Manas

I will hire staff when the business is doing well. Now, even I am surviving with difficulty. How can I pay them?

We serve tea or snacks to the customers. Mostly, people don't have it. If some people ask for tea, we order it. It is not a significant expense. We have to bear such negligible expenses to stay in this field.

I am from Bhilwara, Rajasthan. I came to Bangalore to earn a living. We don't have any source of income in our village. I came to Bangalore with a friend. My brother-in-law is staying here. He brought me here. It has been around 35 years.

When I was young, I worked in a textile shop. I had to apply what I had learned. I also worked in other shops to gain more experience in this business. Specifically, I worked in a textile shop in Banshankari. My responsibilities included cutting and selling garments and attending to customers. I worked there for a year before starting my own shop.

I searched for a location where the public is more. I found a good shop and took it. We have to figure out which location is good. I came to this site and finalized it. It was a new building, so the shop was vacant.

The business is very slow now. It used to be a single road before, so customers found it easy to visit the shops. However, since it became a double road with a divider in between, customers going that way just pass by and don't come here. We are struggling to keep this business going. I am 53 years old and I need to take action. We are being cautious about our expenses and have reduced them.

I haven't done any kind of marketing. This is an old shop. All the customers in this area know this shop.

We build relationships with customers, interact well, and provide quality goods. Customers come if we behave well. Speak well, don't get angry, make them sit when they visit, and interact well. So, customers will buy. I don't do anything else. I only serve those who come to my shop. What else can be done?

I like doing business, but currently, my health is not cooperating with me. I have contracted COVID-19 two to three times, so I am very weak now. I have not taken any injections either. I am a volleyball player and still play for 1.5 hours daily. However, my strength is now low, and I find it difficult to drive. I experienced weakness after having COVID-19.

If there is a festival, we have more customers. Otherwise, we only have 5-10 customers daily. After the Corona, the business is down. It was going well before, but now, the work is less. The public does not have enough money, so it is difficult. People are not shopping as they did before. They have reduced their expenditures and are also being careful. When a pandemic happens, we are helpless. The business was going so well, and Corona put a brake on it.

Recovery is happening slowly. My shop was closed for many days. When Corona came for the first time, I was in Rajasthan. I was stuck there for 4 months. I got COVID-19 then. I was here during the second wave. I had Corona for the second time. I closed the shop again for 3-4 months. I lost 25 kg of weight. My condition was so severe that there was no guarantee. I somehow came out of that depression. I have reopened the shop with courage. I have fewer items in the shop now. I am slowly finding my pace. If we are not healthy, then everything is a waste. Both of my daughters supported me a lot. That is why I am here. I was losing weight by 2 kg every week. I thought I would die.

I used to open my shop at 9 am before. Now, I open at 10-10.30. I go to play and come back tired. So, I rest at home for a while. I have my breakfast, take a bath, and then come here.

This area was good, and there were no problems. My business was going well in the beginning. However, as the business declined, the income also decreased. I even struggled to pay the rent for several months. I had to borrow money from others. When the business is doing well, I repay them. Unfortunately, there are no savings. I am just trying to keep the business going.

When I first come to the shop, I clean the shop for some time. I remove the waste and then do the pooja. After that, I sit here and attend to the customers if any come.

I close the shop from 2-5 pm. I cannot sit for the whole day. The shop is open from 10.30 am - 2 pm. Then from 5-9 pm. I have more customers in the evening. From 2-5 PM, I do nothing. I may have something to buy. I may have to go somewhere. I go to the market during that time if any item is out of stock, I go and get it.

Nothing is difficult for me. Although I am weak now, I find it challenging to fold and arrange the materials. It takes me more time to fold clothes and put them back in place. I feel tired quickly..

No, I'm not thinking of hiring any staff. I don't have enough profit to pay for that staff. If my business is doing well, I will keep staff. I am planning to accelerate my business. If I gain enough momentum, I will keep someone. Yes, there was one, but I haven't had any staff for the last 15 years. I used to pay him Rs. 200-250 daily. He is also from our village. He used to stay with me at my house. Only my wife and I were there, so he stayed with us. He used to come with me. We used to go to the village together. We closed the shop at that time. We had to attend weddings or other functions, so we used to close the shop for 10-15 days and then go. He left because he got married. He was the only son of his parents. He went back to Rajasthan to work there. I did not hire anyone after that. No specific reasons. I had the strength to do everything alone.

