Year 1972 – I was staying with my wife at Connaught Place , New Delhi in my sister’s house . My brother in law worked for Steel Rolling Mills of India who had given him an office cum residence at Narendra Place , a well known business address in the 70’s in the Capital .
Narendra Place consisted of two half moon shaped buildings astride the Parliament Street and there were many tenants – both commercial and residential in the building . There was one old Anglo- Indian lady staying alone paying a rent of Rs 115 per month [ the premium rent fixed per unit in the early sixties by the owners ] . The old lady was running an innovative business in a clandestine manner .
The lady had engaged two boys who will go around the Connaught Place central garden after sunset and solicit mainly Hippies [ this was the time when hippies were roaming around Indian cities in large numbers] handing over a small business card which said – Bed with toilet facility available for Rupees 10 only per night . Those hippies who showed interest were escorted by the boys to the house which was only a walking distance . The daily boarders were given a space 2 feet by 6 feet to spread their bed sheets or whatever they had and were permitted to use the common toilet in each room . At its peak , the old lady catered for about 50 guests – collecting a neat Rs 500 per day . Of course , she had to pay weekly good will amount to the cops and salary for the boys . Can you guess the profit margin for this business with zero investment and zero tax liability ?
Case Study Number 2 – Year 1975 , Place Coonoor near Wellington, Nilgiris , Tamilnadu . I was doing a long staff course at the Defense Services Staff College and we were staying near Coonoor market . A vegetable vendor used to deliver fresh vegetables to us every afternoon . He struck a deal with the housewives in the neighborhood . The deal consisted of a daily loan to the vendor and the terms were for every ten rupees advanced , the house wife will get 11 rupees back next day along with choicest vegetables at discounted price . Calculate the profit margins for the house wife and for the vendor at zero tax liability !!
Great business ideas to pursue ?