Well, it is a huge change! Being in the banking industry and being used to the stress on a daily basis, be it work, maniac boss or work politics, was my life for almost 8 years non-stop. It had become a joke till the saturation point came and I decided to stop this non sense and take charge of my life. That meant no regular income, no more shopping on the weekends, no fancy dinners, no travels every two months etc. etc.. so BE IT!

Life is completely different on the other side of the table. Very unstructured to begin with. Lots of confusion, no clear direction, no guidelines, no processes and systems..which I was so used to. Was frustrating! Every day was and is a challenge. 9 months into this race to start something of my own has taught me a lot. First of all a lot of patience! I feel I have grown as a person, overcome few of my inhibitions, no more ego and has made me appreciate the hard work every entrepreneur puts in..whether a business tycoon or a small grocer in a neighborhood store.

When I started with a dream to open my own cafe, it seemed easy with no rocket science..after all I am a chartered accountant and a banker! May be over qualified as well. Well, what seemed so straight forward then has become one big mammoth of a task now. Overwhelming at times..now I may be exaggerating a bit. Having to prepare a business plan, come with a USP, dealing with lots and lots of suppliers, municipality, lawyers, potential chefs and managers, investors, company structure, partners, branding, interior designers…well the list doesn’t stop. However, having said that, it has been a huge learning curve and exciting at the same time. I am still figuring out the money bit..never thought how much a money is actually invested even in a small cafe before it can even start thinking to earn its first dime!

Well till now, I have had fun and really looking forward to what future has in store for me. Shall keep you updated.

With Love, Swati