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Course Name: Entrepreneurship

Course Code: MGT368

Section: 20

Semester: Spring 2023

Faculty Name: Syed Imamuzzaman

Faculty Initial: SYI

Submission Date: 27.03.2023

Name ID Contact Number Email Address

Kazi Afra Adiba 2111060630 01768775976 [email protected]

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SOUVLAKI ~ RAHATIL SADAF

Family-style Restaurant | Delivery – Takeaway – Dine In

Introduction:

Mr. Rahatil Sadaf, at the mere age of twenty-four only is the founder and owner of Souvlaki, a local
restaurant situated in Mirpur-12, House: 5/12, Pallabi, Dhaka. He started the business through an online
platform of delivering handmade-food initially back in 2018. During Covid-19, his operations were at halt
however, the scope of online delivery system aided him to continue operating his business normally.
Much later, during the year of 2022 his business was at peak, in its bloom period. Being a sole trader he
mentioned, “My aim to keep running the business even during the hard times is what made it quite
successful today! At least successful to me and my visions!”

Protagonist and his journey:

The proud businessman mentioned that he completed his schooling (O and A levels) from Scholastica,
Mirpur, Dhaka and is currently pursuing his Bachelors in Business Administration from Independent
University of Bangladesh (IUB). He is exceptionally managing both his studies and business according to
his statement. He also added, “It is definitely challenging to be under constant scrutiny by the parents
regarding studies and the public for my business operations. However, I was very determined to open my
own restaurant as I am a foodie myself and would love to bring the same delicacies to people around me!”
He also mentioned that he did not come from a family of businessmen/ or like-minded individuals. In
fact, he is the only person in his family to operate a business at such a young age. When asked about how
he found the will and idea to start his business he stated that, “I like cooking myself, I learned a lot of
recipes by heart and experimented with flavors and cuisines during the lockdown. My mother who is the
reason behind my success today, helped me in all my endeavors, enjoyed meals prepared by me and also
taught me to cook better, honestly. She motivated me to finally open a small restaurant where my passion
could be grown and nurtured further!” Mr. Sadaf’s mother, Mrs. Rahman, mentioned, “Oh! My son was
adamant on taking cooking seriously and I told him to have faith in his skills and to always follow his gut
and here he is today, I am proud of him!”

The beginning:

The beginning of his journey was not very smooth. Mr. Rahman, his father was not very keen on the idea
of his son running a business instead of focusing in his studies. However, Mrs. Rahman helped Mr. Sadaf
with her own savings and he, himself had sold off his bike to which he stated laughing, “It was really hard
to give up my bike but I knew I’d get it back one day!” Besides these, the space they rented out for the
restaurant belonged to family friend and hence consideration of payment was made there, luckily. He
stated that it took him more or less of about six lakhs, in total for the business to start operating. When
asked if he was paranoid to start he stated, “Sure, it was really scary in the beginning but I was never the
one ot back down, and with my mother’s blessing, I believed in myself and worked day and night to make
my dream come true.” Hiring the chefs was costly as he wanted someone who excelled in their task as
they was firm about not comprising the quality of food even from the very beginning and this is why he
proudly stated

that, “A lot of my customers are based off of retention as they loved my work and food from the
beginning, who are mostly students from school around the area, and mothers who wait for their kids
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during the coaching hours and elderly friends and family from the area.” The rent of the place is not too
high, however given the price hikes of general food commodities, the groceries were slightly expensive
and wage/salary was higher for permanent chef and the part-time waiters/ helping hands. Packaging takes
up about 20% of the budgetary plan he said. Yet, he started the business in hopes of his promising quality
winning people’s heart in the neighborhood.

