H.R.

College of Commerce and Economics

M.Com. Part 2 Semester 4

Entrepreneurship Management Understanding Entrepreneurship

through Entrepreneurs

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my sincere regards to my parents and friends who have rendered their
cooperation in compiling this project on Understanding Entrepreneurship
through Entrepreneurs and conducting research. I specifically thank the three
respondents for taking time out from their schedule and providing me with a
fine service since a decade.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the subject Professor, Dr.

Rajeshwari Ravi for her guidance and encouragement in making this project a
success.

INDEX
Sr. No. Title Page No.
01. Executive Summary 02-02
02. Introduction to Entrepreneurship 03-03
03. Introduction to the topic 04-04
04. Respondent Base 05-05
05. Key Findings 06-28
06. Impressions and Conclusion 29-31

Paritosh Agarwal 01 Page 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Understanding entrepreneurship and the various sub tasks involved in its

efficient and successful execution can be dealt with in an extremely
impactful and effective manner through the first hand experiences of real-life
entrepreneurs.

Thus, this project takes into account the experiences and ideas of 3 different
entrepreneurs who have been a part of this fields over the past 6 years and
more. The idea of setting up and managing a viable business unit is
enveloped with multiple dimensions such as initial costs, issues, factors for
recruitment, employee satisfaction, training and salaries, etc. which all form
a part of the day-to-day functioning of the unit.

Through this research project, the researcher aims at encompassing the

various dynamics of setting up as well sustaining a self-made business unit,
and analyse the essentials and important aspects involved in ensuring its
success. The respondents surveyed and questioned for the purpose of this
project are all small scale entrepreneurs who have been operating their
respective business units for 6 years and more.

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INTRODUCTION TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching and running a new

business, i.e. a start-up company offering a product, process or service. It has
been defined as the "...capacity and willingness to develop, organize and
manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit."
The entrepreneur is "a person who organizes and manages any enterprise,
especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk." Rather than
working as an employee, an entrepreneur runs a small business and assumes all
the risk and reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered
for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader
and innovator of new ideas and business processes."Entrepreneurs perceive new
business opportunities and they often exhibit positive biases in their perception
(i.e., a bias towards finding new possibilities and unmet market needs) and a
pro-risk-taking attitude that makes them more likely to exploit the opportunity.
"Entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by innovation and risk-taking."

An entrepreneur is an individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs

a small business and assumes all the risk and reward of a given business
venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly
seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes.

Paritosh Agarwal 01 Page 3

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

The task of setting up and running a successful business unit is by far one of the
most challenging evolutions of human civilisation. It deals with extremely
essential learning outcomes that deal with generating income from customers,
raising capital funding, finding investors who add rather than subtract value,
proactively searching to identify a gap in the market and then leveraging ones
experience, describing the key elements of an entrepreneurial venture, creating
the greatest value by changing the game.

Thus, the researcher executed this project with the respondents to know how
entrepreneurship is about a way of managing opportunity pursuit, future
orientation and relentless execution regardless of the resources one actually
possesses. During the course of this project, the researcher finds that
entrepreneurship is about being opportunity driven, recognising opportunity in
all types of circumstances and learning that the key to successful
entrepreneurship is anticipating and dealing with change. The aim of this project
is also to analyse and explain the critical elements in the process of hiring
people and why the recruitment of good people is hard. Various aspects of
capital gathering, management and training, problems of the businesses, would
also be examined closely through the actual experiences of entrepreneurs.

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RESPONDENT BASE

The following small scale entrepreneurs were interviewed for the purpose of
this research project.

1. Mr. Vinod N. Vishwakarma (41 years old) Founder and Head at

Chopstick Chinese Corner.
2. Mr. Rajeev Goyal (43 years old) Founder and Head at Unique
Infotech.
3. Mr. Kanji Patel (51 years old) Founder and Head at Heaven
Collection.

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KEY FINDINGS

Q1. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

We had seen some examples in the small town where I was born. How a
common street vendor earned enough money to survive and live inspite of
having zero education. Since even I was only educated till class XII, and that
was not enough to gain a good job, and since family funds were scarce, coupled
with the fact that I had a large family to maintain, I decided to take this
challenge of setting my own small entrepreneurship of a small restaurant. It was
also the love for food and cooking. Another one of the main motives was also
the fact that the family would be able to properly help in this business as they
were all taught the delicate steps of cooking. Besides we had a huge area
outside on the veranda which could be used for this purpose.

