Till a few years earlier, lot of companies with advanced maturity in processes and technical capabilities too used to consider facilities management as a spend centre and not a revenue generator. This traditional approach has seen a shift in paradigm when professionals started managing facilities heralding the effect of bench marking and best practice adoption. With considerable savings on costs as well as enhancement of service levels, this view started to change. An emerging trend is the focus on facilities management to make the work place safe, comfortable and productivity focused.
Facilities and buildings that facility managers operate not only contribute to the commercial activity, trading, back-end support, manufacturing etc but also are responsible for a considerable chunk of energy usage and in effect the carbon emissions as well; Another emerging parameter under microscope these days.
A trained resource is a scarcity across the industry spectrum and more so in Facilities management as the function is still nascent stages in lot of industries. We all are aware of lot of trained junior resources quickly graduating to become a Facility heads for smaller sites, resulting in scenarios with simultaneous advantages and disadvantages. While people will have to grow and with efficient leadership, the quality of the function in itself will improve, a semi-trained resource in leadership roles has its own disadvantages.
Training the facility management team has multiple angles to consider. Let us list down a few of them
1. Energy management, emissions, carbon foot print and sustainability
2. Emerging best practices and leveraging common knowledge
3. Legislations, changing statutory requirements and regulations
4. People practices, technology advancements and innovation
When we look at any Facility Management operation, the following 4 tenets are apparent
1. Existing state of the facility, readiness of operational team
2. Transition to and expectation from facility management team
3. Establishing the probable gaps and possible bridges
4. Sustenance and way forward
Each of the above is valid for any facility and their interdependence makes them an intrinsic part of any feasibility study, scoping exercise as well as aspect-impact study that one has to undertake apart from business needs and commercials for a site mobilization, certification and efficiency enhancement exercise.
1. Existing state of the facility, readiness of operational team: Fortunate are those who get to manage a new facility- for a lot of the stringent requirements are added in the design stage itself. When planning facility management for a heritage building or a facility with issues and concerns due to improper planning, it becomes that much more difficult for the facility manager to plan the staffing, identify the skill level required for technicians and deploy them. The concept of retro fitting the older facilities to improve energy efficiency etc. The facility management team’s day to day activities are largely focused on keeping the facility operational, comfortable, productive and safe.
However, there are multiple challenges that the FM teams face in managing the existing facilities:
Challenge 1- Qualified and trained resources- There are very few training programs available for technicians, operators, supervisors and facility managers. While business management programs are aplenty, focused facility management programs are only offered by institutes like IFMI (International Facility Management Institute). Manpower is recruited at entry level with minimal qualification and bulk of the training or operational guidance is imparted through On The Job Trainings (OJT). While few service providers in the realm have formalized these OJT programs with dedicated resources focusing on training, bulk of the workforce is not exposed to education or training in the area. The limited class room or structured training too focuses on broad areas of the subject, and definitely not comprehensive exposure. This historical way of learning on the job is applicable for some industries and functions, but to completely bank on OJT for facility management will lead to higher numbers of untrained workforce which has its own disadvantages. Another emerging trend is the incidence of few vocational training institutes offering short term courses in Housekeeping, office administration etc, but keeping current strength and immediate requirements in view, the outflow from these institutes constitutes a small part of the industry requirement. Adding to this, lot of newer concepts in facility management energy management, water conservation, efficiency enhancement, green building etc require not just a practical-hands-on exposure but a detailed theoretical comprehension of the concepts and the nuances of sustaining the improvements.
Challenge 2- Independent Design, Execution & Operations- Very few organizations have a singular vertical that encompasses the design, projects execution and day-to-day facility management. With diversity in leadership, thought process and investments of resource and time, the objectives end of being different. Current trend of out-sourcing these activities brings in additional complexity. Translation of plan to design specifications, design to drawing and execution and from there transitioning to operations team brings in multiple elements to be closely monitored. If any of these steps are slightly mismanaged, the facilities management team bears the brunt of the user group as well as the management. The facility will not yield its optimum utility if not properly thought through during all these phases.
Challenge 3- Investment Crunches- With the government providing multiple platforms for organizations to invest, like STPI few years ago and SEZ in of late the pressure on investments on existing facilities is huge. Companies are more comfortable investing and creating facilities in the areas that attract the subsidies rather than invest in older facilities. This is understandable from an investor’s point of view as newer facilities need less to maintain, abide by the stringent laws and are good to show-0ff. At the same time, older facilities need continuous investment to keep up to the newer laws and periodic refurbishing to keep up to the changing demands of the users. This creates a daunting task for the facilities team. A funds cut, if has to happen, is most probably in the maintenance budget of an existing building than a projects budget of a newer place.
