Personal Finance / Partners
With an initial expenditure of Rs 1,500, Gurpreet and Orijit Sen - two veterans from the National Institute of Design - set up `The People Tree in April 1991. A year down the line, common personal ideals and business principles led Meeta and Sandeep to pool in their resources as partners. Today, this environment--friendly shop has an annual turnover of Rs 18 lakh, and has become a popular meeting place for development enthusiasts.
Gurpreet: Orijit and I were working in commercial designing and consultancy, when we decided to try something which reflected our personal ideals as well. My family owned this space in Regal Building Connaught Place, which had been lying shut for many years. One day we decided to hold a small exhibition of t-shirts here, hand-painted by ourselves.
Orijit: Our initial investment was just Rs 1,500 for the t-shirts and the art materials. We did no promotion -- we simply opened up the front room of the space and started painting. Curious clients began wandering in, drawn by our creative spirit and the underlying themes of our designs.
We try to sensitise people to issues like AIDS, ecology and womens rights through our graphics and slogans. By the end of the day, we had sold all our t-shirts, with a profit margin of Rs 70 per piece!
Gurpreet: This kind of response was so overwhelming, that we decided to start something long-term by pooling our funds. We wanted the `People Tree to be a shop which brought together people associated with crafts and design, those with a knowledge of marketing, and those with an interest in development issues.
Sandeep: Initially I walked in here as a customer, and later started sharing my ideas for the `People Tree with Orijit and Gurpreet. My wife Meeta was working for Dastkar, so we understood the realities of sourcing and marketing artisans products. Through our personal interest, we too got drawn into running the shop.
SELECTING OUR ROLE
Gurpreet: Initially we started with hand-painted and screen-painted t-shirts, plus a few crafts and books on development issues. Our emphasis has always been on discovering the creative potential of the individual.
Sandeep: Unlike various NGOs, we did not try to create co-operatives with more standardised production needs. We decided to work with individual artisans to develop innovative, quality products that appeal to the market rather than to charitable individuals. In fact, you might call us `venture developmentalists - `ven-ders for short!
Meeta: For instance, we spend a few months every year with an artisans family in Kaladhera (Rajasthan), developing new designs for block-printing and vegetable-dyed garments. From an initial turnover of Rs 50,000 a year, the family now has a turnover of Rs 6 to 7 lakh!
Meeta: Soon, friends and customers started coming forward with new product ideas. Thus, our sales expanded beyond garments and books to personal care products, food products, stationery, and crafts.
Sandeep: But it was quite clear from the start that the `People Tree is not just a shop or a business; it is a meeting ground for people to discuss their ideas -- you can even call it an `Adda!
MEETING THE CHALLENGES
Gurpreet: We cant really speak of teething troubles as entrepreneurs, because we didnt start out with concrete targets However, an ongoing challenge for the `People Tree is to balance innovation with quality. Sometimes this means we have to develop new products over a longer period, before they can be introduced in the shop.
Meeta: We also have to find ways in which we can sustain products which we support personally, but are not so viable commercially. For instance, there is a limited market for our books on development issues, so we cross-subsidise these by t-shirt sales.
Gurpreet: Of course, pricing too is a challenge. We want to give creators a fair price, while keeping their products accessible to a wide range of consumers.
Sandeep: In that sense, we are not a conventional business - buying at the lowest cost and selling at the highest price.
RULES TO PLAY BY
Gurpreet: The most important philosophy at the `People Tree is getting every individual to realise his or her potential. Of course, each one must understand the overall needs of the organisation as well.
We encourage everyone to become as multi-functional as possible. For instance, those who sit at the shop counter also get to hand-paint t-shirts or design cards. Not only does it keep the job interesting, but also allows them some extra income !
Sandeep: All of us do shifts at different responsibilities -- from creating new ideas, to developing product quality with artisans, to interacting with customers. We have a core group of about twelve people, most of us alternate other careers with this venture.
Orijit: We split the earnings according to the proportion of initial investments we each made. We also consider whose job at a given time is more demanding -- for instance, running the shop in Delhi commands a higher share, than does the role of exploring new product ideas while away.
Meeta: We also support innovation as much as possible. When new people join us, we try to `re-mould the organisation to fit the individual , rather than the other way round.
Sandeep: Whatever the future, we want the `People Tree to remain a very personalised place - a truly `interactive organisation!
