Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lessons from a Vendor


Today, as I boarded the usual 9.58a.m local, two guys boarded in right away. Quite customary to the scene these days, the guys, one aged 19 and odd and the other in his pre teen, were in the ladies compartment, not selling anything, but just avoiding the General section crowd.

In a relatively less crowded environment, I was enlightened by the conversation of these two guys.
The pre-teen seemed to be a potential entrant in the world of train vendors, while the other guy was a tycoon who had mastered the art of switching business lines.
Proudly calling himself as an experienced player, this 19 year old something was now giving business management lessons to the younger one.

Within a span of 20 mins, the following lessons were delivered.

Oranges, available these days, are more of the sour category. This guy had started off as a fruit vendor but soon left the business due to high perishability level of the product. Though an attractive business, advisable only for the well experienced.
(My Inference: The pre-teen should not be eyeing this option)

Notebooks are in high demand. A famous roadside vendor in Dadar sells notebooks in bulk and reasonable rates. (I was all ears, to hear the name, but he chose to keep it a business secret!). Timing is important in business. In an exam season, notebooks sell the best. (My Inference: A hint to the pre-teen, from where to begin)

Train Time Table and Pass Covers are ever green business options. Always have a steady source of income as a back up. Even if the core business doesn’t sell, these products are always in the list of wants.
(My Inference: The pre teen must carry a stock of TT and Pass covers apart from whatever he sells)

There is no harm in starting your day late, so long as you are ready to stretch yourself to late working hours.
Encash the opportunities, either in the peak hours of morning or rush hours of the evening. The latter is preferable, given that people are more “tension free” on their way back home. It also gives you the pleasure of getting up late.
Not sure, of what the pre-teen got out of this, but my inference was two fold.
One: Start early or Work Late
Two: Squeeze in some pleasurable moments, along with work, whenever you can.

By now my station was almost nearing, which meant I had to abandon the class half way through. In the final session that I could attend, the pre-teen was being educated on how to avoid being caught by TC’s.
Guess, the master was touching on the subject of “Challenges in the Way of Business”…

13 comments:

arnab_unreal said...

Some day you will find yourself to be an earning person, without being present at some office.

Long live your "writing business" :)

Gugan said...

hi...

so eavesdropping while traveling...ha ha ha...

actually these things that we may consider petty makes life interesting...it makes us look at the world a little different...

keep writing more...

and thanks for ur comment in my blog and sprucing it up with ur follower status...

Dan* said...

hehe nice post !

By the way wat r TC's iam not from india :D

Sriya Akhilesh said...

Wow!
i guess one of my blogs will hav the title: Lessons from Viyoma and her blog: Vyo's World.

Truly amazing!

Luscious Sealed Lips said...

I would have loved to attend the next Class.

Pretty interesting and enlightening conversations happen on a Local, if the ears are open. You happen to be one of those. Good one. ;)

Kisses.

RG said...

Wonderful vignette from a Mumbai local. Once you develop an ear/eye for learning from the world around you, there are gurus everywhere. Superb extraction of lessons, too.

Dan,

A Ticket Collector (or Examiner) verifies whether travellers are carrying valid tickets and imposes a fine if they don't. Vendors and other "experts" watch out for the TC and have a few tricks to avoid getting caught.

Razzer said...

nicee.. Loved it.
Write more. Ill visit u more.
Andy. ;-)

scheng said...

haha, good lesson from the street. Thanks for sharing. Too bad you don't get to the end of the lecture.

sherry_yao said...

Dropping by. Great, love your blog stytle.Keep on smiling to you!!

Ash D said...

Business classes on the train. Clearly information that no B-school can give u!

Satyask said...

:)

very nice.

ani_aset said...

my first visit to your blog.i like your style of telling this story, some management lessons :P

Viyoma said...

Aha!! At last i m not the only 1 to write abt local train experiences!!

2 of my posts, on similar subject.

http://vyoworld.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html

http://vyoworld.blogspot.com/2009/02/lessons-from-train-vendor.html