his shed, Ramesh went ahead and placed some order. Completing the tea and snacks, he went to the next shed, kept the plates and paid the bill. The economist seemed fairly impressed by the taste of the upma and was chatting with Chotu.

“This was one of the best upma’s I have tasted in a while.”

“Thank you Sir. Do visit again” replied Chotu.

“Why don’t you have a board which displays the menu ? It was really good and you should let the passerby’s know that you offer this wonderful food.” inquired the economist.

“We are very poor sir. We have no money to waste for such a board. People come to us have have tasty, delicious upma, not read boards or signs. We make limited quantity everyday knowing that we will be able to serve all our customers and where we know it will not be wasted.” replied Chotu

The economist was amazed by the simplicity and innocence of the young boy. He stated “Ok, but if you put up a board it will let other people, who are new here, know that you sell this fantastic food. Do you even know how to read and write ? Where are your parents ?”

“Yes Sir, I am currently in my first year of graduation. My parents died when I was very small. We were not in good shape back then. My grandmother took care of me, raised me, sent me to school to study. She actually setup this wonderful shed. She does not know how to read or write, maybe this might be the reason we have not added any board. But we don’t need it also. People come here, see others eating upma and know where to come.” replied Chotu smiling and feeling proud.

The economist was astonished by the unworldly attitude of the boy. 

He went on, “Ok, here’s the deal. You go and make a good board and put it up here”. The economist showed Chotu a perfect place for the board and continued. “I will be here next month, if you see no improvement in the business, I will give you the cost you incurred on the board. But if your business goes well you have to give me a plate for upma for free.”

Chotu seemed hesitant at first, but a nod from Ramesh seemed to strengthen the confidence and he finally agreed.

“You already make such fantastic upma, why don’t you start offering tea as well ?” the economist said.

“But sir, if we start selling tea, what will they sell ?” replied Chotu signalling to my shack.

The economist was shocked on hearing the reply. He never expected anyone to look at a competitor this way. We were competitors, atleast in his eyes. That is what the economist had believed. That is until now.

Chotu continued "They prepare tea so well that I will never be able to make it that way.”

The economist, seemingly now pondering over something, and Ramesh chatted for a few more minutes and left. 

A month passed by. Couple of weeks earlier, Chotu had put up a fresh looking yet classic styled board near the right top location, exactly where the economist had showed him. Slowly but surely the business had definitely increased. Instead of only the regulars, new faces were now seen ordering from his place. In fact that had helped my tea business grow as well. People would buy upma from there and have tea from here. 

Ramesh and the economist had visited us yesterday. The economist had called both Chotu and me aside and shared a plan. A plan of growth and prosperity. And the wheels of the plan were already set to motion. The economist had offered us some detailed insights on our business, given valuable advice and shared a master plan. We had never looked at each other as competitor’s, yet we had never considered each other as partners. But this was exactly what was his master plan. 

The economist had said “You both are the best at what you do. One makes the best, most refreshing tea while the other offers the most delicious, tastiest snack. One offers a way to satisfy the hunger while the other offers a way to reduce the stress. One offers a way to fill the tummy to satisfaction while the other offers a way to relax in this unrelenting world. But both of you are missing the other important piece when serving individually. You already have observed how impact on one of the business will affect another. The customer is looking for obviously good and delicious food but if two similar options are available, he will naturally be attracted and choose one which offers better customer experience. You both have the first part covered. The second part though can be improved. Think about it. Working together will also increase the customer engagement as now there are more hands to serve and look after the customer.”

Ramesh was also pitching in from time to time. He went on for nearly 45 mins and patiently explained all the queries we had. One last thing that I was unclear about and finally asked was “What's in it for you ?”

The economist smiled and breathe a sigh of relief. He realised that we both were more in acceptance of the idea. Finally he replied “You can offer me free food every time I visit, if you want”.

We all laughed and continued the discussion.

Few years went by. The encouraging words of wisdom from the economist had done its magic. Not only did our business improve but so did our lives. We will finally be moving from the little shack to a proper shop we had purchased in a building nearby. We also started offering more and different varieties of snacks and other beverages. We had unlocked the secret to unlimited growth. 

---

Sometimes growth can be achieved by going in unexpected directions.