My First “Business” Started in School Gave Me These 3 Life-long Lessons
Learning to grasp an opportunity that early taught me a lot in life
“Is anyone ready to volunteer to get copies of these notes by tomorrow?” asked my Social Studies teacher. “I can do it, mam”, I replied along with a couple more classmates of mine. “Shruthi, you live close by, right? Can you please get it done?” requested the teacher. “Sure, mam” I replied giggling on the inside.
I lived within walking distance of my school until 10th grade.
The owner of the Xerox shop right beside the school allowed the students to make copies at a discounted rate (school zone). He had priced it as 75 paise per side, making it 1.5 rupees for a back-to-back page. With everywhere else, it was about 1 rupee per side then.
I assure you, it was an accident.
I raised my hand only because it gave me a perfect excuse to spend more time outside with my friends.
But little did I know that I’ll be able to utilize an opportunity and earn my pocket money for the next six months.
Soon after the incident, I realized I couldn’t collect 1.5 rupees from each of my classmates (paisa had ceased to exist by then). So I gathered 2 rupees for each page of notes from them. And had to take 32*5 pages of copies from the shop.
**Our class had 32 students, and the notes consisted of 5 pages.
Ten rupees from each classmate didn’t matter then, and they were happy to give. But after getting the work done, I was left with 80 rupees, which was a lot for me.
To give context, I could eat all the junk I wanted to for a couple of days with that money. What more could a girl in 9th grade want?
I saw an opportunity. And a bulb went off in my head. My brain started imagining all the samosas, kulfis, pani-puris, chips, chats, and whatnot (Indian street food delicacies). Most of them cost 5 to 10 rupees then (max), so it was more than enough.
You see, I lived to eat then. I still do, but my taste has become better for sure.
From then on, I began taking all the Xerox responsibilities.
Of course, if the amount was more than ten bucks, I returned the money to my classmates. Or I subtracted before even collecting money from them. But if it was anything less than that, I didn’t bother.
Even teeny tiny amounts added up when multiplied by 32.
Profits poured in because I had a great relationship with the owner. I was a hard bargainer, so he often agreed to reduce the total price, increasing my margins. He might also have felt pity because I was small, and my voice hadn’t matured then.
I soon spread my services to other subjects and increased my profits up to 200 to 500 rupees per month — it depended on the number of times I had to take notes for the class.
After making money for multiple years, the money is nothing to me now, but it meant everything then.
On the other hand, since I became a regular at all these street food stalls, the uncles gave me extra servings. They had become my friends of some form. I knew their names, what was happening with their businesses, where their family stayed, and basic information. They knew my food preferences (spicy and sour).
We had become hi-bye buddies.
So I was at an advantage on both sides. I was happy. My tummy was happy. And my mom kept wondering about my exponential weight gain.
Looking back at the phase, I realize I learned the three major life lessons below:
Lesson 1: Knowing to grasp an opportunity as soon as you sense it
I know how important it is to keep an eye out for opportunities now. And how even more important it is to utilize them at the right time.
Especially if it doesn’t need any investment other than time from your side.
Approach everything with, “What have I got to lose?”. That’s how you’ll squelch your imposter syndrome and push your learning. Being ready to go out of the way to do something without expecting anything in return (initially) is a skill I realized. You never know how it can turn out for you.
Lesson 2: Building relationships is the most crucial aspect of any business
Though it sounds childish now, I wouldn’t be able to have as much food as I had then if not for good relationships.
Being on good terms with the Xerox shop guy and the street food vendors helped me gain much more than expected. While I might have used my being a kid as a triumph card then, I’m sure my going out of the way to make conversations helped tons.
In today’s information cluttered world, where you find everyone sticking their faces in their phones 24/7, looking up, seeing the world, and going a little bit out of the way means a lot. You don’t need to do much — a smile or a “How are you?” or “Are you okay?” would do.
People will remember the most about you by how you made them feel.
Lesson 3: You need to know when to let go
When we’re young, it’s easy to let go of things and start pursuing the next thing that pops up in our heads. But as we grow older, we tend to put too many expectations and heart into what we’re doing (especially if it’s going well).
When I moved to 10th grade, I lost that responsibility because the teacher changed. Of course, with it, the money that came with it. But till today, I’m astonished when I recall how I let it go and quickly went to the next thing that gave me money to binge-eat junk food.
Because for the 25-year-old Shruthi today, it’s far more difficult now. And this attitude is something I need to re-learn since I’ve started my own business now.
While I started the business (if I can even call that) because of my craze for junk food, I can’t deny that I got much more from it than I could imagine.
To be honest, I didn’t even remember this phase until I was reminded by my mother, which took me on a walk down memory lane.
Life-long lessons speak out to me when I revisit those days and look back on carrying a huge stack of papers in my smaller frame. I was more gullible and innocent for sure. I also knew to move on and not expect much. And now, after growing up, after gaining some crucial traits, I know I have also lost some important ones.
When was the last time you revisited a crucial forgotten memory and reminisced the lessons learned?