Topic: Introduction in starting your own food business and the various aspects of it. For: 1st Year Food Science and Management, MOP College, Chennai. Date: 10th May 2012

1. For 1st Year Food Science & Management
M. O. P. Vaishnav College for Women,Chennai
By
M Mohamed Ali

2. A brief introduction
 My name is M Mohamed Ali.
 I am a Business Graduate in Marketing and Finance.
 I moderate an online based food community called
Chennai Food Guide.
 We have over 5000 members and interact with most of the
F&B Service operators in Chennai.
 Due to the experience above, I also have a Consultancy
Firm that offers Subject Matter Expertise to business that
requires them.

3. The reason I am here
 To give an insight about the various aspects of
possibly starting a food business.
 For the 1st year students of Food Science and
Management.
 I am supposed to give my experience of past 11 years
and highlight the same across to you, so you can be
possibly motivated to take the leap into
Entrepreneurship.

4. Conditions for this discourse
 It must have been a long 20 day course.
 Tiring and boring.
 I will try to keep it as lively and interactive as
possibly.
 NEED YOUR HELP – MY CONDITION.
 I get bored easily.
 Tend to snooze off.
 So every time I raise my hand, I want all of you to
shout real loud:

5. WHOO RAH!!!

6. A few questions…
 What is the reason that you have chosen this course?
 Does any one in your family and or friends operate
their own food business? If so what and how?
 How many of you have an idea of owning your own
food business someday? If so what and how?
 What do you think is required to start a food
business?

7. Theory states that you require
 Experience – SME
 Excessive Cash/ Capital
 Entrepreneurship
Need the above to start a business.
 What is this Ship? Anyone??
Wiki explains it as the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be
defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business
acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods".
The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new
business.

8. How to get about entrepreneurship?
 First and foremost we got to have CLARITY.
 After graduation some of you want to work, some of
you want to do higher studies, some of you want to
work for some time and then do your higher studies
and some would like to start your own business
straightaway.
 For one to be successful in Business one SHOULD
have, I repeat SHOULD have relevant WORK
EXPERIENCE. This is the beginning of CLARITY
 Hence work experience is a must!
WHOO RAH!!!

9. More on CLARITY…
 For one to have better CLARITY we should be aware
of our own Capabilities and Limitations.
 This reminds me of a Greek Proverb KNOW THYSELF
– Which suggest one should know completely about
one own self.
 With the above you should be able to map the
following
 What you want to do?
 Where you want to do?
 When you want to do? &
 How you want to do?

10. Some more on CLARITY…
 Remember that one achieving CLARITY doesn’t
happen overnight.
 Some times it evolves completely into something else.
 It is a lengthy process – one has to be on it constantly.
 It is a journey – one has to travel it.
 Always our end objective should be in our mind.
WHOO RAH!!!

11. Reality Check…
 You must be aware that you are not in School
anymore.
 No more spoon feeding of your Curriculum.
 You are now classified as Young Adults who have a
bright future to look forward to.
For the above the much preceded
CLARITY IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST!!!

12. The Predicament
 The food industry is one of the most vibrant and
promising industry – so says the market reports,
industry analysts, family, friends and the list goes on.
 The industry itself is Vast, Huge and Immense – The
category is infinite.
 For us to be successful professional/ entrepreneur in
today’s competitive environment we need to be
multiskilled and at the same time a specialist where
we always have an edge over the others.
 It could be in the form of a talent and or skill.

13. The Predicament continues…
 Amongst the afore mentioned Chaos the successful
business women/ men should find their bright space
under the sun.
 Once you are successful, people will try to copy you
and take your share.
WHOO RAH!!!

14. The solution
 To manage the challenges mentioned above you have to
innovate, differentiate yourself from the others and move
forward.
 This is the only way forward if you have chosen this path
in todays let alone tomorrows super competitive world.
 The competition will be plain and simply CUT THROAT!!
 If you are not confident of handling these kind of stress
level it is better you choose an easier way.
 Let me remind you the necessity of CLARITY of all the
issues above mentioned.