Unique Infotech

One of my elder cousins worked for a foreign multinational company, and he

inspired me to start a computer hardware shop of my own. He saw the potential
market to sell these products, as electronics were on the rise back in late 20th
Century and also helped me in procuring wholesale orders at a very reasonable
rate, which led me to take up this venture as I saw a lot of profit which was
involved. Having my cousin as a guide boosted my confidence and he
encouraged me by setting me up with the right dealers. Of course, the best
inspiration was the high degree of profit involved, which would place me in a
very comfortable financial position. Also, I had studied in the science line and
that was an advantage I felt I had.

Paritosh Agarwal 01 Page 6

Heaven Collection

As a child, I noticed what a lavish well to do family we had as neighbours.

They were not at all educated yet lived way too well. They were in the toy
manufacturing business. They would manufacture simple yet durable toys in
the shed near their house and almost the entire village would be their customers.
Their prices ranged from low to moderate to high. So everyone could buy
something or the other. This wonderful business completely inspired me to set
up a toy shop of my own. Hence Heaven Collection was born. Also, the creative
aspect involved in making different toys was another key motivation for me do
something innovative and different, to capture the ever growing and ever
changing minds of children.

Q2. Is the family support encouraging?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

Yes, definitely the family support was very encouraging as they had a lot of
confidence in my talent and abilities. My three cousins were also very adept at
cooking and they happily volunteered to help me in this venture. My family
looked upon cooking as a very decent and comfortable job, and they had a lot
of confidence in my abilities. The best inspiration was in the form of a fine
dining restaurant, whose owner had started from scratch and now had three
restaurants in different locations in his management.

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Unique Infotech

They were not exactly discouraging and were rather sceptical about my success
in this line. According to them, this was not a healthy line to do business in.
They thought it would only be fare for someone who knew everything about
computers and since I was not a computer engineer or a programmer, to gain
their confidence that I could be a successful dealer was rather difficult. In fact,
they discouraged me by showing me the dangers of radiation and other
hardware related issues. Besides, they led me to believe that the market was full
of spurious / dubious products and that I would end up selling those in my shop,
for lack of complete knowledge.

Heaven Collection

No, not at all encouraging. They did all possible means to thwart this
entrepreneurship streak of mine. The family felt I would make a complete mess
of it all, blow up the hard earned monies of the family inheritance and land the
family in dire financial straits. Besides, at that time, the market was flooded
with cheap China made goods and the local Indian toys were either too
expensive or not up-to-the-mark. So they felt, to establish a reputation in this
line and to make a profit out of it all was next to impossible. The few people
from whom I was expecting some monetary help also backed out and left me in
the lurch to fend for myself.

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 Q3. What is the current line of business and why was this line chosen?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

This is a restaurant which provides good vegetarian and non-vegetarian options

in authentic Chinese cuisine. It not only has dining area but also free delivery
options. All in all a complete place to cater to the individual needs. Also,
because it serves not only the households but also bank branches employees in
the nearby area. This line was chosen to make a living and maintain a
comfortable lifestyle for this was something already known and dear to the
entrepreneur. Besides tapping the potential profit making aspect, it only betters
its art by trying different techniques and experimenting with different
ingredients while still holding the Chinese flavour.

Unique Infotech

This basically started off as a local computer provider shop which stocks the
comprehensive stock of all its components required from any such dealer.
Besides stocking all of these, it also stocks various other lesser needed products
like CDs of games, movies and songs, pen drives, chords, etc. This line was
chosen to tap the growing market of hardware and software which the country
was observing; and also to ensure that the profit ratio in this line of business is
made to the maximum. Besides, the ever changing and evolving face of
technology with its latest inventions and brands could be put to optimum benefit
by the entrepreneur.

