A question that evokes

“What business should I pursue?” is a million dollar question different people ask me regularly. For me to answer this question, I need to see that passion and dedication in the person. But before I can help them with their confusions, I ask them about their dreams. I have come across very few who actually came up with an apt answer to my query. In my recent article, ‘Young Minds: Do it with passion or not at all!’ I have expressed my thoughts on dreams and defined them to the best of my understanding.

Most of us revolve around our wants and desires, which eventually, lead us nowhere in the quest of finding business ideas.

There was one such guy with this very question sitting across the table. We had brief interaction once during an event. He had learned about the leadership stories at Soulflower and wanted to catch up to speak with me about business ideas. I always enjoy such interactions with exchange of ideas. I accepted the ‘invitation to connect’ and there we were, at a restaurant on a hot summer April afternoon.

“What field seems to be promising?” he asked. Everyone is interested in a booming field they can safely settle into without much risk.

“Tell me one thing on this table which is not salable” I asked. He sat there without an answer.

The things that were kept on the table were kept there because they were sell-able. That was my point. Everything is valuable, it is about your dedication to bring out that value.

It is not what is booming that makes you a successful entrepreneur but it is what you are good at. And his passion & knowledge revolved around food, that too, street food. I asked him “Why don’t you do food tours?”. People get confused between hobbies & interests, and this, was an interest. We spoke until his skepticisms & doubts were cleared and now, he is running successful street food tours across Mumbai, across cuisines, across the calendar.

The small conversation we had that day inspired the idea of ‘Entrepreneur Chat’, an interaction were small talks only involved big thoughts. Our communication is based on finding that one interest which eventually, paves the way for a bigger purpose. The purpose, once set, brings out the stallion in you with a focus of achieving it. Success is bound to be achieved on the way, as you set out to achieve a bigger goal, the purpose.

The purpose in this case was to ‘Spread the experience of authentic Indian street food flavours for people to savor’.

Entrepreneurship is a process of thought, interest, purpose and achievement, and ‘Entrepreneur Chat’ is about taking the first few steps towards this journey. It is an exchange of ideas I love. So, if you have something interesting cooking up in your mind, #LetsConnect.