03 August,2011 06:43 AM IST | | Aviva Dharmaraj
Last week Jaishankar Tiwari got into an argument with his nephew Jitendra. The argument turned violent. The reason? In all likelihood, money. How does Tiwari matter? Because he is Mumbai's Millionaire paanwala
You probably haven't heard of Jaishankar Tiwari from Tiwaripur in Uttar Pradesh, but that's only because you know him better as Muchhad Paanwala, or even better as the Millionaire Paanwala. So, how does Tiwari go from selling paan to selling enough paan to merit the title of 'millionaire'? Is Tiwari a marketing genius? Or did he just get lucky? Business acumen and luck probably had equal parts to play in this unique rags-to-riches story that stars a paanwala as its lead protagonist. A few lessons we can learn from Tiwari:
Create your own brand
In a city cluttered with paan shops, Tiwari understood that he urgently needed to create a distinct identity for himself, and subsequently his product. Why would anyone make the hack halfway across town if not for the imagine guarantee that the paan served at his shop was somehow superior to the rest.
It pays to be the first
Tiwari was the first paanwala to have his own website in the late '90s. He had reportedly pleaded with one of his customers, Vivek Bhargava, to make him "the first paanwala on the Internet". And so he was. Not too many orders were placed online, but Muchhad got that it pays to be different, because it gets people talking; people talking leads to curiosity, and curiosity translates into profit.
Believe in your product
No amount of marketing and self-promotion in the world can translate into profits over a sustained period of time if the goods you're hawking aren't, well, good. At the end of the day, after all the talking, it's quality that talks the loudest. Lawyer and occasional customer at Muchhad's near Breach Candy, Snehal Khairnar, endorses this. "It's the best place to have paan. I have the Special Paan, which is really special," she says.
Treat customers well
The reason Muchhad has stayed in business for decades and continues to stay in business is the reason any one stays in business: customers. Take your customers for granted and your risk losing them. Customers at Muchhad Paanwala are made to feel like they matter, and quality service has a big role to play in that. "The service is very efficient. If you place an order for 20 paans even, it will be delivered to you in two minutes," says loyal customer Atul Sangani.