2. Transition to and expectation from facility management team:
A typical transition or Hand-over as popularly known in the facility circles starts with a snag list preparation by the proposed facility management team. This is usually against an impending backdrop of business pressure to take over and mobilize the start immediately. Unless there is a detailed explanation of various design and architectural elements to the facilities team, and passing on the specifications and details to the facilities team, the hand-over would be incomplete. The facility management team should thoroughly comprehend the complete aspects of construction, electrical, water, HVAC, landscaping, server rooms, rest rooms, along with design drawings, as-built drawings, OEM warranties, attic stock, vendor contacts and locked-in AMCs for a period of at least years.
If a building is transitioned from the projects team with all of the above elements, it facilities team would function with much more efficiency than other wise.
3. Establishing the probable gaps and possible bridges: The 3 main probable gaps lie in resource, technology and process. While shortage of skilled manpower as earlier discussed is a primary resource constraint, in few cases mere meeting the desired numbers of necessary manpower itself becomes a challenge. There aren’t many established training schools or graduating colleges where people can study and get trained to become a facility employee, with CAFM certification being the lone exception. A definitive bridge here is to create more awareness about the career opportunities that lie in this industry and to invite private sector along with government initiation. In India, we already have a very successful model in Hotel and Catering management institutes run by government as well as private institutes since 2 decades that have effectively been supplying necessary manpower to the hotel industry. This model can be used for facility management as well. The gap in the requirement-available technology is already huge and is widening due to the increasing expectations from the facilities- viz., LEED certification, Green Building certification, conservation, carbon foot print reduction etc. A deeper insight into using the technologies from manufacturing industries with regards to quality and safety, IT and ITES with regards to CMMI etc and Food industry with regards to HACCP etc will definitely help the facility management industry in general. The gap in process strengthening is due to a self defeating policy that facility management teams adopt. In overlooking the processes and adapting short cut methods, the practicing facility managers add their bit in depleting the life, aesthetics and efficiency of the facility. Processes bring in consistency, predictability and safety.
4. Sustenance and way forward: The facility management function will only become stronger and better managed by professionals in future. This of course necessitates lot of combined effort by the service providers, facility managers, property owners and the real estate industry as well.
a. Identifying the areas of improvement and opportunities for training intervention in all aspects of facility management and bringing in professional and education into the function
b. Use the collective experience of the human resources. With collective experience which is immense in value, new entrants can be trained and existing resources can attend refresher sessions
c. Get the government attention into the industry and seek clarity in the legislation (Power conversion, carbon foot print advantages, water neutral exercise, cGMP training etc) and attract subsidies for facility management education
d. Popularizing certification courses from IFMA and other authorized institutions
e. Creating a platform for sharing knowledge, experience and best practice sharing
f. Documentation for archival and process creation
Finale:
The function has immense potential. The practicing managers only need to get networked and share the knowledge, practices and experiences.
My sincere thanks to IFMA, FM Zone, MMG Worldwide, Paddy Menon, Sunil V, KN Rajan for inspiring me to collate common thoughts and put together this article.
The article is collection of thoughts from my colleagues, current and old, experiences shared over various forums over the internet and facility management events and other relevant sources like project material, submitted papers etc.
Please feel free to use any part or complete article as deemed fit. These thoughts and collation have no copyright whatsoever.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Monday, March 22, 2010
My post on Facility Professionals India
Future of Facility Management- 5 things a facility manager should know!
The Facility Management industry has moved ahead from basic operations management to more evolved practices and principles. The future holds interesting challenges and he who can innovate will excel.For me the top 5 are as follows:
a) Sustainability Practices covering all aspects of our operations. (Righ from soft services and Transport to Facility Planning etc)
b) Better Energy Management, Alternate energy modes
c) Multi- tasking with focus on nuances of the role specilization
d) More Yield management from all resources
e) Ability to mould and custom fix the services basis the requirements from global optima to local deliveries
The Facility Management industry has moved ahead from basic operations management to more evolved practices and principles. The future holds interesting challenges and he who can innovate will excel.For me the top 5 are as follows:
a) Sustainability Practices covering all aspects of our operations. (Righ from soft services and Transport to Facility Planning etc)
b) Better Energy Management, Alternate energy modes
c) Multi- tasking with focus on nuances of the role specilization
d) More Yield management from all resources
e) Ability to mould and custom fix the services basis the requirements from global optima to local deliveries
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
One of the Many Vs One of the few: The Dilemma of Choice
I was reading and kind of digging up some articles on CHOICE and Its Implications. We are experiencing an array of choices in almost everything that we do. Right from the moment we start our day, we have a choice. There are scores of toothpastes and toilet rolls to start with and I can’t even start mentioning the choice we have in shampoos and shower gels. It’s unimaginable. Choice is good in a way. Choice gives us freedom to choose from the available options. Freedom is good, it is valuable, liberal and each of us gets to do on our own and no one else does it on our behalf. Then, how do we exercise freedom. The way to maximize freedom is to maximize choice. The more choice we have, the more freedom we have to choose from the available options. Well, is it? Does more choice always mean more freedom and even if it is, is it always good? Let us see..
