After completing his education, a very young Nilesh started a Mess. However, business was not doing well, income was poor and he had the added burden of paying Rs. 10,000/- for rented premises at another location, where his mother too was struggling to run an unsuccessful mess. He was on the verge of closing down his business, when he was introduced to the deAsra team, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The team met him, listened to his concerns and assured him that, with the help and guidance of the Udyog Mitra, he would soon have a successful business. To start with, the Udyog Mitra advised him to improve the overall look of his mess and expand his menu to include a mini thali/dabba and some common snacks. The rationale behind this was that ladies and elderly people rarely finished a full thali. The Udyog Mitra further advised and helped him to locate a helper, who would do all the running around, leaving Nilesh to concentrate on the Mess and his customers. These changes saw his customers increase four-fold.
The Udyog Mitra then advised Nilesh to cut costs – stop buying vegetables from the vendor who came to the door, but buy them at a cheaper rate from the mandai. Give back the rented premises being used by his mother, operate from one location only and add the saved rent amount to his income.
Next was marketing – the Udyog Mitra helped him prepare flyers and low cost handbills and told him which areas to distribute them in. This too proved successful and now, three months after nearly closing down his business in despair, Nilesh is ecstatic at having turned his business around and looks forward to the regular visits from the Udyog Mitra, who he now looks upon as his savior!