Subject: FW: From 50 paise, she now earns Rs 200,000 a day - The story of
Patricia Narayan, winner of this year's 'Ficci Woman Entrepreneur of the Year'
award - amazing.
To:
Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 9:58 PM
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>From 50 paise, she now earns Rs 200,000 a day
Shobha Warrier in Chennai
The story of Patricia Narayan, winner of this year's 'Ficci Woman Entrepreneur
of the Year' award is amazing.
She started her career 30 years ago as an entrepreneur, selling eateries from
a mobile cart on the Marina beach amidst all odds -- battling a failed
marriage, coping with her husband, a multiple addict, and taking care of two
kids.
Today, she has overcome the hurdles and owns a chain of restaurants.
An entrepreneur by accident
I was always interested in cooking and passionate about trying out new dishes.
But, the thought of becoming a business woman never came to my mind at all as I
do not come from a business family. Both my parents were government servants.
But my marriage changed everything. Both the families opposed the marriage
vehemently as my husband belonged to the Brahmin community; unfortunately my
marriage did not work out as my husband was addicted to alcohol, drugs, etc. I
could not bring him out of the addiction. As a young woman, I did not know how
to cope with this and I was getting beaten up everyday.
Though my father, a very conservative Christian never forgave me, he gave me
refuge when I had nowhere to go. I was thrown out with two very small children.
It was a question of survival for me. I knew I should either succumb to the
burden or fight; I decided to fight my lonely battle.
I did not want to be a burden on my parents. So, to be economically
independent, I could only do what I knew and what I liked. I started making
pickles, squashes and jams at home. I just took a couple of hundred rupees from
my mother. I sold everything I made in one day and that gave me confidence.
I earned a good income. I invested whatever I earned to make more pickles,
squashes and jams. It was quite lucrative in the sense, even ten rupees was a
blessing for me.
The first step as an entrepreneur
My father's friend, who was running a school for handicapped children, was
handing out mobile carts or kiosks to people who would employ at least two
handicapped people. They needed somebody who could run it and I was offered one
such cart free. I had to train the handicapped children to make coffee and
serve them to customers.
As I lived near the Marina beach, I decided to put the mobile cart at the Anna
Square on the Marina beach. I had seen people thronging the beach in the
evenings. But I had to make umpteen trips to the Public Works Department and
wait for one year to get the permission.
Finally, I started working on June 21, 1982, a day I will never forget. The
previous night itself, with the help of the local rickshaw drivers, I had
rolled the mobile cart to the beach. It was a small move but thrilling as it
was my own and I was going to be a business woman the next day.
While such carts sold only tea and cigarettes, I decided to sell cutlets,
samosas, bajjis, fresh juice and coffee and tea. On the first day, I sold only
one cup of coffee and that was for fifty paise!
I was very disappointed and came home crying. I told my mother, that I would
not like to continue. But my mother consoled me saying, at least you sold one
cup of coffee. That's a good sign. You will do well tomorrow. And, she was
adamant that I go the next day also.
The next day, I made sold snacks for Rs 600-700 which was big money for me
then! As I started making money, I added ice creams, sandwiches, French fries
and juices too. I used to keep thinking of adding more items.
I ran it from 1982 to 2003, and the maximum I made from that mobile cart was Rs
25,000 a day. That was during the bandh days! We used to be open from 3 p.m. to
11 p.m. every day, and later, I started opening from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. for the
walkers.
I used to personally stand there and sell all the stuff I made. I never felt
scared to stand there late at night. My only thought was to prove myself and
move ahead.
There was a fire in me that made me believe that I could be successful without
anyone's help. I did not want to be a failure. If you have that fire, nothing
in the world can stop you from succeeding.
Offer to run a canteen
On seeing my work at the beach, within a year, the Slum Clearance Board gave me
an offer to run the canteen at their office with a proper kitchen. The chairman
met me during her morning walk. That is how I got the offer. The canteen was a
huge success.
On Wednesdays, it was the public grievance day, so about 3000 people used to
come there and I had a roaring business.
I used to get up at 5 a.m. in the morning, make idlis and go to the beach.
>From 9 a.m. I would be at the canteen. From 3.30 p.m. I would again be at the
beach cart and would be there till 11p.m. By then, I had employed people to
cook, and clean, and all the cooking was done at the canteen kitchen. My
monthly income in those days was around Rs 20,000.
Later, I got an offer to run the Bank of Madurai canteen, I stopped running the
canteen at the Slum Clearance Board canteen. At the Bank canteen, I served food
to around 300 people daily.
The turning point
One day, after a fight with my husband who used to come to trouble me often, I
boarded a bus and travelled till the last stop. I got down and saw the National
Port Management training school run by the Central government.
On the spur of the moment, I told the security guard that I wanted to meet the
administrative officer. I met him and told him that I was a caterer and that I
heard they were looking for a one.
He said, to my surprise that they were indeed looking for one as they had
problems with the current contractor. I still believe it was God who took me
there.
I got the offer. I had to serve three meals to about 700 students. They gave us
quarters to stay. It was a new life for me. I got into the groove in a day. It
was successful from day one, and I took care of the canteen till 1998.
My first weekly payment was Rs 80,000. I felt so elated having seen only
hundreds and thousands till then. During those times, I was earning almost a
lakh a week.
In those days, I wanted to do everything personally as I felt only then, things
would run smoothly. Now I know if I train people well, they will do the work
the way you want.
Starting restaurants
My connection with restaurants started in 1998 when I met people from the
Sangeetha Restaurant group. They offered me a partnership in one of the units.
But my son, Praveen Rajkumar wanted me to start my own restaurant and build a
brand of ours.
But destiny played truant with me again. I lost my daughter, Pratibha Sandra
and son-in-law road accident, a month after their marriage in 2004. It
shattered me, and I withdrew from all that I was doing.
Then my son took over and started the first restaurant 'Sandeepha' in my
daughter's memory. It took some time for me to come out of the shock and start
helping my son in the business. Now, I am fully involved in the business. The
fire to succeed has come back to me now.
Ambulance to help the accident victims
I still cannot get over my daughter's death as I did all this for my children;
to bring them up and give them a good life.
What shocked me was the way the accident victims were treated by the ambulance
operators. When they found that all the four in the car were dead, they said
they would not carry dead bodies. Finally, somebody carried all the dead bodies
in the boot of a car. When I saw the bodies being taken out of the boot, I
broke down.
No mother can bear such a scene. That is when I decided to keep an ambulance on
that very spot to help people whether the victims are alive or dead. It is in
memory of my daughter.
Ficci entrepreneur of the year award
I started my business with just two people. Now, there are 200 people working
for me in my restaurants. My lifestyle has changed too. From travelling in a
cycle rickshaw, I moved to auto rickshaws and now I have my own car. From 50
paise a day, my revenue has gone up to Rs 2 lakh a day.
The 'Ficci entrepreneur of the year' award is the culmination of all the hard
work I have put in over the last 30 years. It came as a surprise as this is the
first time I have received an award.
Till now, I had no time to think of what I was doing. But the award made me
look back and relive the days that passed by. Now, my ambition is to build my
Sandeepha brand.
Advice to young entrepreneurs
Do not ever compromise on quality. Never lose your self-confidence. Believe in
yourself and the product you are making. Third, always stick to what you know.
When you employ people, you should know what you ask them to do.
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