Monday, December 14, 2009

What can “Dosa” teach you about paying your business property rent?

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Last week I mentioned in my blog how this pizzeria lost my (and counting...) business due to short changing us. It is purely a coincidence (ok, maybe not purely) that I decided to share another such experience but this time it has got nothing to do with overcharging your customers.
Keeping up with the traditions of “my friend and I were...” theme, sometime back in July/August, my friend and I were walking down one of the trendy downtown Toronto streets on a Sunday evening. We had just finished our dinner. It was dark (around 10ish), breeze was refreshing, night was warm and our conversation engaging.


I don’t recall what we were talking about at the time, what I do remember is that my friend pointed out this new South Indian Dosa Restaurant bill board outside of one of the trendy shops. Sure, there are many ‘kewl’ and upscale places that specialize in the ‘Dosa experience’ in and around downtown T.O. but such a hot spot almost guarantees success to any new eatery/joint.
Because rental properties are so scarce in this location so whenever something new opens up everyone is curious as it has the potential to add some more ‘spice’ in this neighbourhood.
We stopped, took a look and saw few people working inside.
The door was half open so we went in. The place was opening within few days and they were finishing adding last minute touches to this very fine pantry.
We started making small talk with one of the owners (these guys are used to running much larger operations and have given few other equally design-focused restaurants to the Toronto restaurant scene). He offered us traditional mango and strawberry kulfi. We took the offer, shook hands and came out excited and eager to visit this ‘authentic’ and flashy pantry once it opened its doors to the public.
Few weeks into the future, we decided to visit this dosa place for lunch. Taking advantage of the long line up, we started to scan through the menu listed on the huge blackboard behind the kitchen counter.
My enthusiasm took a dip as I saw hot and cold fillings include Szechuan beef, jerk chicken, mushroom, smoked salmon, Caesar salad. If you don’t believe me, then you can ask any of your Indian friends that this list has no room on the dosa menu.
Not to mention, turning dosa into a wrap with vibrant tomatoes, green onion and arugula is like mixing pizza with pho.
We ordered our food, sat on the communal table, ate the thing. My friend, in spite of having no dosa experience, wasn’t impressed either; mainly because of the taste of the ‘dosa wrap’.
I saw the writing on the wall for this place to be not at all successful in spite of being envy of many due to its location, decor and concept. Being a business consultant, we are used to passing on quick judgement. And mine was: This business will not see year 2010. This weekend, as coincidence would have it, my friend and I were walking on the same strip of this trendy downtown street and couldn’t help but be curious to see if my prognosis was correct or not. I never like to see businesses fail especially when I am in the business of making businesses successful. Unfortunately, the place was closed. I truly believe in Einstein’s quote “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
However, the key is to draw a lesson from it. Here are few that I learned along the way:
1.       The more bohemian, trendy, and fancy your idea in motion is the more emphasis should be put on your product/service. Think: Apple Inc!
2.       Manage expectations. Let your product do the talking. Do research before putting your idea in motion. Especially when fusion is your mantra ensure that there is a demand for your taste. Think: Lululemon!
3.       "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Think: e=mc2
4.       Do not decide for your audience. If the main ingredient of your product is a certain spice make sure you have it. Think: Politicians!
5.       Do not send mixed message to your clients. If your ‘walls’, so to speak, are devoted to Indian grains, chutneys, pickles, crackers and spices then try to maximize and replicate this experience in your kitchen as well. Fancy wrapping, pun intended, is not enough. Think: Dubai!
6.       Low price tag items rely heavily on the repeat customer/business base. Remember this. No matter how “kewl” your decor is but if you fall short on your product/service, the same sexy decor becomes a liability. Think: Jets Go!
7.       Learn this Russian age old wisdom – Trust but try. Trust your idea but ensure it passes all biases test. All children look beautiful to their parents but only handful win the beauty pageant. Think: Hollywood!
8.       Don’t be over ambitious in execution. Keep it real. Know your limitations. Think: Twitter
9.       Learn from your neighbours/similar businesses. Think: Mozilla Firefox/Chrome!
10.   Pay your rent on time. Think: Credibility, Sincerity and Honour

1 comment:

  1. Awesome Dude. Is that Dosa place up for sale? I am intrested in opening a Kebab Korner, if you do the business model.

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