2010, India Vacation, Small businesses

Another year goes by. There wasn't much happening in 2009 apart from the move to Seattle and all the add-ons that come with a move. Spent a better part of the year in office given that the workload was heavy. Hoping against hope that 2010 will be a better year at work - It will only get crazier.

Have resolved to be a bit more regular at blogging. Will try for sure. Much like the risk that T20 poses to test cricket, I must concede that the 140 character microblogging at twitter has caused a loss of words and thoughts many a time.

Vacation in India was very good. Remained in Bombay almost throughout the 5 week period except a 3 day trip to Mahabaleshwar. The weather in Mahabaleshwar was pretty awesome (ranging from 10 to 20 celcius throughout). However I have now decided that from next time onwards, there wont be any more outings. Spending the same amount of money and energy, there are many ways to enjoy within Bombay itself.

Another noticeable aspect that I observed this time (although it isn't anything new) is the way in which small homegrown businesses run and flourish. Having seen the markets in the US where customer-is-the-king mantra rules the roost, it is shocking to see the apathy with which many businesses treat their customers. It appears as if "I dont care for you because I have too many other customers waiting in the queue waiting to buy from me at my terms"

Although it may be an oversimplification or exaggeration of market state, it does get really tempting to start and run a business in such an environment; all the more so because starting up a small business in the United States is no easy deal and the odds of succes IMHO are pretty low given the risk involved. I am not discounting the fact that starting up a business in India is also with risk and as the owner of the business, you are expected to, at times, run the show 100% i.e. do all that it takes to keep the show running. And when I say, all-that-it-takes, it means an all encompassing role - Do the most basic grassroot or mundane task with complete devotion, fervor and sometimes even ending up doing it more frequently that you'd like.

But what you can make-do without is a complete lack of innovativeness. Given the size of the market in India, you need not have a totally unique idea that no one else has implemented. You can start a business with exactly the same idea. As long as you get your implementation right odds are that you will end up having a good business; and if you are that lucky son-of-a-gun then you get volumes at a price point higher than your competitors.

Enough said for now. Will try to post more often this year. Lets see.