15. Rest of the solution
 Recollecting on what I have mentioned earlier;
Knowing you capacity and limitation – you should
DECIDE and FIXATE on What YOU WANT.
 Once you have decided, the only direction should be
forward:
Take the plunge!
Breathe it!!
Enjoy and live every moment of it!!!
 Trust me, if you do the above the journey ahead will
be easier!!!

16. Once upon a time
 When we graduated out of school, neither did we
have clarity nor we were taught its importance.
 Many of us in my generation took it up to the wind
for opportunity.
 I know a friend of mine who studied Bio Tech and
now is a senior faculty in a Animation College.
 My another friend studied science and is a senior
editor in a renowned newspaper firm.
WHOO RAH!!!

17. Reality Check
 You are not from such a time or situation.
 You have better opportunities of pursuing what you
have been academically qualified as a profession or
business.
 Bitter truth: “You better work hard to get what you
want else you will be forced to like what you get!”
 So you have to decide what you want and WORK for
IT.
CLARITY: WHOO RAH!!!

18. The Opportunities in Food Industry
 Manufacturing
 Food
 Beverages
 Retail
 Restaurant
 Bakery
 Grocer
 Services
 Certification
 IT Enabled Services

19. To have better CLARITY
 Talk and interact to people working in the industry or
specific division you are interested to know more.
 Read and research through resources such as the internet
which is a huge resource and can give you a good insight.,
Example: Forums, etc.,
 Always try to WORK towards topics/ subjects/ areas
which really pulls you in – which interests you.
 QUESTION: Which is the single thing that you would love
to keep doing day in and out, without getting bored?
 Imagine having that as your JOB/ BUSINESS and you
make money like that – The MOST IDEAL JOB/ BUSINESS

20. PASSION
 The part of “Know Thyself” also includes you knowing
for sure what you LIKE/ LOVE.
 Things that YOU have a PASSION for – Which, when
one interacts with, they should be able to feel the
deep PASSION you have for on the subject –
BURNING DESIRE, But with CLARITY.
 If the above is there in your Basket – You being
successful is a matter of time and time will come for
those who work true and hard.
PASSION – PASSIONATE – WOOH RAH!!!

21. Recapping and moving on
 We have CLARITY
 We have PASSION
 These two are the BASIC INGREDIENTS for the
SUCCESSFUL Business
 With CLARITY you will also have derived What, Where,
When & How – So your GOALS/ OBJECTIVES are set.
 Next is your acquisition of RELEVANT WORK
EXPERIENCE.
 Gathering EXPERIENCE is a MUST as it will further give
you: CLARITY, CONFIDENCE, SUBJECT MATTER
EXPERTISE.

22. Moving on
 Some of you might have resources which might want
you to start a business straight away without any prior
experience.
 Depending on your luck – you might succeed or fail.
 REMEMBER: LUCK FAVOURS THE PREPARED
 Money is Hard Earned and scarce – It is difficult to
come by – So when you START you better be sure it
works.

23. A little bit further
 BUSINESS requires a lot of training
 Its just like Sports, where we see Athletes training,
Cricket Players training
 Even Actors/ Actress train
 Chess Players train
 TRAINING of the MIND, BODY and SOUL for
BUSINESS is the KEY.
 This can be partially imparted to you by RELEVANT
WORK EXPERIENCE.
WOOH RAH!!!

24. Consolidation
 We have CLARITY, PASSION & WORK EXPERIENCE.
 These put together will give you CONFIDENCE.
 When you build CONFIDENCE and accumulate it,
something funny will happen.
 People will start approaching you for ideas, professional
opinions, and the list will go on.
 Soon it will start piling up and Mr. Opportunity will start
knocking on your doors.
 This is a time when you need to exercise CAUTION and
choose what you need to do with CLARITY.
 Depending on your level of CONFIDENCE you are ready
to START THINKING about starting a Business –
Welcome to the beginning of Entrepreneurship!!!

