~ The Tipping Point ~

 “So, what was the tipping point that led you to moving to start up an eatery?” – was my question to one of my friend whom I met recently whilst we bumped into each other while jogging!

The quirky answer which I got but was not expecting was “I just lost my job in December dude 😊!” – Amit, as my friend’s name goes, was all smiles and not shying away or cooking up stories here – As I knew him from childhood, he has been a pretty straightforward person – whilst we played football or cricket, he was the ‘empire’ and his decision was final!

So what you do know Amit? was my next obvious question – with the same laugh he told me , he has set up a small take-away restaurant in vicinity and provides for home deliveries – the menu includes, baked Momo’s , Chowmien-. “Believe me Sanjeev, it had to happen this way and it just happened. For some years, I had been in different thoughts of starting  something of my own but as luck would have it, I took my unemployment as a blessing in disguise – In fact, now I employ two people and am happy that I have become a small time entrepreneur – who knows what begets for future!

His enthusiasm was filled with ecstasy and he was brimming with confidence. I asked him “ How has been the response?” to which he replied “ The response has been fantastic, Delhiites are just foodies – my initial calculation went haywire and from the first few days till now the orders are pouring in – in-fact, customers have requested me not to shut on Wednesday’s (generally a local holiday here in this part of Delhi!) .

He continued his story  - when I lost my job, It came as a setback as I had been working hard and was an employee of this company for 12 long years, I never expected to be shunned at one go, with an email in my inbox which seems to be cruel. The next few days came as a contemplation for me as I have a family to support and kids who are in school, plus ailing parents. Being the only son, I had to earn anyways, though I had provisions for six months, but you know ho savings perish each day. Thus, there was no point sitting idle or cry over my failures, I had to take the plunge and I took this as an opportunity and started to work on it. In one month, I was sitting in my small take-away restraint and had left back my office life with no regrets!

His enthusiasm had catapulted into his long objective and plans that he was gushingly sharing with me  - “ I have tied up with Swiggy and Zomato and getting excellent response. As I was a foodie myself ( his tummy was an evidence of sorts 😊), I always wanted to hung my boots in some eatery, so time allowed me to intervene in my passion of life!

What is your regrets in life Amit or do you have any” I asked him subtly.

“Why didn’t I parted ways on my own terms in job and took the other route earlier was my only guilt – I could have done it much earlier and have established myself in a decent way till now. I think I wasted lot of time working for somebody who didn’t care even an iota of my efforts whilst I was kicked off at one go!”

Amit’s words was full of agony but also enthusiasm of a futuristic approach. As I see and talk to people, many of us have made our identity as our profession and not thinking otherwise. Also, one more element of interest that I learnt from this meeting was “ never depend on one source of income in life,  pursue your dreams with aplomb, you never know whom you will meet or get help from and that may fructify into your next earning potential!