In the past, when I used to travel to Ernakulam for work, I would take the train from Ettumanoor.
I would park my bike there, and then catch the train. Since the train would inevitably take some time to arrive, and I had no other tasks, my main activity was observing the surroundings.
Two things I noticed were the Kudumbashree (women’s collective) sisters collecting the parking fees, and a lot of cars permanently parked there. Some people would park their car on Monday and leave it until Friday. Seeing those vehicles covered in dust sparked an idea in me.
How would it be if, when they came to pick up their vehicles, they found them all washed and spick and span? Since so many vehicles were parked together in one place, it would be easy and cheap to wash them, and they would be regular customers.
I spent the time waiting for the train meticulously building a plan for this startup, including the costs, the required equipment, how to hire people, and how to market it.
At that time, I was already building two other similar ideas, so I couldn’t even consider doing this one myself. However, I absolutely love this kind of planning. Besides, I wasn’t even sure if we could start a new service on railway property.
When I started wondering what the way forward was, I saw the Kudumbashree sister giving out parking tickets. That’s when the next idea struck: it would be easy if Kudumbashree took up this project. If they were handling parking at other stations too, this service could easily be expanded everywhere.
I am generally not the type to approach strangers for a conversation, but there are certain occasions, like this one, where I become the ultimate extrovert. Once an idea gets into my head, I put aside all my stage fright and other fears and just go for it.
So, I approached the sister, smiled, and with great determination, presented the idea in a single sentence. I didn’t mention ‘startup’; I just presented it as an idea that could bring them additional income and was easy for them to start.
It must have been the first time someone coming to catch a train approached her like this, so the sister was listening, absolutely astonished and open-mouthed. That boosted my excitement even more.
The thought flashed through my mind: if this project ever happens, they will call me for the inauguration, and maybe my photo might even appear in the newspaper as the person who gave the idea!
She listened to everything with great enthusiasm and, looking ready to start today itself, went to tell someone about it. Just then, my train arrived, and I got on it and left.
After hearing this whole story, didn’t you also get curious to know if it started or not?
Off course, nothing happened. I didn’t understand why back then. But later, after going through many things and learning a few lessons, I realized that ideas just told to anyone have no value.
If this project were to become a reality, I shouldn’t have presented it to the sister working in the parking lot. Instead, it should have been converted into a Project Report and submitted to the Director of Kudumbashree.
It needed precise figures and calculations showing the benefits they would gain, preferably including real data from a pilot run we had conducted. If it had been done like that, the project might have become a reality.
However, this impulsive nature of taking action has helped me learn many things. There is no such thing as a good idea or a bad idea; those are just our initial feelings. The real deal is in how and where we implement the concept.
Haven’t you seen someone take over a business that another person closed down in the same spot and make it a success? Those are examples of this. The brilliance or average-ness of the idea doesn’t matter.
Everything lies in presenting that idea to the right people, in the right way, and with the right evidence.