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Heaven Collection

This entrepreneur entity deals with selling the traditional to the most modern
outlandish toys which are forever emerging in the market. It strives to ensure
that a wide stratum of society can avail of these toys; be it the simple
economical rattle for the new born child to the fancy completely automated
motor car for the 12 year young man. It also stocks gifting items and a wide
range of puzzles and games for all age groups of kids. The mind of a child is
sometimes the most difficult to please and yet at other times the mind of a child
is satisfied with the simplest toys. This was the motto which led the
entrepreneur to choose the toy making business. Not only was the profit making
ratio very high, there was always scope for improvement and innovation and the
turnover of toys is very high as compared to other consumer durable goods.
Then the shop also stocks other products of need from cosmetics to wallets and
watches, show pieces to cards for all occasions and items needed for enjoying
various festivals (like Holi, Diwali, Rakshabandhan, etc.). Today the products
not only range from local makers but also brands like fastrack and lakme house
in my shop. This helps in tapping almost every segment of the society. The wide
price range is also a beneficial factor in this business. The low income as well as
the high income group of people can afford toys and other items at some time or
the other. So the clientele is tremendous.

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 Q4. Where the business is located and is it is owned or rent?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

This small restaurant is located close to the oldest towers made in Thakur
Village area. Also, its proximity to offices, cinemas and real estate agents, adds
to the number of clientele. This shopkeeper owns the small outlet. Besides,
certain taxes like water tax, etc. are high and have to be borne by the owner.

Unique Infotech

This shop is so strategically placed that it faces the main entrance of four
residential societies and is situated amongst a group of ATMs, telecom service
providers and chemists. So, the visibility of a technology and computer oriented
shop is high. Though its area is small of what may be required for such a setup
it has designed the area to very cleverly so as to maximise on storage and
display. It is situated on the 120 ft road in Thakur Village vicinity, Kandivali
East. This shop is on rent and the owner pays a highly over valued rent, which
sometimes makes it difficult for the owner to improve on its profits. The owner
is storing funds to buy the place and its neighbour, if the circumstances support.
He has invested money in fixed deposits and other places so as to have funds
separate to that of profits to buy the place. He sees this as a one-time heavy
investment. He aims to have enough money in the next two years to make the
purchase.

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Heaven Collection

This shop is one of the oldest shops in the Thakur Village market. Though there
are other small toy shops nearby and in the closing areas, this one enjoys as
complete monopoly by the sheer dint of it being around the longest. It was
bought years and years ago, and was an outright purchase which has proved
really beneficial to the owner considering the increasing real estate prices. The
flourishing nature of the shop and the fact that it is ideally located to capture all
kinds of customers, the buying price expenditure has long since been wiped off.

Q5. How was capital of business gathered?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

My main concern for gathering capital was to buy the shop which was in a very
popular and upcoming busy area in Kandivali East and that was bought with a
lot of effort. Firstly a bank loan, which charged me a very heavy rate of interest;
then, I had to borrow money from money lenders from Bihar, (where, since they
knew my family, gave me a reasonable rate of interest). Also, my ancestral
house and land in the village (where my old parents were staying) had to be
given on rent, to a company who made it into a holiday rest house for their
employees. This company gave me a very good price which was the best form
of generating capital in this business. My parents then had to come and stay
with my family in Mumbai. Since all this was proving very expensive and
strenuous on my budget, I could not employ any outside help for the shop and
my wife and her brother had to sit and help me in managing the work in the
shop.

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Unique Infotech

Since a computer hardware shop is held in good esteem as far as banks giving
loans is concerned, I was able to get a sizable amount of loan from a
nationalised bank. Besides, I had to enter into an agreement with a popular
computer manufacturing company that I would procure all my products only
from them for a period of one year and sell their products on highest priority
with local promotions for the next one year. Because of this agreement, they
gave me their products on a cash on sale basis i.e. I would pay for the goods
only when I was able to sell them in the shop. My personal savings went in
employing skilled staff to run the shop, who were proficient in handling such
products.

Heaven Collection

We had ancestral property in rural Gujarat, which the Gujarat government

wanted to buy off at a very low price. However, I did not sell it to them, but on
the advice of my parents spread the word around that I was interested in selling
my property. After a few months I was approached by a popular film producer
who wanted to build a film studio on that land. I guess I got lucky there as here
I got a fantastic price, which covered almost all my business capital needs.
With this money, I could buy the shop area outright and also get into good
contracts with the toy manufacturing factories from whom I would purchase the
toys. On seeing my earnest desire to set up this toy shop, my maternal uncle
willed me all his property and wealth. This was absolutely God send and hence
I could employ trained staff and also present my property / shop to the public at
large in a very opulent manner, which helped me tremendously in establishing
my business wonderfully.

