How this MBA graduate started from a dosa cart and built a successful business of his own
We keep coming across so many inspiring rags-to-riches stories these days. Here is yet another motivating story of a man who achieved great heights with his sheer determination and dedication. Ram Kumar Shinde, an MBA graduate, is the man behind the popular brand ‘Ram ki Bandi’. Located in Nampally, Hyderabad, it is probably the only roadside hand-pulled food cart that pops up on the screen with a simple search on Google Maps, Zomato, or Burrp.
Ram began his journey in 1989 as an eight-year-old kid accompanying his father with the bandi or food cart. While his father made and served idlis and dosas parked in different locations, Ram looked upon this art in fascination. The hard work of his father in times of financial crisis equipped Ram to study and earn the MBA degree. Having both an MBA as well as the experience of observing his father's business closely over the years, Ram was in a dilemma as to whether he should join a job with a monthly salary of Rs 20,000 and an air conditioned office or to take forward his father’s business. Following in his father’s footsteps, he decided to carry on the business.
He did not get a good customer base in the initial few years after setting up the cart. Not entirely satisfied with the way the business was operating, he decided to invest more and bring about a few business changes. Talking to BFirst, Ram spoke about these business changes in detail. "I asked myself, 'When there are so many dosa stalls in Hyderabad, why should people visit mine?' Then I started experimenting with different tastes. I started cheese dosa, pizza dosa, paneer dosa et al. At that time, Hyderabad was already buzzing with BPO and IT employees, but there was not a single place where they could get something decent to eat after 11 pm. So I changed the timings of the stall and made it a late-night eat-out place."
One other business aspect that Ram particularly made sure of was not to compromise with the quality of products used. The good quality of the products used got immediate attention and there was a sudden surge in the customer base. Looking at the success, Ram took another big leap and opened a restaurant called ‘Ram’s Dosa House’ in the posh Jubilee Hills to reach out to more people. The restaurant has also been doing tremendously well. While speaking to The News Minute, Ram proudly said "Already a lot of VIPs and big Telugu actors are coming. People are visiting with families and you see a lot of youngsters sitting on weekends."
Though Ram actively supervises his business in the evening, he still wakes up early in the morning and takes his cart to Nampally even today. About this, Ram told Kenfolios "This is where I started my journey and this will always hold a special place in my life and I will never stop coming here even if I manage to start 10 restaurants in future."
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