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All in a pot of tea.

Anamika Singh is a second generation tea sommelier who has been learning, absorbing, experiencing, creating and spreading the good word of tea for the past 30 years. She has lived her life largely in the mountains of Darjeeling & Dharamsala. Around 6 years ago, after working for a considerable amount of time with her father, Abhai Singh in the estate and exporting their teas to Europe and Asia, she decided to introduce India to fine, boutique, niche teas and thus, Anandini Himalaya Tea was born. Anandini means where the earth and the sky meet and something that gives you happiness. After two years, her brother, Kunal Singh joined the business and now they have grown as a brand.

They started with 7 blends, the tea sourced from their own estate where they worked closely with farmers and got the purest of flowers and herbs from the Himalayan region of India. They now have close to 150 different teas that include handmade teas, infusions, and tisanes and are very happy working with the hospitality industry as well as the wellness industry. They curate events and workshops based on tea and are also working with the Indian Hospitality Management institutes to teach the students about the beverage of the nation, so that each one of them can become brand ambassadors of tea.

Anamika believes that it was the obstacles in her life that inspired her to become an entrepreneur and she is glad to have chosen the path less traveled. She quotes that, “Working with my father was one thing but starting a business on my own was another ball game altogether. There was a phase in my life around 9 years ago that actually made me question my abilities, my thought process, me as a person and my responsibilities towards others who surrounded me. I had to snap out of it which I did with the support and love of my family and close friends. I just decided that I have to work harder, create something of my own, catch hold of that silver lining and begin with courage and hope and prove first to myself and then the rest, that I believed in myself, my abilities, my skills and that if the mind can conceive it, there is no way that one cannot achieve it.”

As with anyone starting out on their own, Anamika too had her fears. Her main concern was being one of the very few women in a male dominated industry and therefore, the apprehension of not being taken seriously in the business. She learnt the nuances of tea in their tea estate under the astute guidance of her father who has been her biggest inspiration, her guru and someone who always led the way for her to follow. After learning everything from scratch under him, she set up Anandini Himalaya Tea where she suspected again if the Food & Beverage industry would give her a chance as a tea sommelier and listen to her. In her opinion, tea has never been given the kind of significance it deserves and there’s very limited knowledge that people have about the different kinds of blends. This was a challenge for her as she wondered if she’d be able to hold the attention of people during meetings in the F&B industry. And this of course had a direct co-relation to how it would impact her business. Anamika quotes, “Their normal remark would be, ‘Tea is just Tea, how is yours any different?. People in India just didn’t understand the importance or the relevance of Single origin or Single estate teas. They still don’t. So it is an everyday challenge, but I love it. It keeps me going, changing one cup at a time.”

From her years of experience as an entrepreneur, Anamika shares her approach of starting a new business. She states that it’s crucial to have a business plan in place especially if you intend to create a brand. It is important to connect with financial planning organisations or government bodies that can help you register and further help you to figure out the way forward as far as finances are concerned.

She states that today it’s a huge advantage that we have accessibility to financial planning advisors, to discuss and figure out financial strategies as compared to earlier. Anamika quotes, “I think our biggest fear is of being seen as one who doesn’t know, hence we find it difficult to ask for help. But with all the infrastructure available to us today on how to take it forward, now is the best time to create your path.”

Anamika started off by putting her personal savings to establish Anandini Himalaya Tea. After a year, when she got an understanding of the market, she initiated the second phase where fresh funds were invested with the help of her family and friends to open a tea boutique and expand the market. This increased her outflow in a span of three years and as the founder/director of the business, she did not use any of the new funds for her personal use. When funds were required for expansion, marketing and new projects, they were again gathered from family and friends. She explains that they have not taken any debt from the market and Anandini Himalaya Tea is still a close family owned business. It was only since the fourth year of the business when she and Kunal have been able to take a salary. She mentions that all other profits are re-invested back into the company. They had consciously decided to not involve investing companies for further financing to keep their brand value intact.