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 Q6. Who are the customers you cater to?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

We initially thought that only the middle income group of would be feasting
from our menu, but once the word spread of the good taste of my cooking
even well-to-do customers and employees began to come for our delicacies. As
the word of my stitching, I get customers not only from nearby societies, but
also customers come from close by colleges and offices.

Unique Infotech

With the computer line growing at a tremendous rate back then, the need for
these products were not restricted to offices but households began buying it too.
And since it is a durable and utility product and services every society or class
of people, I get customers from all over the suburbs. This is because I ensure to
keep my shop updated with the latest products and see to it that once a stock of
certain product is over; I ensure it is replenished at the earliest. The major
customers are the patients of nearby households and other small scale business
like doctors and real estate agents. At times bank branches and restaurants also
buy products and services from me. Since I also stock a wide range of small
sized products, the customers have increased tremendously. So to say, the
middle class man and the rich man, an employee or a business man all come to
the shop to purchase my products.

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Heaven Collection

Since gifts are needed to be given and to be received by all, there is no specific
group of customers who visit my shop. The location of my shop being in at the
centre of multiple housing societies, and also given the fact that there is no other
well reputed shop as well as mine, people visit my shop even though they are
not staying in this area. They pick up toys or gifts and proceed further and
hence my customers are from all over the western suburbs. Not just residents
but visitors too. Another set of lucrative customers are the people who come to
buy going home gifts for their kids birthday parties. This becomes bulk
orders and that helps in the profit turnover. So, from the new born child to the
great grandmother, all are my customers.

Q7. What is the market share enjoyed and what are the marketing
strategies adopted?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

We enjoy a fair share of the market because of the skill and finesse with which
we deal with food. Our main plus point is the fact that we service with a smile
and make the customers feel at home. We know our regular customers by name.
Since we face competition from other local restaurants and street vendors, we
have employed a main marketing strategy of ensuring each customer of a
satisfying experience. On the other hand, we have built a vast number of loyal
and happy customers who regularly visit us. Another important strategy we
implement is distributing delivery menu cards through local newspapers and
also by giving discount and special menu during various festivals. This entices
customers who are always looking for different ways to enjoy their meals.

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Unique Infotech

We enjoy a very substantial market-share as the store is extremely well

equipped, surrounded by local societies, in close proximity and also close to
restaurants, clinics, real estate agents, etc. Thus, we enjoy nearly 60-70%
market share in this area.

As this is a regular shop, we do not resort to extremely intensive marketing

strategies. The main ones would include marketing by word of mouth where our
very own loyal consumers such as the ones who frequent the store regularly
from the societies in the vicinity. Apart from this we have also tried to promote
the store through various customer service and satisfaction strategies such as
free home delivery, regular discounts, credit and over draft facility, etc. Lastly,
we also circulate our flyers in the news papers which have circulation in nearby
areas too.

Heaven Collection

In the Thakur Village region where we have our store, we have a sizeable
market share of customers who buy toys and gifts from us on a regular basis.
This is because we have been established much before the other newer toy
shops opened in the area.

But that in itself is not enough to ensure the market share will always be in our
favour. We are forever evolving new and innovative strategies to hold our
existing customers firmly and entice new customers all the time. One main
market strategy we follow is the incentive policy strategy. Which means, if a
customer buys over a certain amount (a reasonable one prefixed by us), we give
him free goods worth 10% of that value.

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So on a purchase of Rs.1500/- we give Rs.150/- worth of goods free. This
percentage increases as the amount increases. On Rs.3000/- we increase the
percentage to 15% and so on.

Also, we follow the strategy of fast in fast out which means, as the a
particular toy loses its optimum popularity we sell those toys at a sizeable
discount, which proves to be very beneficial to the customer as well as to us.

The main aim of my shop (as is the case with every entrepreneur) is to
maximise on profits and we do this also, by providing assistance for event
management, like we help them connect to people who organise birthday
parties, etc. so as to build and maintain a steady and loyal flow of customers.

