Yesterday, I met a "would be" businessman in Packaged Drinking Water. Age : 50's. Some important Q n A between him & me ....
Q : What is the Capacity of Your Plant ?
A : 60 BPM. I'm buying an Old Machine
Q: And the RO Plant ?
A: Not a confident answer ( couldn't specify)
Q: How much Total Investment You have decided to put-in ?
A: Whatever it comes to. Till Now, I've put in some 15 Lakhs, let it be anything. I will see to it that it succeeds. I will always be a King, and if not, drop the whole thing. ( Then he presented a so-called think big slang from his community )
Now, he started Questioning me.
His Q: How much is the profit per bottle ?
My A: Per bottle profit is Gross. It will increase or decrease as per your daily production. You need to make at least 10,000 bottles per day & sell them for 3-4 years, then you will come out of your investments, with a minimum 25% ROI.
His Q: See ...One gentleman who asked my piece of land ( 5000 sft ) on rent has agreed to pay Rs. 30,000 per month. And he is putting a Packaged Drinking Water Plant on my land. If he is making Rs. 30,000, he's definitely making better money. Then why not me ?
From here, it was more a discussion, no QnA
Me : The logic is good. However, tell me , the person from whom you have been inspired, what is his background.
He: Prior to Covid, he was in this same line. He has been doing it for years.
Me: So, this is his another plant, right ?
He: No, first venture. All these years, he has been working for someone.
Me: Sir, with all due respects to your optimism, I suggest you to be ready with a proper financial statement for 5 years. I suggest to go for smaller but New set of machines. Start with a small distribution business first, and when you build sufficient client base, launch your own plant
Conclusions :-
- Look Carefully whom are you listening to. Follow him/her if he/she has implemented the model.
- Working as the manager of a business, be it a CEO, still is very different from being a Business Owner.
- If it's a first gen business, learn to sell first. Start small. Build community. Learn to accept "Nos". If you still persevere, you are the right cut for Business.
- Be paper smart. Prove your credentials on paper with a financial Consultant, a CA, then venture.
- Emotions ? Yes, important, as a prime-mover. Then keep them aside. Let Paper guide you from time to time. What gets measured, gets achieved.
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