25. Possibly the most important
 Business is all about the money.
WHOO RAH
 Entrepreneurship is all about running your Business
 You MUST HAVE a SOUND working knowledge of
how the money works as a fuel in running your
Business – This will be partly acquired by you when
you have gathered REELAVNT WORK EXPERIENCE.

26. An Entrepreneur needs
 SME – Subject Matter Expertise
 Relevant Work Experience
 Financial Knowledge
 Finance to start the Business
Some of the biggest challenges faced in the Industry
 Limited skilled and consistent Manpower
 Example: Manufacturing – Factory workers are
becoming scarce, Retail – Stewards and waiters are
becoming more expensive and not worth the salary they
are getting paid, Services – Good quality is becoming
more scare and expensive.

27. Other challenges
 Sky rocketing real estate cost
 Increased competition
 Increase in cost of Raw Materials
 Shortage of Electricity
 Increased cost of Operation
 Challenge from government or rather people governing us
 List is endless…
NOT MEANT TO SCARE YOU, BUT THAT IS THE
BLATANT TRUTH
WOOH RAH!!!

28. What does this all mean?
 Doing Business is not for the Faint Heart.
 Only some challenges are mentioned in here and there
probably would be more.
 If you think you CANT, then there is every possibility that
you WONT.
 With my Experience – I often ask myself is it worth all
these.
 I say aloud YES!!!
 Beyond all these Challenges there is infinite potential and
when you start achieving the same the Satisfaction and
Freedom you get is worth all the CHALLENGES.
 There is a space for each and everyone of you under the
Bright Sun!

29. More on challenges
 Most of you being Women – are further challenged by
the society and the community in which we live and
thrive
 Gender Discrimination comes in many announced
and unannounced form. It is not easy being a Woman
Entrepreneur. The ratio of Men : Women is terribly
skewed, because many women rather avoid the same.
 Most of you are expected to be in the family way
within a matter of couple of years – And family will
take a lot of time away which is a very careful
balancing art to Master.

30. Some successful women in the
Business
 Mrs. Indira Nooyi – CEO of Pepsico – Apparently she
earned Rs 85.00 Crores as Salary and or Benefits for
the year 2010 – 2011.
 The Chauhan sisters – Directors of Parle Agro – Their
consolidated family turnover is over Rs. 3,500 Crores.
 Mrs. Tarla Dalal – A famous Indian Cook Book author
and immensely successful website
 Ms. Anjum Anand – Another famous TV Presenter
and Cook Book Author – We have seen in Discovery’s
TLC.
 Mrs. Chandri Butt – Who used to do a lot of
workshops based out of Chennai

31. Advantages in having your own
Business
 You can decide based on your Capacity and
Limitations how much and how you want to stretch
yourselves – Flexible on time.
 Be your own Boss – No one to answer, except the one
above.
 Provide employment opportunity to others
 Contribute to society and the country
 If clicked right – make quite substantial MONEY!!!

32. Some ideas
 To begin a Business, its always better you begin small, s0
you can have better control, manage easily, and easier to
assimilate your experience.
 Every Business has a learning curve. It takes time to settle
down. The degree of the curve varies from person to
person depending on how Pro Active and quickly you pick
up the process.
 Today all the information is available through technology
and if its not available, technology can still point us in the
right direction on where it is available.
 Doing a Business is no longer a secret – everything is
available online.

33. More on the ideas
 For your computer at the leisure of you home, you
can get all the relevant information you require
 In this situation and off late Businesses have become
very Dynamic. Existing Channels of doing Business
are slowly but steadily being replaced by modern and
or innovative Channels.
 Todays Home Bakers are able to sell their products
online. They don’t require a physical shop to do so
anymore.
WELCOME TO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING!
WOOH RAH!!!