Q8. What is the distribution pattern adopted?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

Mine is a restaurant where the goods and the ingredients are needed in
abundance and on a regular basis. I monitor these purchases, which are made
directly from the wholesalers and not so much in bulk, and every fortnight go to
the wholesaler and buy it directly from him. I follow the pattern of
Manufacturer Wholesaler Retailer Customer. This way, I am able to give
my customers a wide choice of items and am able to sell it to them at a
considerable profit. Since I deal directly with the wholesaler, we have an
understanding that some items which are no longer needed in the shop or have
run through wear and tear or have gone bad, the wholesaler buys it back from
me at a low price whatever is in his buying capacities. This highly benefits me
and increases my goodwill with the wholesaler. My delivery boys run on
bicycles and cover a radius of 2-3 km.

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Unique Infotech

A computer shop has handful of items and hence dealing with the main
manufacturers is possible. We have involved a few wholesalers who help us
procure our shop needs. Thus the distribution pattern we follow is one of
Manufacturer Wholesaler Retailer and at times we skip the Wholesalers too.

These wholesalers whom we deal with are those who supply to a majority of
such shops in western suburbs. Hence, they are able to sell the goods to us in
bulk which is not only of good reputed manufacturers but also marginally
charges us a buying commission, since they have a large wholesale market.
From all points of view, involving the wholesalers has benefitted us in terms of
timely delivery, authentic products, and comfortable overdraft facilities.

Heaven Collection

Our toys and gift items sold in the shop, come not only from Mumbai, but from
all parts of India and even from abroad. Since we have such a wide area to
cover and buy from, we have appointed an agent who ensures the goods are
delivered to him by the various manufacturers on time. He then forwards it to
the wholesaler who after charging his commission sells it to us. Hence we
follow the pattern of Manufacturer Agent Wholesaler Retailer. Involving
the agent has proved to be a plus point whereas selling a wide range and quality
of goods is concerned. The agent ensures that goods are of the best quality and
for this he is paid a heavy commission, which we eventually recover from the
final customer. He drastically reduces the distance between the manufacturers
and the wholesaler. Hence we have only one wholesaler whom we deal with on
a weekly basis. He ensures that the agent is responsible to reach the goods to
him on time. We pay the middlemen charges directly to the wholesaler, with
whom we are in constant contact with.

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 Q9. What is the number and type of employees hired by the business?
Whether skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

Since it is a delicate art of cooking, I have to employ skilled cooks. 3 cooks who
look after the vegetarian, non vegetarian and soups & desserts section are still
there with me. I got them from my village on the condition that I will take care
of their boarding and lodging and that I did. They all live in a one room
apartment I have rented for them, near my house. This is a heavy expenditure
on me, but from the long term point of view, it is favourable to me, as I have got
3 completely dedicated, skilled and hardworking staff who have only helped me
better my reputation in the market.

In the festive season, we do see an upsurge in the number of customers who

visit us. And a lot of people like to make deliveries around that time including
the weekends. I employ semi or un-skilled boys who only help me with
deliveries, serving and managing space inside the store. About 6 months of the
year I have 2 semi or un-skilled workers who help me for which pay them a
competitive salary so that I am assured of their loyal services.

Unique Infotech

Mine is a profession where I cannot afford my employees making even the

slightest mistake, viz-a-viz handling of computers and its parts. They should
clearly understand the implications, necessities and uses of these delicate
products before handling them and selling to the customers. Hence, I have
employed 3 science graduates by scouting for them by giving advertisement in
the local newspapers.

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1 of them left after one year and I filled up this vacancy by employing friends of
the other staff with me. Today we are a total of 6 people working in the shop
including me and I manage the overall supervision and keep the accounts and
inventory of the store.

Heaven Collection

The shop started with only three of us including my two sisters and me. None
of us had a formal knowledge in toys or marketing. But once the shop started,
we went with the flow of things and picked up the practical aspects of
marketing, dealing with customers and ordering for toys that were very popular
to those which we felt would pick up popularity later. These basic skills of shop
management were not told to us via books or lectures or formal training, but
were acquired with practical experience.

As we gained confidence and expertise in managing the toys, its customers etc.,
we employed 4 more people whom we felt had a keen interest in toys. They are
young semi-graduates who did not want to pursue further studies and were
looking for a job.

