Life or something like it …

The conception of BBC August 30, 2008

6 am in the morning is not a very good time to test people’s creativity, especially after around 60ml of vodka and a sleepless night , with 2 movies back to back before. But then imagination after all has no bounds and that’s what makes it so amusing.

So VV n me while we had positioned ourselves strategically in the abode in different corners ,(we actually have fixed places to sit there and listen to Don) were thinking of which movie to play next when Don started calling us “Street Beggars”

And then what followed next was the “ Big B- plan” (The quotes here signify the importance of the word and how hyped the whole thing about Business plans is here)

Anyways – I have to keep controlling myself from digressing from the main issue here. And however hard I try I just cant avoid the tangential trajectory!

So , how about setting up a company of beggars? Ever thought about it?

Going by Kotler’s concepts –

Where do you position yourself? – There are a few options. Railways platforms, bus stands, traffic signals and religious places. We don’t want to target the religious places as there people just give money in the name of god. So the beggars don’t get the sense of achievement..So we are not selling anything ( “we” here refers to the beggars company ) and hence the sense of achievement is lost. So the other options that remain are railway platforms, bus stands and traffic signals.

How about recruiting the employees comes the next question? and training them ? – We want our employees to be well equipped. Sustenance is importance..And in order to sustain urself you have to be well equipped. So we should give them sleeping bags etc. so that they keep themselves fit and healthy and then can spend more time on the wok place (which is the platform or the bus stand here)

What about the incentives to the employees? – yes we need to pay them well and send them on holidays too. They need to be motivated to come back and beg and generate revenues for the firm. They have to be convinced of the value that they are adding to the customers. ( What value ? vv n me scratching our heads)

What about funding? VC ? Bootstrapping ? – ( a course on “Managing New Ventures” will teach you to stay away from a VC and bootstrap when starting up something of your own . But here we don’t need a VC at all , Cuz the business is about raising funds . So we are talking organic growth here.

And here comes the clincher –

What is the value that we are selling to the customer? – Well we are giving them a sense of purpose in life, which is to help the needy. We are a services company and the service we provide to our customers is that they have to give to us , when they earn and that makes them more satisfied as human beings in this world..

Only if they give to us, they yearn to earn more so that they can give more to us. We help them feel great about themselves, relive them of the daily pain of the material world and inculcate the spirit of sharing in the whole of mankind..

What is the vision of the company? – The vision of the begging community is to make money smartly. Invest money and grow in number .I future people should feel that they have to pay more to us as we are qualified beggars. We give them value.

What is the growth strategy? – We start off by calling ourselves “BBC” – The Bengaluru Beggars Club and later on redefine the very business of begging and go global ( GBC) . We can as well tie up with corporates and get bulk deals. Actually there is an interesting unexplored market here – especially with companies looking at “Corporate Social Responsibility” so seriously.

Who are our competitors? – well the small clubs here n there and the “specially equipped” ones ( I shall not delve deep into the details of these – incase of doubts please feel free to reach me) , but I guess we are more structured as an organization and we will drive them out of business very soon.

For finances we decided NB will be the right person. Don decided to take up the marketing and yours sincerely got the HR role plus responsibility of training.

Most importantly , Don had no clue of all this the next day and VV n me still give each other that wink when we think of it. We did record the whole conversation but couldn’t cover the rolls of laughter we both were in when Don was answering all these questions and believe me…he was dam serious about them.

Honestly, the logic still holds and the plan is sustainable. Long live the Bengaluru Beggars Club….

Introduction… July 25, 2008

Some questions unanswered which we are trying to find answers to, some moments to be cherished , a few fights , some heated arguments , some serious discussions and lots and lots of fun ….all in all an experience of a lifetime !

Here is the introduction of characters ( in the chronological order of their appearance )

Don – The Lord himself , no more words needed to describe the Lord ( may be someday I shall introduce the Lord to the mortals , but that will come later ..)

Kandy – The spiritual guru , the knowledge bank. Has a killing sense of humor and extraordinary wit! Awesome timing he has got !! For us , the lesser mortals well he is the “intellectual company”

NB – The rebel, the disbeliever, the argumentative Indian.. a no nonsense guy with a perspective on everything under the sun .. Humans call such people “psychics” but for us he is the guy with extraordinary capabilities and we believe in him .. we really have to fight it out to convince him , only to realise that he doesn’t care …

YC – The sportsman , always running around organizing an event or a match , has broken a few bones but still going on . But yes , “sometimes” he too wears a philosophical cap..

VV- the humble soul , the seeker , the interrogator , the receiver – this kid will never say no to you. Always ready to help.

Rowdy – The guest at our base , comes in with a new perspective all the time , open to all ideas, believe me his music and movie recommendations do work ..  ( current state – enjoying his latest stardom.. )

Well there are more , who will be mentioned later ..when relevant . For now the space is reserved for the protagonists.

Oh I missed the last character in the tale -

Yours sincerely !!!