opportunity costMother: Chinmay, the bike of yours that is in the garage, you hardly use it. Why don’t you sell it? Me: (being a hardcore fan of the Royal Enfield Bullet I felt insulted and replied with a higher tone) MAAAA… it is not a bike! It is a Royal Enfield...

Non-Performing Asset(Finally, I took a week off by taking my mother to Agumbe – it gets the highest rainfall in India and moreover, it is where my mother was born and brought up. My mother’s ancestral house is more than 300 years old. Her brothers and my cousins live...

There are only two rules in business: Rule #1: Always earn more than you spend. Rule #2: Never forget rule #1. To know if a business is earning more than its spending at any given point in time, stakeholders should know the pulse (numbers) of the business and numbers...

(Downloadable spreadsheet available for download on SMART Forums) The one question you must ask yourself as a businessperson – are you a finance person? Before you read this article, I need you to answer one question. Who is the finance person in your business? Is it...

I my last article I ended with a question – is there a difference between Finance & Accounting? I recently conducted a seminar at Holmesglen University, Melbourne. In that seminar, I asked the same question to a dozen business owners. Most of them answered ‘yes.’...

In my last article, I explained the difference between Finance & Accounting by comparing business with game of football. Let me continue the same to explain Balance Sheets. (You can read my previous article later by clicking this link) Imagine a veteran football...

In business, you have two basic financial statements, 1.      The Balance Sheet, and; 2.      The Profit & Loss Statement. Profit & Loss statement is like a thermometer – it tells the temperature of a business. On the other hand, a Balance Sheet will tell us...

Average reading time – 6 minutes Outcome – You will never get confused with the terms Debit & Credit after reading this article. Wanna bet? The two most widely used terms in finance and accounting are also the most misunderstood. Whenever I ask participants in my...

What is Profit? A general understanding is Profit = Income – Expenses. If income is greater than expenses profit will be a positive number. If expenses are more than income it is a loss. However, accountants are very optimistic people. They do not use the word, loss....

Sunday, 30th May 2021 at 11 AM, My mother: Chinmay, you said, you’ll be helping me in selling our farm mangoes that were plucked earlier this week. Me: when will it get ripe? My mother: in a few days. Me: please express few days in numbers! My mother: 3-4 days Me: Ok,...

on break-even(my mother, father and I were in the living room) My mother: Chinmay, tell your father with the profit I made by selling mangoes I would like to further develop our farmland. Me: (gave a typical Indian head nod) My father was pretending as if he did not...

on pricingMother: Chinmay, I don’t know what you had posted online last Sunday. I got so many calls from relatives & friends wishing me a ‘Happy wedding anniversary. Me: Ahh… you are welcome. Mother: Many also asked why did we sell the mangoes for only Rs. 50/kg? Me:...

McD’s strategyContext: As the lockdown restriction was eased last week, my mother and I went to our farm. We have two patches of farmland that are 5 mins drive from each other. On one farm (we call it old farm) we mainly grow mangoes and on the other (we call it a new...

Profit & cash(Earlier during the week, like most of you I had a long hectic day with back2back online meetings working from home. I decided to call it a day and came out of the room. As I was passing by the living room I overheard my mother talking to someone with...

money never sleeps (4-5 mins read) Mother: Chinmay, I am thinking of taking a bank loan. Me: May I know for what? Mother: The new person who is taking care of our farm knows how to drive a tractor. So, I am thinking of buying a tractor. Me: Hmm… and how many times in...

be a jack of many, master a few(Last Wednesday I posted on FB and WhatsApp promoting the mango pulp & jam that my mother made at home. In no time all the jams were sold and only a few pulp bottles are left. Got raving feedback from people who bought the pulp &...

how much should a business owner aim to earn from their own business?(I am really fortunate and lucky to have many well-wishers, one of them is Carol Tan. She holds the Guinness world record for the largest collection of Cow-related items. Dr Carol Tan is a Program...

difference between finance & accounting (Disclaimer: my intention is NOT to offend or degrade or belittle any profession or professional in this post. I am only expressing my views from a laymen’s perspective.) Mother: Chinmay, I met Sita (name changed) after a long...

How to build a Unicorn Startup? Mother: Chinmay, what’s a Unicorn? (I thought she was referring to the Unicorn doll that my niece plays with, and I said) Me: it is a mythical animal similar to a horse with a horn on its forehead. Mother: (gave a puzzled look and...

1 + 1 is not equal to 2(My mother was doing her own calculation with regards to the sale of mangoes, pulp and jam) Mother: (with a low voice) Chinmay, after doing the calculation it seems I have not made the money I thought I had made. Me: that’s good. Mother: what???...

Your baby is ugly!(I overheard my mother speaking with someone on the phone with excitement. I got curious and stood there) Mother: (whilst speaking on the phone, she made a hand gesture) come here… Me: (went and sat next to her) what? Mother: (another hand gesture...

What’s plan-B & plan-C(15 mins drive from our farm there is a farmers market. My mother usually buys fresh vegetables from a particular vendor (let us call her Sita) as she knows her for a long time. As I accompany my mother by driving her at times to our farm, I get...

It’s all numbers(Last week, I went to Chennai to attend my best friend’s wedding. The moment I returned home my mother started her interrogation) Mother: Chinmay, how was the wedding? Me: Good. Mother: Did they follow Covid protocols? Me: hmm… kind of, I along with...

A ₹/$ saved is a ₹/$ earned Mother: (with a cheeky look and voice) Mr. Chinmay, have you seen my engineer son? Me: (I knew where my mother was heading) hmm… tell me what needs to be fixed? Mother: the tap in the kitchen is leaking Mr. Engineer Me: So, you are asking a...

What grows even at night?Mother: Chinmay, I heard that Government will be announcing a new scheme to take loans at a very nominal interest rate. Me: So? Mother: I wanted to check if you know anything about it? Me: Where did you hear about it? Was it someone from the...

5 + 5 ÷ 5 = 2 or 6?(I was watching IPL cricket whilst my mother was reading some WhatsApp messages about the IPL auction. To my surprise my mother asked…) Mother: Chinmay, do you know this Australian cricket Glenn Maxwell? Me: hmm… yes, I know him but I am not sure if...

FOCUS – Follow One Course Until Success(Next week we are going to Mangalore to celebrate the Navaratri (a festival that spans for nine nights), usually, my mother has a long shopping list before going there that includes fruits, sweets, vegetables, and whatnot. But...

Same money – different forms(My mother was doing some local shopping in Mangalore. She knows Mangalore better than I do as she was living here as a student back in the 70s. She usually goes to the same local vendors/place where she always shops. And she still prefers...

Feminine values into finance(My mother’s aunt who is like my grandmother is at our home. I call her Kaveri Doddamma. There are N number of memorable moments spent with her from my childhood days. It is always exciting to have her home. Of course, when she and my...

If weeds are growing then the land is fertile(Yesterday, I was having lunch and my mother was across the table) Mother: Chinmay, what are you thinking? Me: Nothing. Mother: Really? I can see it on your face that you are thinking something. Me: hmm… I am thinking about...

How long can your business run without you?(It has been over a month since I posted the last episode-23 as my mother underwent cataract surgery last month. The doctor had advised her to take care and rest for at least a month. She is doing fine now, her eyesight is...

Book smart v/s Street smart (I was sitting in our portico reading the book – “Stories at work” by Indranil Chakraborty. My mother joined with her regular cup of coffee.) Mother: Chinmay, what are you reading? Me: It is a book Indranil Chakraborty called “Stories at...