Last week we had dinner at a
Chinese restaurant. It was a standalone restaurant and not one of those multi-restaurant
chains that exist. I visited that place after a few years and the food quality
was really good. I could remember the taste from 5 years ago. The couple who
had accompanied us to this place, used to frequent the place when they were
dating. The signature dishes maintained their flavour
The conversation slowly moved to
other Chinese restaurants in the vicinity and the subject matter of discussion,
was clearly two big chains. The first one of discussion, existed as a
standalone restaurant for quite a few years and was an iconic place in the
city, similar to the one which we were visiting. Then slowly it expanded, came
up with an Initial Public Offer, set up restaurants across the country as well
as internationally. Basically it tried to milk its brand.
Though I am no stock picker, I
bought shares of this brand. Five years after investment, I have lost 50% of my
money. Which brought me back to the question, was it a wrong investment? I went
back to my premise for investing in the stock, and they were basically three.
- They had good food
- The Brand had a strong recall
- Incomes in India are going to grow, and people are going to eat out more frequently
All the assumptions were valid,
but where did I go wrong? The question was answered by the choice of restaurant
I went to. Why did I not go to that branded Chinese restaurant?
- It had become expensive
- The taste of food was no longer great
Somewhere in milking the brand
and expansion, it lost focus on what it was offering - good food.
While biting my Chilli Chicken, I
wondered what made the place tick. It was a simple place, with nice ambience,
no extravagance. It still had a paper based menu, no app based or tab based
ordering system, which is supposed to reduce turnaround times. The service was
good, the waiters pampered and handled my 5 year brat. And importantly the food
was good. First lesson for me – you can get all the technology you want, your
product needs to be good. People come back for the product and not the
technology. At 10 p.m. when we were
exiting after a good dinner, we saw a huge number of people waiting to get in.
Clearly the place was doing very well. In the car we had a conversation
wondering why the owner was not spreading his wings, creating new outlets and
cashing in on his brand. We ended up branding him unambitous, contented and
even saying he was a loser. Is that really true?
There is a lot of management and
personal development speak on being ambitious, moving ahead in life, growth in
both individual as well as corporate life, one thought strikes me hard, is lack
of ambition bad?
In a situation, where I am doing
good and happy, do I need to lose sleep by chasing a dream? And once I achieve that
dream, should I chase the next dream? And when does this chase end?
Who is more successful, the well
run standalone restaurant or the chain owner who runs multiple branches and now
chases profits rather than ensuring food quality?
Depends how we define success. Is
it measured by the brand of car, phone, watch, villa, exotic vacation? Are
these societal parameters or our parameters of success? What is more important,
cracking that one additional deal, or that one hour of playing cricket with
your five year old in the corridor?
Should I be content, have time
to pursue my hobbies, spend time with my children and family, sometimes simply
laze and do nothing, watch that cricket match, play on the beach or chase that additional
revenue?
At the start of my entrepreneurial
journey, I was told that if I replicate the effort I put in corporate life, I
will earn at least thrice the money that a corporate job gives. But isn’t entrepreneurship also about finding
time for yourself while earning money? Why should rigorous hard work be
accompanied by the stress of earning money? Should my mind be focused on
putting my best foot forward or worrying where the next piece of revenue come
in from?
I really am confused and don’t have any
answers. Maybe I have got it all wrong and hence failed as an entrepreneur.
I think it all depends on your hunger… and taste. Bon Appetit
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