I still have the passion to run the business and manage 4-5 staff members. However, the business is not doing well. Once the business picks up, our interest will automatically increase. There are days when we have sales for 2 days, followed by 2 days with no sales. It is like that.

I give the bills to customers. I have to file the account for GST. I have separate registers for sales and purchases. I can check the sales and stocks that came in a month. There are 2 registers for sales and stock.

I like having more customers. Otherwise, we keep thinking about many things. If we have customers, we don't have time to think about anything. We keep thinking about what and how to manage things. If the business is not there, what should I do? I can't go anywhere now. If I have to open a new shop in a new area, I have to pay in lakhs in advance. I should buy furniture worth lakhs. I can't go and do business in a new area now. I am just trying to push the business as long as it goes.

I inquire about the rates. Not always. I do inquire if there is a new shop or a new item. The rest are regular items.

I am thinking of including ready-made kids' dresses in my shop for kids below 8-10 years. If we have the sale of those garments, along with that, other garments will also be sold. Customers do ask for ready-made kids' dresses. I don't have them, and so they leave. If they buy those dresses, they will buy a saree or a pant-shirt along with that. I am thinking of that. I had ready-made clothes in the beginning. As the sale was less, I stopped keeping them. I had ready-made clothes for all age groups. I had T-shirts, frocks, and everything. Then I stopped it. Ready-made items were having good sales. The sales were going well. As I was alone, I stopped it and that business slowly came down. Now, the customers need ready-made items more. I am thinking of replacing these items with ready-made items slowly. Shirting and suiting have fewer sales. It costs Rs. 1000 for stitching pants or a shirt. Ready-made items are in demand now. I can't do it next month itself. I have to do it slowly in 4-6 months. This will happen only if my body is with me.

I know that readymades are in demand because customers come and ask for them. That is how I know. Readymades are in demand. I also observe other shops and see that readymade shops are doing good business. So, why don't I also start one? We can look at other shops. I wish to do that. Readymades are more in demand in this line now.

My customers come from JP Nagar, Yelachanahalli, Chunchgatta, and elsewhere. This is an old shop. All the developments here happened after I started this shop. There were no shops here apart from 1-2 houses. So, everyone used to come here for shopping. Therefore, everyone knows that there is a textile shop here. Now, Bangalore has developed a lot and this area has too. There are many shops now. People now have shops near their houses themselves. So, I get customers from nearby areas only.

Yes, I have regular customers. 90% of them are from outside. Harohalli, Ganigarapaliya, and others are all villages. So, everyone tries to come here. Now, all those areas are developed and they have shops too. They don't come here due to heavy traffic either. They think twice before coming here. So, only nearby people come here.

I know that because I have been doing business for a long time. I am aware of the latest trends. We have this knowledge automatically. If a saree is trending, I make sure to keep it in stock. We have this awareness. We gather this information by asking our customers. Some customers ask for Jockey while others ask for Ramraj when it comes to underwear and vests. Therefore, we can determine whether Ramraj, Rupa, or Jockey is in higher demand. I stock such items accordingly.

My memory has declined. I used to have a sharp memory before. After Corona, my memory has also become slower. Previously, I could even remember people's phone numbers. Now, I can't even remember a single number. I write down the brand names on a piece of paper and buy them when I go to the market. I don't have a separate notebook for that. I write them down and once I have them, I cross them off. I do it in a similar way to how it is done in a medical shop.

I don't have any billing software. I write by hand with carbon paper below. Yes, I need a computer. Everything will happen only if the business improves. If I have more customers, writing down the bills takes more time. I have to keep a computer if things go well.

I don't have any schemes for giving discounts to customers. I sell items at a reasonable rate only. I never charge more money, even if a small child comes. I never engage in such practices. Everyone trusts me. This is an old shop in the area. I started this shop when it was the only one within a 25 km radius. I offer a small discount on the total bill. I round the figure to a whole number. There are no losses, but my profit will be less.

When a new customer comes, I offer items at a reasonable rate compared to other shops. My rates are not high, and I keep my profits very low. I don't try to exploit the customers. When a new customer arrives, I inform them that I am taking the least amount of profit. If they find a better price elsewhere, they are free to go there next time. Once they develop this trust, these customers will become regulars.