Today we have a total strength of 7 people, who technically are semi-skilled but
by the sheer force of experience and on the job knowledge, are comparable to
the best skilled toy shop owners in the industry.

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 Q10. How is training imparted to the employees?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

Since I employed people already trained in this line, I did not have to deal with
their techniques and skills from scratch. But after observing them for the first
one month, I realised that they needed a lot of fine coaching. So, I sat with
them after shop hours, and explained in detail where they needed improvement
and trained them to suit my standard of work. This went for about 20 days after
which a remarkable improvement was noticed in their cooking. From time to
time, i.e as when I can afford it, I send one cook at a time to the latest
exhibitions where they can pick up tips on various utensils and changing tastes
of the people.

Unique Infotech

Since this is a specialised field, its not correct to be complacent and give only
on the job training to the staff. The staffs employed, have to be a graduate in
the Science field and should have book knowledge of the products that they
have to deal with. Over and above this, they are sent on periodic training
courses to a specialised training institute which caters to updating the people
working in this industry considering the quick advancements in the field. At
regular time periods, of approximately 2 months, I being the owner take a
random test one evening suddenly, after shop closes to gauge how much the
staff has learnt and put in practice in their tenure with me. When we get invited
by companies on any technical event, (we being the dealers of their products), I
make it a point to send the staff for the same so that they are more aware of the
market trend etc.

Paritosh Agarwal 01 Page 21

Heaven Collection

Since there are no fixed set of customers we face daily, a standard format on
training cannot be put forth to the employees. Hence we mainly emphasise on
excellent customer service methods and strive to perfect this art from time to
time. This is done by inviting certain people who are very proficient speakers
and have got immense experience in dealing with and convincing different
kinds of people. They guide my staff how the best customer-seller relationship
is maintained, so that we never lose a single customer. But this is not enough to
train and motivate the staff. Every 6 months I being the employer, send my
staff on a short training programme to a training institute to better and fine tune
their selling skills. Though these are expensive programmes, I invest in them so
that they benefit me very well in the long run.

Q11. Is the profit made substantial?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

Yes, we make a substantial amount of profit as now that we have established

ourselves in the Thakur Village market, we have gradually increased the menu
prices and charging a profitable rate for all our services. But though we charge
slightly on the higher side, we also have to pay off the employees salaries and
boarding and lodging. Like most restaurants we undertake a lot of party orders
be it in whichever society or office and in whatever quantities.

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Unique Infotech

Yes, we are in such a line of business that technology products can never be
phased out by the common man. If anything, their needs and demands increases.
But we have to keep in mind the growing competition of the other similar shops
and official dealers blossoming in our area which take away a fair share of our
customers and hence our profit share.

To avoid this, we are being constantly innovative and different from others by
offering free consultation services on some products if purchased from us and
also by giving discounts on certain parts if purchased from us. The important
criteria to maintain the good profit making ratio of my shop is to ensure that the
customers are fixed and loyal. Once that is ensured, our profit margins are
always on the increasing side.

Heaven Collection

As we are a well established toy and gift shop in the area, we have many loyal
and dedicated customers which keep visiting our shop to meet their gifting
needs. Hence our profit margin takes care of itself. Inspite of a few similar toy
shops started in our area, we maintain our profit by always updating our shop
with the latest trends and toys in the market and selling the best quality of gifts
and knick-knacks over a wide range of prices so that varied customers are kept
happy. From this profit we have to meet the salaries of the staff, the upkeep of
the shop and of course invest in buying the latest and best stuff for the shop to
keep the business flourishing. But all in all, we ensure to maintain a comfortable
level of profit and keep our staff and customers happy.

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 Q12. What are the growth prospects for the firm?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

With the ever increasing and highly profitable business of cooking, we are very
optimistic about high growth prospects viz-a-viz employing more cooks, getting
the latest kitchen utensils and getting extra manpower to offer home delivery to
the nearby customers. Another important growth prospect, we are looking at is
buying the next shop and extending our dining area. In addition we aim to add
Nepali, North East and Thai cuisines in our menu by year end.

