Shivaji Mohinta
A roadside tailor who normally does stitching and alteration is now producing hand-made masks from residual cloth pieces. An e-rickshaw operator seeing reduced numbers of passengers has converted his vehicle into mobile vegetable kiosk. People engaged in different trades and vocations are adapting themselves to the new COVID-linked situations in smart and engaging ways. A lot of management insights can be gained from these real-life examples, which are not necessarily taught in B-Schools.
There are five deep-rooted lessons from these business models, which can pass by the acronym RAACE. One is Resilience. Street vendors show tremendous resilience to keep business running even in the face of hardships, and these are driven essentially by economic necessity. Many a time, they are harassed by local authorities, subjected to extortions, made to change locations or suffer damage to their stalls. They cope up with such adversities to face another day.
They withstand severe weather conditions to show up at the right place at the right time. They change their wares to stay relevant to the needs of their customers. During the lockdown, the e-rickshaw owner turned the crisis into a new business opportunity by keeping in mind the geographic elements of proximity and mobility for the consumers.
Another lesson is Agility, which is discovering potentially new opportunities to occupy a slot before others. In the changed scenario, it is important to know what your customers might look for and how you can serve them profitably. The roadside tailor selling face masks is a good example of Agility. One big lesson is the pace of response to the sudden changes and how to make best use of the resources at our disposal. Experimenting with small, new ideas has been an effective mantra for the street vendors. In times of uncertainty, one has to be agile enough to work without a script, test waters and review the outcome.
Three is Action. If agility is what takes you to the desired slot, then it has to be backed by the right set of tangible actions. What has to be done next and how the same can be executed are critical factors at this stage. It is like a driver taking a detour to save time but he should have the skills to drive on narrow alleys or in poor road conditions to reach his destination. Agility with improper action will be viewed as stupidity. The e-rickshaw owner acted proactively to stock the requisite varieties of fresh vegetables and fruits to cater to the requirements of his customers.
Next comes Convertibility. Since these are not normal conditions, there is a natural tendency to show resistance to anything about which we are not used to. That is human nature; and running a business is no different. Convertibility is adapting to the new scenario. This decides the winners. Like in cricket matches, the team which acclimatizes to the conditions at the earliest wins the matches. During this phase, they resort to tactical measures like a compelling sales pitch or extra deals. The tailor sensed the demand for face-masks during the pandemic and displayed them on the shop front to attract customers.
The above examples bring to the forefront the enterprising qualities of these informal micro-business owners. They undertake risks, manage resources, innovate and re-invent their selling skills with changing times. Without formal education, the vendors teach us a lot of entrepreneurial lessons even if they are selling wares in the streets. Although they do not have great knowledge or resources, they believe in trying out something new. They push themselves hard to acquire new customers and master new selling techniques while operating in a constrained environment.
Bootstrapping is another key lesson we learn from them – the manner many ramp up their businesses successfully with meagre resources.
Street vendors constitute an integral part of our retail and distribution system. In these times when standard operating procedures are getting challenged, we can draw a few lessons embedded in the RAACE approach from these street-smart entrepreneurs.
The author is the Country Head of Greenlam Industries Ltd and a certified Life Coach. The views are personal.