34. The trend
 Today who is not in Facebook? Anyone here??
 How many of you have FB in your Phone?
 How many of you often check your status every hour or
so?
 The way its going, it will be as if you are not in FB – You
don’t exist in real life anymore.
 EACH AND EVERY Product we see are promoted in FB A
question for you to think – Who advertises for FB?
 This is very much the future in which all Businesses will be
set in run – FB, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest.
 This is something you NEED to run your possible future
Business.

35. Chennai Food Guide - CFG
 In 2005 CFG was founded in Orkut
 It was basically a network of people from different
backgrounds who came together for the love of good
food in and around Chennai.
 By 2008 – 2009 – It became so popular it was awarded
as the best Food Community in ENTIRE ORKUT
Community Group in the World.
 It had around 5000 members then and soon moved
into FB.
 Right now we are present in FB, Twitter, YouTube,
Google Groups and the latest Pinterest.

36. More on CFG
 Using this Social Media Platform, People from all different
walks of life discuss at large on all the aspects of food, its
business, the laws prevailing, discuss and debate which is
the better and the interaction is endless.
 It has always fascinated F&B operators who we work with
right now, such as ITC Group, GRT Group, Residency
Group, Burgundy, Crimson Chakra, Marry Brown, Kiwi
Kiss and the list is endless.
 We also support and help develop home based food
business such as Bakers, Biryani Makers, People selling
Home made pickles, etc.,

37. Some more
 We conduct workshops centering around food, such as Food
Photography, Baking, Barbecuing, Jungle Survival and the list is
endless. All are centered about food in and around Chennai.
 We have graduated nearly 100 people in the last 2 years or so.
 We also covers small shops, mess, and road side establishment.
 The reason I am talking about CFG is that it is a brilliant
platform for yourself to keep abreast the information on what is
the most happening food business in Chennai.
 It lets you network with some of the top specialist.
 Your active participation will enhance your knowledge in the
Food Industry.
 I highly recommend you to get active in the same.

38. CFG MISSION AND VISION
 Mission:
 To increase the awareness of existing and new F&B
operators and their offerings to the general public.
 To increase the qualitative offering of all F&B offerings
in and around Chennai by creating more awareness and
increasing the benchmark.
 Vision:
 To be sought out as the most unbiased and in-depth
resource for all food related queries and interactions in
and around Chennai.

39. Some more tips
 Networking is a very important aspect of professional growth – so
learn to do it. If you are an Entrepreneur, you need to learn to do so. It
will immensely help you to tap all resources possible.
 Honesty and Integrity is a Value that you SHOULD NOT compromise
on. It will define you as a person who could be dependent and that is
what your future customer, banker, partner, associates wants.
 This industry is a service based industry and some claim it to be
“Thank Less”. People say it is a very difficult to satisfy everyone.
 I say if you have satisfied the most of the people you have already on
the right path. With PASSION and Due Diligence you can work into
fine tuning and trying to satisfy as many as possible.
 REMEMBER: There WILL be trouble makers who thrive in troubling
others. Brace yourself for meeting them
WOOH RAH!!!

40. Pretty much the End
 I think that pretty much sums up what I wanted to
deliver across to you.
 Probably for the last time today:
WOOH RAH!!!
 I will take in as much as questions as possible.
NOW!!!

41. The End – But rather the beginning
for you
 "Education is what remains after one has forgotten
everything he learned in school.“
 - Albert Einstein
 With the very little time I have spent with you, hopefully I
should have sparked something in you,
 With the time you will be spending in this institution that
spark should ignite a flame of desire to be successful.
 Thanks to one and all for your kind patience and time and
for the last time:
WOOH RAH!!!

42. Contact:
In case you need any help for whatsoever in the Food
Business please feel free to be in touch with me on:
chennaifoodguid@gmail.com
Look us up in Facebook: Group Search:
Chennai Food Guide
Once again, Thank you very much!!!