I love to imagine this scenario.
A nice Sunday morning. Love it when it is raining nicely or simply winter of January, most of the households making breakfast. Oh! What a morning when you smell it with a nice boiling hot cup of tea or coffee. I leave it up to viewers to imagine whether they will like coffee or tea. Such an energetic morning it would be!
I know what you are doing, trying to imagine your favourite dish. Right? For few, it may be Idli- chatni, some may think of Parantha with loads of ghee, Dosa, Uppitu. I have two favourite dishes Medu vada sambhar also easy, quick to prepare- Maharashtrian Poha. Nothing can beat it when a nice steamy mountain of Poha in a plate with grated dry coconut over it and coriander, a quarter of lemon sat on the top. Yummy…
Every place in India has this dish, same ingredient but different tests everywhere, with varieties of Tari Poha from Central Part of India.
What makes it different is, which pan or pot you use, the number of ingredients used, treatment in each ingredient (cut, slice, dice), the sequence of using it, the time ingredients spend in the frying pan, etc. The food tastes better when you are hungry, tastes ‘WOW’ when served decorated.
Wondering why I am explaining some dish? Well, let us put it this way.
I listen to many stories from entrepreneurs. I love to hear them because it is learning for me too. While listening to one person I thought when you want to be an Entrepreneur it is like cooking that dish with the same ingredients and not only serving at the right time but also ensuring ‘WOW’ factor.
Let us check out the process of you being an Entrepreneur with cooking essentials.
The Pot
Imagine you cooking in an earthen pot and on a wood fire, old people say both, wood and pot, give food a fantastic taste and make it healthier by enriching with natural minerals, iron etc.
So, when you think of being an entrepreneur you need to have a right pot and a right fire i.e. right environment or ecosystem and the right time. This is closely related to the idea you are going to monetize.
A recent example of COVID, many clothing manufacturers started making PPE kit and Masks. In this situation or environment made people buy these products and it was generating cash for sellers. And mask will be side selling items even after COVID.
So, you need to identify the right Pot and the right Fire which will make your Idea tasty and enriched naturally.
What you are cooking?
So, you have the right Pot and the right Fire, what you need is “The Right Dish (Idea)”. Important, right?
You might have seen women in your houses or yourselves sometimes thinking one day prior about what to make for breakfast the next day. It is right also because it depends on the available resources at home, Preparation time, everybody’s taste, and your speciality etc.
An entrepreneur will have promising ideas. One needs to write down all against available resources and required resources. If you need any substitute ingredient, it gives you preparation time. You have already known the environment so now it is time you choose the right Idea which you can turn into Business and monetize.
Remember, Idea need not be big but It should be able to leverage the available resources and time, also flexible enough to accommodate the substitute of the missing ingredient.
Public Poll!
Hey before you make any dish do you ask family members? Ask their opinion? Try to convince or change as per feedback? I love this discussion cause, after all, they are going to eat.
Sometimes it is better to ask end-users opinion for better preparation and better results. Suggestions can be taken around what their current challenges, pain area. What do they expect?
There are many ways to do it.
a. Raise poll on social media
b. Suggestion from users
c. Research from other territories
d. Similar products or services comparison with your product
Change, before you start preparing, is good because altercation or modification in the prepared dish is always less effective.
Let’s Cook
Many smart chefs put cooking in two sections, preparation time and cooking time. Better preparation is directly proportionate to effective cooking time.
Key for effectiveness is before you start acting on a concrete Idea to keep all resources handy. Entrepreneurship is about taking the risk but as masters say, “the calculative risk is worth taking”.
Here comes the most interesting part- start cooking.
Fire up the stove, keep the pot, add oil and start adding ingredients and your dish is ready… whoa!! Is it so easy? When you want an excellent outcome, you need to ensure the right sequence of each ingredient, also their time in the pot and hot oil.
Burnt cumin may not taste good but added Fennel make Poha tastes wonderful.
The Entrepreneur should be able to decide a sequence of actions.
I had one coachee who was very much excited to create a website and before coming to me he had spent some INR 10,000 to 15,000. Then he started working with me on his USPs and uniqueness of products. Eventually, we concluded that having a website is least of his priority over his package offerings to the consumer base.
An entrepreneur set a priority tag on every action before going in out in the market. Each action needs the perfect time to cook.
The Aroma…
We were invited for dinner at native, you can imagine a typical native house. After some time, the entire room was filled with a lovely aroma of masalas and our nostrils too. So, all looked at each other with that known gesture ‘WOW’. Next, we all could think of ‘What is cooking?’
When an entrepreneur is effectively maturing his every step the question arises when should my customer’s or end-users know about products or services? Should it be after I have completely launched the product or before it?
You want that aroma to fill the room and once your 80% preparation is done, set out your marketing campaigns, teasers. Consequently, targeting the needs without revealing which product or services. Your consumer’s needs automatically grow bigger and now they are waiting to get served.
An entrepreneur should know the stages when to release your teaser and tempt your consumer’s or end-users or clients in product or services you going to present as a solution. The aroma is always a reaction of your secret ingredient with other ingredients.
Food serving on a plate…
After so much tempting aroma, what’s more, beautiful sight than having food served on a plate. Indians have traditional values for serving food on a plate and obviously, it changes as per region.
For example, in Maharashtra Poha served with dry coconut and coriander with lemon, Gujrat it served with namkin and coriander at the same time central India it’s called ‘Tari wale Pohe’.
An entrepreneur should consider the following points,
a. Creating a brand Identity in product and services
b. Sometimes region-wise packaging may help in reaching niche
c. Identify a channel or franchise partner where you have no reach
d. For a few products, virtual presence may solve the purpose.
e. Over decorative items may extend the expectation so keep it under normal for long term game
Why you should be an entrepreneur.
a. you will not be a market player but you can create your market and become a market leader.
b. You will sell product or services; your intuition leads you to make good decisions.
c. Risk is high and hence you are a Leader.
d. You have your flexible process to support the desired results and You own it at every step.
e. And the cherry on the top is you decide how much you wish to earn.
Finally, the entrepreneurship is not being self-employed it is all about generating a fantastic ‘Idea’ for your ‘Niche’, risks are there but so the more reason for you to be The Entrepreneur.
The Entrepreneurship is Dish worth cooking.