We shop regularly at Vijetha supermarket. The first reason we go there is because, the cashiers are efficient. It is crowded and in the first week of each month, the rush is huge. We still go there, because we get most of what we want there under one roof. There is a huge choice in all segments. Now, we are in the supermarket and we are starting with our list. Item 1, Toothpaste. There are 24 varieties of different toothpastes. Wow. We know what we want in toothpastes. We pick up our regular brand and walk on. The options were many, but choice was easy. We have been buyi9ng this brand from so many years. My tooth are still intact and no reason to change now. I briefly recall few ads, where toothpaste is changing a guy’s life style but we will think about it later. Item 2, Soaps. There are 44 varieties of soaps. Choice is easy here too. Pick up and walk on. We enter the Food Section after some pondering and choosing some new and rest old brands with other stuff. Here we are, Siri wanted to buy a Sandwich Spread. There are 12 varieties not considering the Olive Oil, Non-Fat versions within each variety. Siri starts off asking, “Which one is good?”.
“I amn’t sure, let’s go for this.”
“Ok, you think this is good?”
“I don’t know. Let’s try this. If it doesn’t work out we shall try the other one next time. Or, may be that is better, as it has virgin oil.”
“How about this one, it is recommended by Karen Anand.”
“Or this, this has chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s picture on it. This gotta be good.”
“You know what. Let’s just chuck it. We will see next time. For now, let’s manage with honey and cheese”.
You see what’s happening. The choice is acting against the very reason it exists.
Let us look at another scenario. There was a time, when phone meant a heavy instrument in the corner of our drawing room, which worked when it felt like. The only choice we had was to buy a cordless instrument or not. That’s it. Thanks to PV Narasimha Rao, Sam Pitroda and Ambani, we have a completely different picture of a phone now. Phones do everything now. Talk, Message, Email, click snaps, blog, read books and papers, upload, download, what not. We have the choice of Dual SIM, dual standby, one stand by etc. Phones with track wheel, Menu ball. The only wheels I knew were on vehicles and balls were meant to play with. Phones have so many features that it confuses us. I am scared whenever I have to change my phone. I am scared at the huge options I would have and the fact that whatever choice I would make, there would be a phone which will be better in some important aspect of utility for me or the other scares me. It might sound funny, but it is true. Choice scares me some times. Sometime back, when we were checking with my mom, as per what phone she wants. She said, “I want a phone which doesn’t do too much.” People don’t want confusing choices.
Coming to more serious things, in most aspects of life as well, this explosion of choice is true. You go to a bank seeking a home loan. The banker tells you, you can go for Loan A which has these advantages and this disadvantages or Loan B which has these advantages and these risks. You are not sure. You would say, “What do I go for?” The banker says, “Sir, Loan A has this Pros and Cons and Loan B has these. What do you want to go for?” You are confused. You would say, “What would you do, if you were me.” Banker Says”, But, I am not you. So you choose.” You are more confused. You seek help. Then you are referred to a Financial Advisor, who is apparently a Subject Matter Expert. You are seated comfortably, there is a computer in front of the Advisor, he refers to your age, salary, projected salary, current and future liabilities, family size, cars, life style, eating habits, choice of burger, favorite heroine, blogs you read etc etc and finally draws up an advice for you. And Says, “Mr. Dumb, you could go for A, but it would make you bleed, or you could go for B which will make you lose blood.” That’s for a loan.
Work. The only choice when I started off my career was between taking my morning tea break at 1000 hrs or 1015 hrs. Period. Rest all, including my lunch time, lunch menu; bio-breaks were all scheduled. No choice, still happy. And now, we have a choice. Choice of working from a place other than my working station, working from home, working with mobile phone, working by monitoring my reportees. We could choose to work, every minute of every day from any corner of the country for that matter any corner of the globe as long as your datacard works or blackberry works for that matter. What does it mean, it means that one has to continuously make a choice to work or not work while not working or working. When you are in a theatre watching a movie, you can choose to quietly open the mail box and check for any update on the Office situation; while enjoying a dinner with family, you can accidentally glance at the Inbox and more dangerously, carry your blackberry to your bathroom to make sure few morning messages and mails can go on time to keep your team on track. Phew. You see, you have a choice. Even if you are not directly composing a mail, while in the movie / restaurant etc you are atleast asking yourself the question, should I answer this call now, should I answer this sms now? You have a choice. You can respond or you can choose not to respond and the fact that there are costs and implications to not responding immediately is a different story.