However, she also highlights a few things that one should be cautious of while starting out on your own. She emphasizes that once you’ve established clearly what you want to do, which direction you want to take and who you want to partner with, it’s possible that somewhere along this journey you get influenced wrongly and get deviated from your core values that your brand talks about. This may all be in an attempt to reach your goals faster and in ways that might bring in the limelight quicker than expected. She mentions that it is absolutely crucial to keep going back to the drawing board and figure out where you started and how you started. She states, “Stick to the values and principles, choose your clients wisely. Be careful of how you put across your brand on social media. The world is watching. And if you are an entrepreneur, remember you reflect your brand and vice versa. Hence, with the powerful tool that the social media is, remember to keep yourself linked to the brand and see how you can reflect the best rather than give any negative impact to what you are trying so hard to build.”. Anamika personally has a checklist that she goes back to off and on. Additionally, she maintains a daily diary of her expenses and has a personal CA who helps her with her investments and to keep a reality check on her personal finances as well as that of the business.

When asked about her success mantra, Anamika generously shares her thoughts with us. “Believe in yourself. Remain true to yourself and be you… Bravely! You are responsible for creating your path the way you want it. Listen to your heart and follow your dreams. There is no way that they will not manifest! Do not rush into anything without having done your homework. And in this entire process, do not forget yourself and the time you need to give to yourself. If you grow, your mind breathes and then your brand grows. Take out ‘me time’ always even if it is for just 30 minutes in a day. Spend time in solitude. It has helped me so many times when I was caught in a road block. Build a network of people who support you and believe in your dreams and last but not the least, stay away from negativity. Your time is precious. Respect it. Life is beautiful, we just have to learn to savour it sip by sip.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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FIRE: Financial Independence, Retire Early

As much as this may seem like another millenial term invented in the world of finance, Financial Independence, Retire Early; more commonly known as FIRE has existed for more than a decade. Although the term for it wasn’t coined back then, the concept has been around for longer than you would imagine. FIRE is a movement wherein one takes a path towards extreme savings (almost 70% of the income) to quit their job and retire much earlier than the standard way of retiring at 60. The objective is to save enough to be able to live off the savings by withdrawing small amounts (typically 3-4% yearly) from the portfolio. And the motivation for it generally stems from the idea of having the freedom to do what you want to do. For example, traveling, blogging, authoring a book or anything as such which is more to do with pleasure, not necessarily generating income out of it. This frugality movement has been gaining awareness and spreading into the mainstream since the last decade.

People opting for FIRE are usually regular employees in corporate jobs with a definite timeline in mind. Their aim is to build a massive corpus for early retirement through extreme savings and once achieved, to quit their jobs/any form of employment. However, it’s important to note that with this decision there has to be extreme levels of discipline to be followed with regards to expenses and overall lifestyle choices. Almost 70% of your income contributed towards savings is a huge amount and hence, comes into picture the frugality aspect of the movement. Expenses have to be monitored diligently and the focus on continued maintenance and reallocation of the money is also just as crucial.

There are various approaches that people opt for while adopting the FIRE movement. The main goal is the same – extreme saving but there can be differences in the way they abide by this. Let us understand each of the types with the help of examples.

Fat FIRE – Rahul is a single, 33 year old software engineer who aims to retire at 45. He was introduced to the FIRE movement a few years ago when he gave it a serious thought and planned his life towards an early retirement. Three years ago, he dedicatedly started investing 70% of his income on a yearly basis towards his new financial goal. He has been very conscious about his expenses and has chosen to lead a simple life where there’s enough for his basic needs and some for an emergency. His brother who is 35 years old has opted for the traditional route of retiring at 60. Therefore, his saving towards his goal is 10% of his yearly income, and there’s no compromising on the lifestyle choices as there’s a budget allocated for that too. In short, saving more than the average retirement investor by adopting a very traditional and simple lifestyle is considered Fat FIRE.

Lean FIRE – Meenakshi is a college professor aged 35 years and her husband, Jay an insurance agent, is 38. Nearly five years ago, after gaining enough knowledge about FIRE through various sources and consultation with their financial planning experts, they decided to adopt a very stringent method of minimalist living to achieve their goal of extreme savings and mandating a far more restricted lifestyle. With the aim of retiring by the time they reach 50 years respectively, they have taken certain measures to meet their goal. They ensure that they eat only home cooked meals, they don’t subscribe to cable or Netflix/Amazon Prime but view only content that is aired free, they always opt for second hand goods when it comes to buying something for their house or their 7 year old son, they shop for necessities only when absolutely needed and they take buses and trains instead of cabs and have decided not to own a car. A lean lifestyle is how they look at it that brings them closer to their goal.