I give my customers the items at a reasonable rate because we also don't have high expenses. My wife and I live together. There are only two of us. I am not eager to earn more. If God has given me this much, I am happy to live like this. I used to feel a lot of sympathy for others. That is also a reason for my misfortune. If anyone tells me their problems, then I feel empathetic. I give them significant discounts. This is a negative point.

No, I don't offer any credit to customers. If someone I know well doesn't have enough money, they can pay me back within 1-2 days. Otherwise, no. Most customers don't ask for loans. Everyone seems to have a lot of money now as the real estate industry has flourished. 25 years ago, there was a loan system. I had to go to them every Sunday to borrow money. I had to go for collections. Now, no one asks for a loan and I don't trust anyone enough either. If they want to buy, they can buy with full payment. Otherwise, they can leave. It's better to have money in my cash box than to give away items for free.

Yes, I stay in touch with my customers. We do talk over the phone with those people whose numbers I have. I ask them why they have not come for many days.

If items are out of stock and customers are demanding them, I assure them that they will be available by the evening of the next day. If those items are available in nearby shops, I procure them from there. I ask the customers to wait for a while. I have some shops where I have contacts. There are some shops 1-2 km away. Customers wait in my shop while I go to procure the items. I ask my neighboring shopkeepers to keep an eye out. It usually takes 5 minutes to come back.

It has been 2-3 years since the customers have decreased. It was fine. I did not have this much tension back then. Mainly, my shop is closed for most of the time. Items are also fewer. Stock is low. I have not been doing regular business for 3 years. I will open for a month and then close for many days. If I am ill, I will not open for 5-10 days. There has been a slight disturbance for the last 3 years.

I get my items from wholesale shops. It is from Chickpet where there are many shops. I don't buy from a single shop; it is from different shops. I have to get shirts from a shop. It is mostly from a shop. As the business is down, the sales are also less. I go there only once a year. I have a wholesaler for suitings and another for sarees.

I select the wholesale shops based on rates. I go to 2-3 shops and select the shop that offers the lowest rates. The quality is the same everywhere. If there is a saree for Rs.500, we can get it at different rates in different shops. It depends on the profit they make. I choose the shops that give me the lowest rate. That is how I make my decision. It is essential. Otherwise, the wholesalers will overcharge us. They may even charge Rs.50 more per item. It is important to be careful. I also ask the workers for rates. I ask the owners for rates as well. If they quote the same rate, I purchase items from them. Sometimes, the staff and owners may quote different rates. It is not good to buy from them.

Trust is built through verbal communication. If we agree to make the payment within 30 days, we must follow through. This helps to establish trust with them. If we fail to make the payments on time, it becomes challenging for them. They will increase the rates for the next transaction. If we delay the payments, they will raise their rates, resulting in a loss for us. If we acquire items at a higher rate, how can we sustain this business?

No, the payment to the wholesalers is always done later. Wholesalers who have fixed rates cannot be bargained with. They have a fixed rate for everything. They give the same rate to all their customers.

No, I don't use WhatsApp for buying from wholesalers. The material is not understood through WhatsApp. It is better to go and look personally. Even those who have been in this business for 100 years cannot exactly know the quality. I just know that if I get an item for Rs.100, I can sell it for Rs.110 or Rs.120. No one can guarantee the quality, and no one can exactly fix the rate. The mills set a rate, the wholesalers set another rate, and finally, we set another rate. At each level, they take some profit. No one can determine a perfect rate.

If there are any defective pieces, then they will take them back. If there is any damage, I will take it back. We don't give the money back, but I will give another item. We do exchanges.

If the wholesaler gives me a defective piece, then I can return it. My payment would be pending, so they take it back. If we are paying, we should receive good items. I reduce the payment while paying. Why should we suffer a loss? Customers won't buy it. No one is ready to pay for and buy damaged items.

Underwear and baniyans are delivered. There is no need to check the quality there. I just send the names on WhatsApp. These items kept here are underwear and baniyans. I send the names and sizes. So, they deliver them here.