Contd....
We shop regularly at Vijetha supermarket. The first reason we go there is because, the cashiers are efficient. It is crowded and in the first week of each month, the rush is huge. We still go there, because we get most of what we want there under one roof. There is a huge choice in all segments. Now, we are in the supermarket and we are starting with our list. Item 1, Toothpaste. There are 24 varieties of different toothpastes. Wow. We know what we want in toothpastes. We pick up our regular brand and walk on. The options were many, but choice was easy. We have been buyi9ng this brand from so many years. My tooth are still intact and no reason to change now. I briefly recall few ads, where toothpaste is changing a guy’s life style but we will think about it later. Item 2, Soaps. There are 44 varieties of soaps. Choice is easy here too. Pick up and walk on. We enter the Food Section after some pondering and choosing some new and rest old brands with other stuff. Here we are, Siri wanted to buy a Sandwich Spread. There are 12 varieties not considering the Olive Oil, Non-Fat versions within each variety. Siri starts off asking, “Which one is good?”.
“I amn’t sure, let’s go for this.”
“Ok, you think this is good?”
“I don’t know. Let’s try this. If it doesn’t work out we shall try the other one next time. Or, may be that is better, as it has virgin oil.”
“How about this one, it is recommended by Karen Anand.”
“Or this, this has chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s picture on it. This gotta be good.”
“You know what. Let’s just chuck it. We will see next time. For now, let’s manage with honey and cheese”.
You see what’s happening. The choice is acting against the very reason it exists.
Let us look at another scenario. There was a time, when phone meant a heavy instrument in the corner of our drawing room, which worked when it felt like. The only choice we had was to buy a cordless instrument or not. That’s it. Thanks to PV Narasimha Rao, Sam Pitroda and Ambani, we have a completely different picture of a phone now. Phones do everything now. Talk, Message, Email, click snaps, blog, read books and papers, upload, download, what not. We have the choice of Dual SIM, dual standby, one stand by etc. Phones with track wheel, Menu ball. The only wheels I knew were on vehicles and balls were meant to play with. Phones have so many features that it confuses us. I am scared whenever I have to change my phone. I am scared at the huge options I would have and the fact that whatever choice I would make, there would be a phone which will be better in some important aspect of utility for me or the other scares me. It might sound funny, but it is true. Choice scares me some times. Sometime back, when we were checking with my mom, as per what phone she wants. She said, “I want a phone which doesn’t do too much.” People don’t want confusing choices.
Coming to more serious things, in most aspects of life as well, this explosion of choice is true. You go to a bank seeking a home loan. The banker tells you, you can go for Loan A which has these advantages and this disadvantages or Loan B which has these advantages and these risks. You are not sure. You would say, “What do I go for?” The banker says, “Sir, Loan A has this Pros and Cons and Loan B has these. What do you want to go for?” You are confused. You would say, “What would you do, if you were me.” Banker Says”, But, I am not you. So you choose.” You are more confused. You seek help. Then you are referred to a Financial Advisor, who is apparently a Subject Matter Expert. You are seated comfortably, there is a computer in front of the Advisor, he refers to your age, salary, projected salary, current and future liabilities, family size, cars, life style, eating habits, choice of burger, favorite heroine, blogs you read etc etc and finally draws up an advice for you. And Says, “Mr. Dumb, you could go for A, but it would make you bleed, or you could go for B which will make you lose blood.” That’s for a loan.
Work. The only choice when I started off my career was between taking my morning tea break at 1000 hrs or 1015 hrs. Period. Rest all, including my lunch time, lunch menu; bio-breaks were all scheduled. No choice, still happy. And now, we have a choice. Choice of working from a place other than my working station, working from home, working with mobile phone, working by monitoring my reportees. We could choose to work, every minute of every day from any corner of the country for that matter any corner of the globe as long as your datacard works or blackberry works for that matter. What does it mean, it means that one has to continuously make a choice to work or not work while not working or working. When you are in a theatre watching a movie, you can choose to quietly open the mail box and check for any update on the Office situation; while enjoying a dinner with family, you can accidentally glance at the Inbox and more dangerously, carry your blackberry to your bathroom to make sure few morning messages and mails can go on time to keep your team on track. Phew. You see, you have a choice. Even if you are not directly composing a mail, while in the movie / restaurant etc you are atleast asking yourself the question, should I answer this call now, should I answer this sms now? You have a choice. You can respond or you can choose not to respond and the fact that there are costs and implications to not responding immediately is a different story.