Barista FIRE – Rohan and Jharna are a millenial couple both aged 36 years. Rohan was in advertising for over a decade and Jharna, a journalist for the same amount of time. They aimed to retire at 50 years when they were both 25 and hence, hatched a plan for it. 10 years from then, they quit their corporate jobs and took over Rohan’s beach house. They renovated it and put it up on AirBnB, making an arrangement to cover their current expenses without eroding their retirement fund. Their aim to do so was not only to be financially independent and retire early but also to do some kind of part time work on their own terms. Their motivation for this financial goal was to bring an end to the stress of the corporate jobs or any form of employment where one doesn’t necessarily have the luxury or flexibility to do things as they please. With enough saved up over a decade for their early retirement, they still have work that keeps them busy and let’s them have the privilege of doing it on their terms while easily covering their current expenses through their new venture.

Coast FIRE – Mayuri is a 37 year old banker turned social media influencer. She is a single mother to her 5 year old daughter. With a finance background, Mayuri always had the tools to her disposal to understand the do’s and don’t’s with money management. Planning way ahead in her 20s, she knew she wanted to retire at the age of 35 and travel the world while she was still in her 30s. Her motivation to do so was to never work again for money and have enough to cover for her current expenses too. She worked seriously towards her goal through extreme savings and managed to achieve it just as planned. However, after being in a corporate job for close to 15 years it was actually not as simple as she thought – to not do anything at all. Besides, with a daughter in tow, needless to say that there are several expenses to keep up with. While money wasn’t an issue at all, Mayuri was drawn to social media marketing and became an influencer. While this helps her to still make money on her own terms, whether she does it part time or full time, her nature of work still involves all the privileges she dreamed of post the early retirement. And all of this while actually having enough in her retirement fund to cover for the current expenses too.

The FIRE movement has started spreading gradually as we see more people opting for it. Achieving financial independence to fund an early retirement is most definitely an act of severe discipline and stringent means that one ought to stick to. However, one should also be cautious while practicing extreme diligence that when stock markets fall and/or interest rate environments are low, the FIRE plan may fall short. The discipline too needs to continue post the early retirement to ensure that the corpus is not used up recklessly or too soon. They are after all fruits of all the hard work and compromises made for years to have a cushion much earlier in life. FIRE is certainly a redefined way of retirement and to make informed and sound decisions, it’s highly advisable to connect with financial planning advisors or companies who can guide you towards your goal in the right manner.

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There’s a new Spice Girl on the block

This one is not to be confused with the famous girl band from the 90s. Singapore-based Namita Moolani Mehra is a mom of two and is the founder of Indian Spicebox. Her brand is about enabling families to eat more wholesome home-cooked meals, including healthier versions of restaurant favourites. Simple recipes are packaged with wonderful organic spices that provide not just amazing flavour, but great health benefits as well. The best part is that for each Spicebox Kit she sells, 10 street children in India are fed a hot meal. Namita states, “We have funded over 60,000 hot meals and our goal is to provide 1 million meals by 2025.”

Namita is also a writer and has published two cookbooks out of which one is a children’s book published by Scholastic. She also writes for several online publications including Sassy Mama. She founded Indian Spicebox a few years ago after spending 15 years in the corporate world, primarily working as a digital strategist at ad agencies in New York after which she spent five years at Facebook in both New York and Singapore. Indian Spicebox was born as an idea in 2004 when she was living in New York and surrounded by friends asking her for recipes and information about spices. It wasn’t till a decade later that she quit the corporate world and founded it as a business.

Namita’s drive to make a difference was her main inspiration to become an entrepreneur. She wanted to give back and do something with meaning and purpose. Therefore, by creating something of her own that would be purpose-driven and make her feel excited about getting out of bed, she wanted to put her strengths in service of something meaningful. After working at one of the world’s best companies (Facebook) with the most incredibly talented people, and supported by tremendous resources, she was afraid of going off on her own. She was worried about not having the teams and resources to keep her motivated and productive.

A year before starting her own business, Namita worked for a VC (Venture Capital) firm which was an eye-opening experience for her to a great experience. It gave her a good understanding of the start-up world and financing better. “Frankly, I had no clue about funding businesses and there are a lot of different routes and options out there for founders and small business owners. It is really important to know your options, network with other business owners and founders, attend start-up conferences/events, read the blogs, soak up as much information as you can and also consult financial planning advisors to get a clear understanding of that part too.” says Namita. She invested her own savings from her previous jobs and advocates engaging financial advisors and companies who can help to manage money and investments for you on the personal front and for the business.