For sarees, I have to check and buy. There are new designs daily. If we get old designs, then we cannot sell them. No, for sarees, we have to check and purchase. Once I purchase, I get an auto and bring the items. They will drop the items here. I have an Activa of my daughter. I use that. If it is a small bundle, I bring it on Activa. If the bundle is big, the auto drops them here. They charge 60-70 per bundle. I buy only what is needed. If the sarees are light, I can bring around 100 sarees. If the sarees are heavy, it will be 25-30. If the sarees are very heavy, I bring only 20-25.

Wholesalers provide a bill for the total amount. We conduct business for a month and then pay them in cash or by cheque, depending on the date. We have a 30-day timeframe. If I go to the village, the payment will be delayed as there is no one to make the payment in my absence. I have to make adjustments once I return. I mostly give cheques and do not use Google Pay or PhonePe as I am not familiar with them and there is a risk of the payment going to the wrong people. I have been cheated once before when a customer claimed to have paid 1180 but I did not receive the money. It turned out that the customer did not have enough balance, and I received a message regarding the same. Therefore, I do not use it. I had a negative experience with it in the past. Now, I know how to check the payments from customers. I confirm whether the money has been credited to my account before delivering the items.

I use YouTube and WhatsApp. I ask my daughters to do that. They are well-educated. I only use YouTube and WhatsApp. I listen to songs on YouTube. Nothing related to my business, I message regarding the volleyball team. If it is raining, I decide whether to play or not. I send greetings to someone. If I need to order any undergarment items, I write the names and send them. I also take photos and send them. Some customers send a saree photo to check if I have it. I reply yes or no. I have some customers coming from a distance, so I reply to them.

Everyone knows about WhatsApp as we all use mobiles. If anyone is coming from our village and we have to tell them something, we WhatsApp them. As it is essential to learn it, I did.

My daughters have only helped me learn about using a smartphone. There is still a lot to learn. I don't know everything. I can only read and send messages on WhatsApp. I don't do anything else. I type and send messages.

I don't prefer using QR codes. I prefer asking for cash as my first choice. I don't want to be cheated. If they don't have cash, then I suggest using PhonePe. I ask for cash from 90% of the customers.

My loyal customers taught me to use Google Pay and PhonePe. If anyone makes a payment, we have to click here to view the history. The first name will be that of the person who made the payment. That is how I started accepting payments using PhonePe and Google Pay. I cannot force anyone to pay in cash. Previously, I used to turn away customers who used PhonePe and Google Pay.

I don't know how to pay someone using these apps. I only know how to receive payments. I open the app and check. I have not sent money to anyone yet. Once, I was in my village when my auditor called me. It was the last day to pay the professional tax of Rs. 2500. He asked me to pay using Google Pay or PhonePe. I asked him to guide me over the phone and I would follow the instructions. It happened only once. I paid 2500 like that, just following his instructions. However, I don't remember now what I did.

The customers used to ask me whether I have Google Pay or PhonePe. As I did not have it before, they used to go to another shop. Otherwise, they would tell me that they will get money from the ATM. But they never come back. Now that I know, I can check the received payment.

I don't have much knowledge about other apps for business. I have fewer items now. I purchased sarees yesterday, but I did not receive those goods. There was an auto strike yesterday. They will be delivered today. I will purchase some readymade items after 8-10 days. Once I have all the items in stock, I will contact all my old customers. They used to come and go back because the items were limited. Once I have all the items in stock, I hope to improve the business. I have a lot of passion but don't know what God's decision is.

No 5-year plan. I am planning to improve in the next 6 months. I have to restock all the sarees. I also have to bring in 1-2 other brands of undergarments. I am planning to increase the items in all segments. It will happen in 2-4 or 6 months. I will do it. If we earn something, we can spend it without tension. I never spend one rupee extra now. I have to manage very carefully.

I don't have enough earnings to open a new store, not now or in the future. I can't trust anyone. If I open a new store, who will manage it? I prefer to stay here. We can't rely on anyone else for that store. We never know if they will handle it honestly. I have to handle everything within these four walls. Any expansion should happen within these walls.

If I have enough stock, I won't have a problem with the customers. They will start coming here. If I have a full stock, I believe that customers will come from even 50 km away. I have that confidence. There is no tension in that case. I will feel confident only when the stock is full. Once the business improves, I will also be content.

I have to go and check the items before buying from wholesalers. Otherwise, I will get bad items. I will get the good ones even when I make a phone call. But they will send items that are not sold there. I may have to sell them off at half the price. That will be a loss for me.