Contd....
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My post on India Leadership Network; Why Hasn't India produced an Apple, Google or Microsoft by James Williams
Leadership:
My post on India Leadership Network:
India & innovation: Why hasn’t India produced an Apple, Google or Microsoft? By James Williams on India Leadership Network
Great Discussion guys and really glad to see the action!
Well, the advancement in multitude of areas in US didn't happen by accident. There is an environment that nurtures creative thinking; there are umpteen platforms that transformed ideas to actions. .. Slightly digressing from the discussion, I was reading a book(OUTLIERS by Malcolm Gladwell), which elucidates how Bill Gates got umpteen hours of practice on computers by virtue of being where he was (home town, science centre etc) and how kids born in certain year got to be better footballers then ones younger or older to them (by virtue of being exposed to certain rules etc). Likewise ideas in US are in certain environment that automatically give them better atmosphere to be looked at, tried and tested. In India, we are still struggling for basic needs. Yes, we have our own Infosys, Wipro, TCS et al, but largely we are still struggling in few places. We are a patches of excellence phenomenon in terms of infrastructure, education, health care etc etc.. Till such time there is some parity across the country, w will have such gaps between cities and rural areas.
My post on India Leadership Network:
India & innovation: Why hasn’t India produced an Apple, Google or Microsoft? By James Williams on India Leadership Network
Great Discussion guys and really glad to see the action!
Well, the advancement in multitude of areas in US didn't happen by accident. There is an environment that nurtures creative thinking; there are umpteen platforms that transformed ideas to actions. .. Slightly digressing from the discussion, I was reading a book(OUTLIERS by Malcolm Gladwell), which elucidates how Bill Gates got umpteen hours of practice on computers by virtue of being where he was (home town, science centre etc) and how kids born in certain year got to be better footballers then ones younger or older to them (by virtue of being exposed to certain rules etc). Likewise ideas in US are in certain environment that automatically give them better atmosphere to be looked at, tried and tested. In India, we are still struggling for basic needs. Yes, we have our own Infosys, Wipro, TCS et al, but largely we are still struggling in few places. We are a patches of excellence phenomenon in terms of infrastructure, education, health care etc etc.. Till such time there is some parity across the country, w will have such gaps between cities and rural areas.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Our Lives Changed with his arrival
Our Lives Changed with his arrival !
Whenever someone told me that something has dramatically changed their lives overnight, I used to wonder how it would be possible for things to change so suddenly. Sometimes, I secretly wished to stumble on something that would change my life so radically. Little was I aware that it would happen when Siri and I finally chose to give-in to our temptation and brought home Snoopy- our 9 week old Dachshund.
We thought we were ready to adopt him, and against my wish to pay for it, I shelled out a price. I was of the opinion that it is unfair to fix a price for a life form. But, someone meant only business and I was apprehensively cheerful when I relented; Apprehensive that I am paying against my belief, Cheerful as we are finally getting the pup. We drove after a long tiring day at work and by the time we reached the busy central business district of our city, the traffic was at its worse. We somehow made to the landmark and waited. I was hungry and tired. I guess, my usually morbid facial expression changed from barely acceptable to worse to unbearable during the wait, when Siri offered to step out and get something for me to eat. I quickly agreed, any deviation from the status-quo of the wait was fine with me. She went out and I was about to call her back and tell her that we should do it some other time as the day was getting too much for me. I just wished to get back home and hit the sack. The pet shop owner had just then showed up. She returned with a roll (apparently the last one on offer) and popcorn. We drove around to his shop, waited in the parking to gobble the roll and stepped into his shop. He showed us two black and tan Dachshunds. We had earlier zeroed in on this breed, as it was ideal for our apartment and a bigger dog would be finding our place too small to grow in. Siri was more inclined to a lab, I was pushing for a Boxer. We settled for a dashund. I guess, for Siri, anything other than a boxer was fine. They looked cute and small. Siri was excited and said “Yes” – but with a slight hesitation. She preferred a non-black one. With hunger subsiding slightly, I could focus on the pups at hand. The black ones looked fair to me. The shop guy then brought in the full tan one; slightly older than the other two, but definitely looking more alert. She was scared for sure, but there was a certain air of confidence in his gait and demeanor. Siri’s eyes said she found what she wanted. I needn’t have to say anything. We paid up, picked him and started back. Through the drive back home, Siri was constantly saying soothing things to the pup, reassuring and comforting. We reached home after picking up the advised baby food packs and Siri embarked to prepare a quick dinner. I fed the pup and he was slowly moving around, still slightly tentative. We tried to put him to sleep in a crate-converted into a kennel. New place, absence of his siblings and mom and both us strangers looking at everything he does with a curious eye, might have put him in slight discomfort. May be he was curious too, to see what we both are up to. He refused to sleep immediately and kept sounding his disapproval of the kennel; the bed made of newspapers and may be the light we kept on, to prevent us from stepping on him in the dark. He slept sporadically through the night, keeping me awake throughout. He relieved himself few times and I was grumbling to clean up his acts. Come morning, he has started to explore. This expedition to look around our home is instrumental in us calling him by his current name. He is pretty short, shorter than one would assume a Dachshund to be; and with an elongated body he started flowing around to all corners of the home. He would wait at a stop, snoop around and then presume moving again. He spent more time registering new scents and the environment. He ‘marked’ a lot of places and Siri & I had to do a lot of cleaning, but it was fun. He got bolder and ventured into other corners of the home and surely into all corners of our hearts.
