Respecting Compliances

​Years back I had a client who used to fill coconut oil bottles. Sometimes the govt authorities used to visit his setup and used to inform him about the changes he would require in his setup with reference to the connecting law or legislations.

He never used to complain and take it assertively.

They help me standardise my business for larger scale. 

This was his approach, attitude towards this.

After nearly 25 years of that, when I watch business owners trying escaping or smartly manouvering what's said in law, I truly start thinking to seriously teach them SWADHARMA. Every business owner's first school of thoughts should be

What value am I trying to create for my consumers 

Am I making their lives better than earlier 

And this whole school of thoughts automatically houses honouring all compliances. Then why businesses Dodge it away ? And it doesn't anyway make any sense in smartly cheating the regulators. It's very likely that you'll be caught one day and price can be too heavy to withstand. 

Look at the very recent case of the Baroda Black Water case. Since 2018 they were producing black water by dodging BIS and FSSAI. Now, in 2026, rules have tweaked, the business was raided and a great level of embarrassment alongwith heavy fines, and dropping off brand image.

The issue is the chalta hai or kar lenge or ye India hai belief deep rooted

When I talk with my clients, they still don't seem too bother. They take FSSAI is one of those other Licenses still. I don't know whether India is changing or not, but know for sure that the business owner needs to change.

Why Visit Exhibitions & Conferences ?

Attending Events is a Major Activity for Me

You might be getting many emails on Exhibitions, or through Social Media. I do visit various exhibitions throughout the year. Various people have various opinions on this. However, I choose to visit the most important ones pertaining to my chief interest : Bottled Water Business. And last many years, I usually do not miss some exhibitions in India, like :-

1. Drink Tek ( Mumbai/Delhi) : Focused on Beverages : Technological
2. Anuga ( Mumbai ) : Focused on Food & Beverage : What's Happening
3. Water Today ( Chennai ) : Focused on Water Treatment & connected Tech
4. Packaging Exhibitions : Selected ones

In addition, I usually try to visit every exhibition ( connected to subject ) in Pune, as I stay here. I also attend a lot of "Paid" conferences ( suiting to my pocket 😉 ). I am , being a member of MCCIA, also get opportunity to attend Online/Offline events in Pune. I do attend Bank's Sessions, Sustainability Seminars, Finance Workshops & Delegations from Other countries.

Why Do I Attend ? What is the Philosophy ?

It's NOT for "Networking" frankly. Though Network is a bi-product of such events, no doubt. I also have got a couple of leads from such events; however, I strictly restrict & remind myself for not making this, a chief purpose. I often see people strive to make connections with the chief guests in the Seminars. 

I will try to summarise why I attend :-

• It excites me to visit exhibitions, the ambience, the positivity in the environment
• It also excites me to meet new people, listen to them at their stalls, conferences.
• Great place to see what's new in the market
• Usually, the stall holders don't hesitate to share information, It may be readily available at their stalls, displays; which is usually very difficult.
• You might meet the owners, decision makers, some people re-connect.
• I get my Raw Material, the 1st hand information, which helps me in handling/overcoming my customer's challenges.
• Many stall holders are the potential partners for me, in the journey.

Getting Views of Key Persons from Industry

A Senior Professional for Multi-National Brand

Sr Professional in Sustanibility

We do get an opportunity to meet the Industry leaders post conference, and I do ask them specific questions on which I can source answers in public or in 1-1 

Should You Visit too ? 

If your time permits, you should. Make a provision in your annual budget & Time-Table, but do visit, it's 100 % useful.

A Stitch in Time saves Nine

While buying machinery, for plant, I have seen many entrepreneurs prefer to buy from a Single Source : A "Turn-Key" supplier. And the reason is very obvious : It makes their lives very easy. The Turn-Key supplier, will do all the hard hitting on his own & present you a completely "Done for You" kind of Plant.

In exchange they typically may charge little more compared to the price you get from Individual Machine supplier. And this looks perfectly fair.