Unique Infotech

We view growth prospects as being able to offer more and more range of
products, which would increase our sales tremendously. Besides stocking only
computers and its parts, we want to venture into mobile phones and tablets as a
part of the overall demands aspect of the customer. We are optimistic about
starting home delivery not only for nearby areas, but also deliver goods to as far
as a radius of 5-10 km away from the shop. This would definitely increase our
business and to entice these customers we will ensure them a marginal discount
is given to them and see to it that they place their orders to us only and not to
their nearby stores. We are also planning to launch a website where customers
can view our products and make purchases sitting at home. This would enable
us to tap an untouched market.

Paritosh Agarwal 01 Page 24

Heaven Collection

To capture the market in toys in our area is an on-going process and to maintain
it and better it, we have to think of innovative methods for the same. This leads
to us growing steadily in the market. To ensure our growth prospects, we have
invested in a factory in which we manufacture our own brand of toys. This
enables us to sell these toys at a cheap rate, since we manufacture them
ourselves and we can comfortably meet the growth rate ratio. Another aspect of
expanding our business is we plan to introduce corporate gifting ideas to
companies. This means we take bulk orders from the companies for gifts which
can range from medium priced to expensive, depending on the type of clients
the company wants them for. Also, we want to tap the market for kitty-party
gifts i.e. we will cater specifically to these parties and plan their games, their
gifts and presents.

Q13. Do you enjoy any subsidies or incentives from the Government?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

When we set up shop, I was able to get a subsidy from the Government as
regards the tax structure, i.e., I was exempt from a large amount of initial tax
which I had to pay towards buying the premises. This is because I belong to the
economically backward class of society which enjoys certain privileges like
low rate of interest, subsidy in procuring raw material, subsidy for buying
infrastructure for the shop like furniture, fixtures etc. Every year, I put forth my
tax papers to the Income tax authorities and I gain a certain amount as cash
back towards incentive related plans of the government.

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Unique Infotech

No, we being a computer seller, we arent entitled as per the Government laws
in terms of tax returns or other forms. This doesnt stop our day to day activities
or is a heavy load on the profits and ploughing back of profits; but a certain
range of subsidies or tam exemptions under Digital India campaign would
really help us to expand and serve a better array of products and services.

Heaven Collection

Well, we being a toy and gifting shop, the Government does help us in any
subsidy or incentives like rebate in their tax structure, concessions in procuring
materials for the shop etc. Yes, if we reach a certain amount of sales in a
particular year, as an incentive for doing a good business, to encourage us, we
get exempt by a small margin in the tax payment structure. This means we pay
the tax and claim refund for it later.

Q14. What are the problems or challenges faced by your business?

Chopstick Chinese Corner

Ours is a cooking line, where I train the staff in the delicate art of cooking.
Now this is a skilled line, and the mentality of these staff is such that once they
are trained well, and if they get better job offers elsewhere, they leave the shop
even on a days notice, leaving me in the lurch. This is the major problem I
face. As my customers are getting more demanding, and when the workers
leave suddenly, I find it extremely difficult to meet the demands and work on
the aimed expansion.

Paritosh Agarwal 01 Page 26

Retaining the staff means I have to increase their salary from time to time,
which always I am not able to do. Another problem is the ever increasing cost
of real estate which pushes my expansion plans.

Unique Infotech

The most major problem is that of maintaining the balance of over stocking and
under stocking. This means its very difficult to measure the consumer demand
for a particular type of product. And if I under stock, I have the problem of
losing potential customers and, if I over stock, I have to throw away the excess
because all these products have a shelf life considering the quick advancement
in the field of technology. To maintain this balance poses a major problem.
Another major problem is that fact that the well known, reputed companies
from where I purchase in bulk, arbitrarily raise the rates of their goods, and I
have no option to pay them off, if I want these products. This increased cost
causes an initial dent in my pocket as these wholesalers do not give any
overdraft or credit facilities.
The major challenge I face is that of keeping abreast of the competition I face
from other stores and online retailers, who stock more up to date, expensive
products and give extra sales services like overdraft facility to their customers
and free gifts on certain items. I cannot afford to keep in line with these high
end stores and official specific dealers though I am always striving to do so.