Days were passing quickly. We continued with our hectic lives and all our actions at home have a singular purpose now- Snoopy’s induction and home breaking. He is smart, quick learner and uses all forms of facial / vocal expressions to get his way. He is charming, sulking, obedient and naughty as he chooses to be. In almost all, well, in all cases he gets his way. Siri tries to teach him some manners and he tries to teach us some games. Not sure who is more successful. We both are speaking in hushed voices when he is asleep, fearing disturbing him. We are more careful with what’s lying on floor lest he bites into it. We are awake earlier than before and hitting bed late so that he gets his night sleep, non-stop. No more TV, no more Radio. Our whole life in the last week revolved around him. I am sure, we haven’t finished yet as this would continue for some time, till such time we three get used to each other. In a strange way, he brought Siri and I closer.
I was eager to tell my colleagues on the day-after his arrival, that we owned a pup. I stopped myself, thinking “Not just yet. Let me give it a week before announcing to all”. I was right in not announcing to all that we owned a pup, Snoopy. In fact, it is the other way round. A pup, Snoopy owned both of us. Our lives literally changed overnight.
Yes, life can change overnight. It did for us.
Whenever someone told me that something has dramatically changed their lives overnight, I used to wonder how it would be possible for things to change so suddenly. Sometimes, I secretly wished to stumble on something that would change my life so radically. Little was I aware that it would happen when Siri and I finally chose to give-in to our temptation and brought home Snoopy- our 9 week old Dachshund.
We thought we were ready to adopt him, and against my wish to pay for it, I shelled out a price. I was of the opinion that it is unfair to fix a price for a life form. But, someone meant only business and I was apprehensively cheerful when I relented; Apprehensive that I am paying against my belief, Cheerful as we are finally getting the pup. We drove after a long tiring day at work and by the time we reached the busy central business district of our city, the traffic was at its worse. We somehow made to the landmark and waited. I was hungry and tired. I guess, my usually morbid facial expression changed from barely acceptable to worse to unbearable during the wait, when Siri offered to step out and get something for me to eat. I quickly agreed, any deviation from the status-quo of the wait was fine with me. She went out and I was about to call her back and tell her that we should do it some other time as the day was getting too much for me. I just wished to get back home and hit the sack. The pet shop owner had just then showed up. She returned with a roll (apparently the last one on offer) and popcorn. We drove around to his shop, waited in the parking to gobble the roll and stepped into his shop. He showed us two black and tan Dachshunds. We had earlier zeroed in on this breed, as it was ideal for our apartment and a bigger dog would be finding our place too small to grow in. Siri was more inclined to a lab, I was pushing for a Boxer. We settled for a dashund. I guess, for Siri, anything other than a boxer was fine. They looked cute and small. Siri was excited and said “Yes” – but with a slight hesitation. She preferred a non-black one. With hunger subsiding slightly, I could focus on the pups at hand. The black ones looked fair to me. The shop guy then brought in the full tan one; slightly older than the other two, but definitely looking more alert. She was scared for sure, but there was a certain air of confidence in his gait and demeanor. Siri’s eyes said she found what she wanted. I needn’t have to say anything. We paid up, picked him and started back. Through the drive back home, Siri was constantly saying soothing things to the pup, reassuring and comforting. We reached home after picking up the advised baby food packs and Siri embarked to prepare a quick dinner. I fed the pup and he was slowly moving around, still slightly tentative. We tried to put him to sleep in a crate-converted into a kennel. New place, absence of his siblings and mom and both us strangers looking at everything he does with a curious eye, might have put him in slight discomfort. May be he was curious too, to see what we both are up to. He refused to sleep immediately and kept sounding his disapproval of the kennel; the bed made of newspapers and may be the light we kept on, to prevent us from stepping on him in the dark. He slept sporadically through the night, keeping me awake throughout. He relieved himself few times and I was grumbling to clean up his acts. Come morning, he has started to explore. This expedition to look around our home is instrumental in us calling him by his current name. He is pretty short, shorter than one would assume a Dachshund to be; and with an elongated body he started flowing around to all corners of the home. He would wait at a stop, snoop around and then presume moving again. He spent more time registering new scents and the environment. He ‘marked’ a lot of places and Siri & I had to do a lot of cleaning, but it was fun. He got bolder and ventured into other corners of the home and surely into all corners of our hearts.
