Business lessons from streets of india CAN SAVE US

The unorganized, "informal" industry as we call it, contributes to almost 50% of India's GDP and employs close to 90% of our country's workforce and outperforms tier 1 business, usually corporations in which we aspire to work, in most metrics in business.

A part of India, that we usually don't recognize as a formal industry and in many reports and management schools what we call as marginalized industry, business we take for granted and don't even look at them, street businesses, local industries, actually have a viable profitable business model that outperforms major corporations in almost every business metrics and yet does not get it's deserved acknowledgment.

There is always a big celebration whenever FDI inflows come in but as a matter of fact FDI inflows have never exceed more than 7% of India's GDP, ever.

Let me show you how this street sector actually achieve such level of performance - with innovation and perseverance in many more following blog posts on my page.

I am sure many of you must have seen these book stores, these food counters, "thelas"

You can actually measure the per square footage revenue and return of investment that happens in a payment here exceeds several times the payment that happens in these big malls, with shiny glass doors, the branded stores, for every rupee invested.

Now many of you who are studying marketing also know that there is a whole science in the placement of products on shelves and there is whole design principles that go into it.

You must have also noticed that some vendors carry some of these books in hand.

My sense is that the bookshelf in this young man's hand is much much more valuable. HE HAS TO CARRY THE SET OF BOOKS AND CERTIFY IT BY HIS SWEAT EQUITY. He has to make sure that every book he carries, that adds on another 200 grams, and he carries 3-4 kilos on a daily basis, by the way holding lighter things for a long time start feeling heavy, is worthy from all the books in the market and if he'll be able to sell those so as to not sleep hungry for another day.

So I just want to tell all my author friends out there that if you see your book in that stack then you have arrived and this man has certified with his sweat equity that it's going to become the best-seller.

Support these small business in this trying times, corporate world has us in an illusion that we can only rise if others step down, but I think we can go up and bring everyone with us.

ps- this going to be an ongoing series of blog posts in which I'll highlight several key areas of business management in this sector because trust me, you cannot learn anymore than this sector, because people working here have the best business model because it's literally life or death here and if their business is not good enough they'll again sleep hungry.

ps- I would like to give due credits to business management lessons from Josh Tasks and Captain Raghu Raman

ps - links to my previous blog posts in case you missed them:

1. Aspects of financial decision and stakeholders

2. Intro to who I am and why this blog