There are several things one should be aware of while starting on their own. Namita shares a few from her experience, right from being prepared to feel alone, to being constantly in battle mode to ensuring that you hire and delegate early-on. Hire interns and invest in a good
website developer and designer. She also emphasizes to take the time to create and build a solid brand right at the onset (as all touchpoints matter) and most importantly, investing in quality.

Amongst other things, Namita also highlights that it’s important to surround yourself with people you trust. She states, “If you find good partners, vendors, interns, freelancers—hold on to them and keep investing in good people. Also, build a solid brand upfront. Invest in good designers, brand building experts and digital experts who know how to present your brand and offering via critical touchpoints. Have several mentors or your own personal board of advisors – the people you can trust and use as soundboards. Work with a professional coach. I’ve been working with a coach for over five years now and she anchors me tremendously behind the scenes. As I’ve mentioned earlier, engaging financial advisors to keep you on track with your money management is also crucial. Remember, you can’t succeed alone. So, the people you surround yourself with, are the ones who will ultimately determine your success.”

 

 

 

 

 

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Love at first sight!

Rucha Mulay, founder of R Pilates Studio in Pune is also the pioneer of equipment Pilates in the same city. Having flown for British Airways as an international cabin crew for 10 years, Rucha’s love for Pilates was a discovery during one of her trips to London that set her on a journey from where there’s no looking back. She was introduced to Pilates by a friend on that trip and says that it was love at first sight for her. She began frequenting the studio as it was healing her backache and soon she decided to bring Pilates to Pune.

After relinquishing her flying job, she enrolled herself for ACSM CPT (American College of Sports Medicine) then did all her Pilates certifications one by one. In 2013, Rucha started teaching mat Pilates classes at a gym and also started personal training at home. In 2014, she started her own Pilates Studio, R Pilates in Pune with only 1 reformer in a small apartment in her parents’ building. Today, she has a beautiful 1000 square feet studio in the most plush area of Pune with all the Pilates apparatus imported from Sacramento, California and a big family of 6 Pilates teachers, 150 clients and another branch opening soon.

Rucha’s inspiration to become an entrepreneur was her passion for fitness and Pilates. She believes that Pilates changes lives and she wanted her Pune people to have access to that through a dedicated studio in the city. As someone who doesn’t come from a business family, she was apprehensive about a few things while starting out. Return on investment, being a critical factor. Having invested a substantial amount in education and equipment, her fear was whether Pune people would be willing to pay the kind of money Pilates trainers charge in Mumbai.

Taking baby steps in the beginning, Rucha started on a very small scale where the overheads would not leave her restless. Initially, she invested some savings of hers from the British Airways job and her husband helped her too. She specifies that she didn’t take any loans. She gradually started adding equipment to the studio and when she felt the need to scale up, she calculated her figures, did a lot of homework and then made the move. The overheads were going to be 10 times more but the way their work had increased, she was confident that they would do well. “I had a very clear picture of our business in my mind.” states Rucha.

 

Having landed firmly on her feet with her venture, she shares her approach with us. “If you know exactly what you want to do, start small, watch the response, make your mistakes and learn your lessons in a small set up. Once you have tested the waters then dive in into the big pool. Always count your figures backwards. Give your business a strict teething period and make sure it picks up pace gradually. Set goals and talk to your team regularly.” While starting a business or even while scaling up, we know that finance is the key component. Since personal savings become a big part of investment in it, it is quite natural for one to experience that they are low on that reserve for a while. Rucha experienced the same after moving to a bigger studio where her overheads increased manifold and her personal savings took a back seat. However, she continued with her basic savings like PPF and left them untouched. Now that the new set-up too has been established well, she has been able to focus better on building up that reserve for her personal savings and has defined separate financial goals for herself and R Pilates where she has started two separate SIPs for future capital investment and her own retirement.

Rucha shares some wisdom nuggets generously for budding women entrepreneurs. “Unless you dive in, you are not going to be able to show your swimming skills. But do not dive in if you don’t know how to swim well as just moving your hands and legs in water won’t take you to the shore gracefully. Know your capabilities, know your limitations, work around them, have a plan B ready always and don’t think mediocre. Think big .”