Days were passing quickly. We continued with our hectic lives and all our actions at home have a singular purpose now- Snoopy’s induction and home breaking. He is smart, quick learner and uses all forms of facial / vocal expressions to get his way. He is charming, sulking, obedient and naughty as he chooses to be. In almost all, well, in all cases he gets his way. Siri tries to teach him some manners and he tries to teach us some games. Not sure who is more successful. We both are speaking in hushed voices when he is asleep, fearing disturbing him. We are more careful with what’s lying on floor lest he bites into it. We are awake earlier than before and hitting bed late so that he gets his night sleep, non-stop. No more TV, no more Radio. Our whole life in the last week revolved around him. I am sure, we haven’t finished yet as this would continue for some time, till such time we three get used to each other. In a strange way, he brought Siri and I closer.
I was eager to tell my colleagues on the day-after his arrival, that we owned a pup. I stopped myself, thinking “Not just yet. Let me give it a week before announcing to all”. I was right in not announcing to all that we owned a pup, Snoopy. In fact, it is the other way round. A pup, Snoopy owned both of us. Our lives literally changed overnight.
Yes, life can change overnight. It did for us.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
How is it to own and run your restaurant?
How is it to own and run your restaurant?
I had my own restaurant and the following are straight out of the horse’s mouth. Peruse them at leisure and give it a lot of thought.
Whenever I mention that I owned a restaurant to someone I’ve never met before, they almost always get a dreamy look in their eyes. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to own my own restaurant!” They’ll say, with a knowing smile. “It must be so fun!” Well, I guess fun is all relative. Restauranting is more than a job. And even those who think they are called to it, are often times completely unprepared for the amount of work and stress that comes with being a restaurant owner. Of course, there are a great many benefits to being your own boss, including the free food.
There are a few key characteristics that define a good restaurant owner. If the following characteristics sound like you, then you are on the right path
1. You like people. You enjoy chatting with customers, and have no problem listening to complaints with a sympathetic ear.
2. You are good at multitasking. It seems like the term multitasking is everywhere these days. It is definitely in the restaurant business. As an owner you need to be able to answer the phone, take care of customers, fix broken equipment (or know who to call to fix it) track inventory and pay the vendors. And that is just in one morning!
3. You thrive on stress. If you can’t handle stress, then don’t even think about opening your own restaurant! Every job has some sort of stress, but owning a restaurant brings it to a whole new level. You find yourself worrying about everything thing that goes on in the restaurant, from the staff arguments to finding good cooks. When its busy you worry about the staff’s service, when it’s slow you worry about money. When it’s raining, you worry about getting customers in. Worry and stress go hand in hand. A good restaurant owner knows how to handle the stress of the job and not let it consume him or her.
Benefits of Being a Restaurant Owner
• Having your own restaurant is like raising a child. No one will take as much interest and pride in it as you will. When I get compliments on my restaurant, whether it is about the food or the service, I beam. I love, love, love hearing how people enjoyed coming to my restaurant. I think there are few jobs (and this is just my humble opinion) that can offer as much personal joy, as a successful business. Even today, when people talk about ‘Round The Corner, I beam and I really miss my place.
• Being you own boss is another wonderful benefit, so long as you are responsible. I’ve been my own boss for so long, I actually cringe at the thought of having someone tell me what to do. Of course, being your own boss means that all decisions, good and bad, fall on your shoulders. Luckily for me now, my bosses leave it to me. They just speak to me only when they need something for me. No one tells me what to do or how to do. It works for me and I am sure it is working for them.
• As a local business owner, you get to meet a lot of people. If your restaurant is in your hometown, you get to visit with friends and neighbours.