The problem lies somewhere else & often unseen by an entrepreneur

The problem is not "Money"; It's "Control". As you have hired him for the complete job, it's he, not you who is responsible for individual machinery co-ordination, quality control etc. So indirectly it's Not In Your Control. 

See... It's YOU, the business owner, who will be RUNNING the business for 10-20-30 years, not the supplier. 

His profit comes after a Sale is done ( of machinery ) however, you will have to wait for a couple of years, for seeing the first annual profit figure in your financials.

For you to generate profit, you require smooth operations. And in this, the machinery plays vital role. Normally, the Turnkey fellows don't disclose their sources before you buy from them, and this makes your choice difficult. Instead they attract you by 2-3 typical ways :-

• Attracting you with their "Experience" of handling 100s of projects
• Pitching you with attractive discounted prices
• Offering you Free ( or very cheap rates ) consultation for project

And here, an entrepreneur makes a mistake. Now, what ?

1. He/she buys the plant
2. Starts production
3. While running starts facing uncontrollable technical difficulties
4. Experiences support gaps from the turnkey fellow
5. Delays profit

I have seen many of the business owners have learnt the machinery basics on their own AFTER facing these issues. Then, why not do it from the beginning itself ?

It's the shift of the State of Mind. Thinking like a Business Owner.

• Do the contemplation & knowledge gathering in your specially allocated Learning Time, but while continuing your existing occupation. Don't run by Deadlines, but with an approximated span like in 3 months I will be expected to learn the basics of this business. 
• Don't panic if this Expected Date goes a little further. Your project hasn't commenced yet. You are building a solid foundation, assure yourself.
• Don't start visiting places. I've seen people have a fancy to go to suppliers, watching the machines, and coming to me saying "I've decided to go with a 120BPM Plant". This is often a result of getting impressed by the FREE advice suppliers offer you.
• Often, the process is not sexy. It's boring.Whenever the boredum arises, do something else. Go to Nature. Improve self talk. Assure yourself, that You are Building a Business. And that you are taking very right steps.

You need to build some anchors here... like :-

    A Stitch in Time saves Nine

which means that if I do this now ( which I was avoiding ) it will save me tremendous time, effort & money in future.

The wrong way of D.I.Y.

I always meet entrepreneurs who are in process of setting up their Bottled Water Plants. Many of them, have already gone ahead with the construction. I don't say ( I can't say without seeing ) if the sheds are correct or not. But most of the times either they are too small, or too huge. Then, as an entrepreneur myself, I thought of analysing exactly what must be going in his/her mind ? 

Why do I need to analyse this ?

Because I have seen many ( most ) have realized that their calculations are wrong. And those, who haven't realized; either they are building in a right way OR may not be aware of this factor. This can be a costly mistake.

So, exactly "why" he/she thinks this way ?

1. "I know how to do this" :- He/she typically talks about the construction, which looks like a simple Fabricated Shed. And it is. But the domensions ? They matter a lot. And they can be only decided after giving a detailed thought to machinery & overall business planning.
2. There may be an existing shed on the piece of land. However, it may be smaller/ Larger for your bottled water enterprise. Again the mind talks "I will rectify some part & use the same, save money, smart businessman".
3. To support these, there is ample of "Youtube" Knowledge. They think, they will observe these videos and observe a couple of running plants of freinds, and "smartly" do on their own.
4. They start on "Indiamart" to get quotes. The suppliers start pushing you hard & offer FREE ( Cheap ) advice in anticipation of getting a sale in exchange of this. They also make an impression on you not to spend on getting trained or pay for consultancy, as they have supplied 100s of plants. So you too being smart, save unnecessory ( 😬 ) money.

So, Which is the Right Way ?

• Is DIY wrong ? NO. That's the right ✔️ way.
• Collect Information, but then consult an expert.
• If possible, hire a separate consultant, not a Turn-Key supplier