Heaven Collection

The gifting culture in the Indian market is ever evolving, with new gifts and
ideas for gifting flooding the market, one innovation being better and more
expensive than the one before. To stock all these in the shop and see to that
they are sold out fast is one of the biggest challenges I face. Also, with new toy
industries flooding the market, so also that many wholesalers are there. Some

Paritosh Agarwal 01 Page 27

are reputed while some offer goods at cheap rates but are not so reliable. I often
face losses by dealing with the second type of wholesalers. This leads to
unnecessary expenditure for me. Besides, sometimes, the goods ordered reach
my shop are of inferior quality than what I expect and ordered for, but because I
have already paid for this in advance to the wholesaler, there is not much I can
do about it. I have to either reject the entire consignment or sell these inferior
quality products. Either which way, I am at a loss.
My manpower strength is also diminishing as my reputed co-workers are
getting old and retiring, and I face the problem of employing the new generation
of staff, who is not so dedicated and hardworking. To train these new set of
people is a major strain and a problem for me.

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IMPRESSIONS AND CONCLUSION

There is a great deal of inspiration required to set up and maintain a

business unit.
Specialised businesses require a great deal of skilled labour and
maintaining a good skilled base of labour enriches the productivity of the
business.
It is the duty of the entrepreneur to ensure that employees receive timely
and worth training to improve their productivity and develop their skills.
The satisfaction of the consumer/customer is of prime importance, as they
are the major propagators of the business.
Moreover, it is necessary to cater to special needs and requests of the
consumers to maintain good consumer loyalty, like in the case of
Chopstick Chinese Corner.
The researcher has further derived that owners of small and medium-
sized businesses need to be keenly aware of the importance of
promotional and marketing strategies. Evidently, from the experiences of
the interviewees it can be seen that promotional and marketing strategies
help the organization utilize the skills of the employees and stakeholders
and can help you develop creative approaches to sales and customer
service.
Promotional and marketing strategies need to be first brainstormed and
written as part of an entrepreneurs marketing plan. If the small business
doesn't have a marketing plan, you should seriously consider developing
one. Most marketing plans include the current or expected strategies you
have for your products, the price points of those products, how you intend
to distribute the products, and your advertising and marketing tools.

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 A marketing plan is also important for developing a promotional strategy
as it helps your business identify its target markets and to set measurable
goals. It is vital to the success of the organization that you implement a
marketing plan that aims for growth and positive change in the bottom
line.
Promotional and marketing strategies can also assist an entrepreneurs
business in understanding and connecting with clients and customers. If
the marketing plan is loosely structured, one might not have much
success at targeting products to the "right" demographics. Having a solid
and well-thought-out marketing plan can help the entrepreneur identify
gaps in the marketplace and provide feasible solutions for clients.
From the examples studied in the interview, the researcher derives that if
for example, you operate an ice cream business in a neighbourhood where
no other ice cream shops exist, it might be easier to attract clients than in
a town where there are other ice cream options. In this case,
understanding that your clients want sprinkles and waffle cones might
help you sell more ice cream and keep your customers coming back for
more.
Further, it can be seen that it is essential to develop Financial Goals.
Promotional and marketing strategies are also important for guiding your
business into the development of financial goals. Financial goals are two-
fold.

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 They are related to your sales targets and also to your expenses budget.
Sales targets are initially set as part of the marketing plan but might
change over time according to changing market conditions, increases in
product price, or increases or decreases in consumer demand. Monitoring
expenses is also part of financial goal development. If your business tends
to spend more than it brings in, you'll have a serious problem maintaining
long-term business viability. However, if the business is able to closely
monitor its outflows, only spending what it absolutely needs to, you'll be
better equipped to increase the profit margins.
Another important aspect of marinating the business involves strategic
planning. Having a strategic plan for your business means having plans in
place to deal with both expected and unexpected situations. A strategic
plan might also include solutions to "what-if" scenarios. This means
having a plan B for months when profits are down or expenses are
unusually high. Sales and promotional strategies are important here
because they allow you to ramp up marketing and to increase the bottom
line without sacrificing efficiencies or service.
Lastly, the researcher finds that the entrepreneurs interviewed in this
project are definitely prone to their own set of challenges which may have
different effects on the business.
Some the major problems/ challenges faced found were long channels of
distribution, season sales, market competition, extremely high rents, poor
employee loyalty, lack of funds for continuous training, etc.
Thus, the researcher concludes by acknowledging that while setting up
the unit, these challenges must be considered in depth especially while
framing the financial estimates and making arrangements for recruitment,
training and development of employees.

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