Drawbacks of Being a Restaurant Owner
I would not want to mislead you into thinking that being a restaurant owner is all fun and games and free food. There are many drawbacks to consider, including:
• Long Days and Nights- As the owner of a new restaurant you will be putting in very long days and evenings to make sure everything goes smoothly. And even when you are home, plan to be on the phone with the restaurant several times a day and night. If you are contemplating liquor service, then the days only get longer.
• Kiss Your Weekends and public holidays Goodbye- Weekends and holidays including vacations are the busy time for the restaurant. If you have children in school, think long and hard about the time you will miss, if you work all weekend.
• Unstable Income- If business slows down, and your checkbook is in the red, guess who is first to go without a salary? Yup, the owner. The person who does the most work, is the person who is often paid the least. This is a big part. It might sound trivial now, but it is really a big question.
• Lack of Benefits- Health insurance is a major concern for all small business owners. Not only will you have to buy private insurance you will need to figure out how you want to save for retirement and your kids education etc. Again, preplanning for these expenses before you go into business can help a great deal.
So there it is…the pros and cons of owning your own restaurant. Like any career it has some great benefits, as well as some major drawbacks. It’s up to you to decide if it’s the right path to take.
I had my own restaurant and the following are straight out of the horse’s mouth. Peruse them at leisure and give it a lot of thought.
Whenever I mention that I owned a restaurant to someone I’ve never met before, they almost always get a dreamy look in their eyes. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to own my own restaurant!” They’ll say, with a knowing smile. “It must be so fun!” Well, I guess fun is all relative. Restauranting is more than a job. And even those who think they are called to it, are often times completely unprepared for the amount of work and stress that comes with being a restaurant owner. Of course, there are a great many benefits to being your own boss, including the free food.
There are a few key characteristics that define a good restaurant owner. If the following characteristics sound like you, then you are on the right path
1. You like people. You enjoy chatting with customers, and have no problem listening to complaints with a sympathetic ear.
2. You are good at multitasking. It seems like the term multitasking is everywhere these days. It is definitely in the restaurant business. As an owner you need to be able to answer the phone, take care of customers, fix broken equipment (or know who to call to fix it) track inventory and pay the vendors. And that is just in one morning!
3. You thrive on stress. If you can’t handle stress, then don’t even think about opening your own restaurant! Every job has some sort of stress, but owning a restaurant brings it to a whole new level. You find yourself worrying about everything thing that goes on in the restaurant, from the staff arguments to finding good cooks. When its busy you worry about the staff’s service, when it’s slow you worry about money. When it’s raining, you worry about getting customers in. Worry and stress go hand in hand. A good restaurant owner knows how to handle the stress of the job and not let it consume him or her.
Benefits of Being a Restaurant Owner
• Having your own restaurant is like raising a child. No one will take as much interest and pride in it as you will. When I get compliments on my restaurant, whether it is about the food or the service, I beam. I love, love, love hearing how people enjoyed coming to my restaurant. I think there are few jobs (and this is just my humble opinion) that can offer as much personal joy, as a successful business. Even today, when people talk about ‘Round The Corner, I beam and I really miss my place.
• Being you own boss is another wonderful benefit, so long as you are responsible. I’ve been my own boss for so long, I actually cringe at the thought of having someone tell me what to do. Of course, being your own boss means that all decisions, good and bad, fall on your shoulders. Luckily for me now, my bosses leave it to me. They just speak to me only when they need something for me. No one tells me what to do or how to do. It works for me and I am sure it is working for them.
• As a local business owner, you get to meet a lot of people. If your restaurant is in your hometown, you get to visit with friends and neighbours.
Drawbacks of Being a Restaurant Owner
I would not want to mislead you into thinking that being a restaurant owner is all fun and games and free food. There are many drawbacks to consider, including:
• Long Days and Nights- As the owner of a new restaurant you will be putting in very long days and evenings to make sure everything goes smoothly. And even when you are home, plan to be on the phone with the restaurant several times a day and night. If you are contemplating liquor service, then the days only get longer.
• Kiss Your Weekends and public holidays Goodbye- Weekends and holidays including vacations are the busy time for the restaurant. If you have children in school, think long and hard about the time you will miss, if you work all weekend.
• Unstable Income- If business slows down, and your checkbook is in the red, guess who is first to go without a salary? Yup, the owner. The person who does the most work, is the person who is often paid the least. This is a big part. It might sound trivial now, but it is really a big question.
• Lack of Benefits- Health insurance is a major concern for all small business owners. Not only will you have to buy private insurance you will need to figure out how you want to save for retirement and your kids education etc. Again, preplanning for these expenses before you go into business can help a great deal.
So there it is…the pros and cons of owning your own restaurant. Like any career it has some great benefits, as well as some major drawbacks. It’s up to you to decide if it’s the right path to take.
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