Bloom, breakthroughs and bumps:

When asked if the business was struggling ever, Mr. Sadaf mentioned that, “it’s the very nature of
business to face ups and downs, I completely accepted that and went with the flow. I studied the market,
learned what was trending in the market, hired technological specialist who would help me gain a social
platform to spread goodwill of my business, and worked through my emotions to separate feelings from
getting mixed with business decisions.” He shared a small incident where a customer had once
complained about a drink not being adequate in portion and was furious about. Mr. Sadaf replied, “In
situations like this, we try to listen to the customer and accept and apologize if there was an error from
our end. Being honest and genuine from day one of my journey has helped e gain the recognition today.
He also mentioned how the neighbors around the residential area were a little hesitant and negative about
the whole restaurant business as it resulted in small gatherings even late at night and some found in
unsafe. However, with time, people from neighborhood liked the ambient was light-hearted and warm.
The business hit boom during last Eid-ul-Fitr and the rewards were quite impressive and promising, said
Mr. Sadaf. The shop ran both day and night and served a couple hundreds of customers within the past a
year and half. He made the largest sum of profit of over 3.4 lakhs through online delivery. When the
pressure increased, he hired more workers and in fact, his mother joined the kitchen and helped the head
chef with the orders. They also started delivering through Foodpanda and had seven big orders for
birthday parties in the neighborhood for their famous nachos and chicken wings. Mr. Sadaf mentioned
that securing a license was difficult during the beginning as banks do not tend to trust smaller business as
such if enough collateral is not shown, however, his bike was enough in this case and he managed to get it
in the end.

“Tears of Joy”:

Mr. Sadaf stated for young entrepreneurs and leaders of our nation, that, “Never give up on that tiny voice
in your head which urges you to dream of something you think is impossible!” Your hard work,
determination to continue amidst negative circumstances, and firm belief on your ability will surely help
you one day!” he also mentioned how important it is so build network in today’s era as it will definitely
help to increase the promotions of our business naturally. He mentioned that having people skills is also
very important. He said, “It’s very important that the people in your organization knows what your vision
and dreams are and they all work towards the same objectives to fulfill a dream eventually.” Mr. Sadaf
did curate a business plan as it was required for the bank and he mentioned that it was extremely hard for
him to design it effectively as the core of his business was planned out in those models. Lastly, he
mentioned with a big smile and tears of joy that, “ By the grace of the Almighty, I got a new and better
bike for myself this year with the fruitful rewards of my teams and mine hard work and perseverance!” So
never deter away from your dreams, especially when it seems unachievable, go for it with all your
might!”
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References:
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Appendix

Questions asked to the entrepreneur:

Demographic and personal details:

1. What is your name? Ans: Rahatil Sadaf Rahman

2. Which gender do you best identify with? Ans: Man
3. Which of the following best describes your age? Ans: 24
4. What is the highest level of education you have completed? Ans: A levels, pursuing BBA currently
5. Do you come from a family background of businessmen? Ans: No
6. Which of the following best describes your employment status? Ans: Self-employed
7. Which of the following best describes the industry you work in? How many years of practical work
practice do you have? Ans: Food and Drinks, 3 years of experience.

Entrepreneurial Details:

1. What are some of your daily habits? Ans: Disciplined Lifestyle Choices

2. Did you have a business plan and a business canvas model before you started? If yes, did you follow it
up and if no, how else did you start the business? Ans: Yes, I had a model plan.

3. What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur? Ans: That I enjoy my job and also get rewards
for it.

4. Food service can be stressful and busy. Can you explain how you work under pressure? Ans: I am good
with time management and my staff helps me out as well.

5. What have been your most significant failures, and what did you learn from them? Ans: Failing to
manage large orders during the initial times taught me to be even well-prepared.

6. How do you plan for your business's future? Where do you see your business in five years? Ans: I want
to expand externally, have a larger space for my restaurant and open new branches.

7. What makes an effective leader according to you? Ans: Being able to communicate well and not just
dictate orders.

8. When did you know you wanted to become an entrepreneur? Ans: Ever since I understood sole trading.
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9. How did you get the idea for your business? What is the value proposition of your good or service?
Ans: The idea came from me loving food basically and wanting to create something valuable for others as
well.

10. Who is your biggest inspiration/role model as an entrepreneur? Do you work with any partner? Ans:
My mother is my sole partner within family, she is directly involved in the work with me. Recently, I got
inspired from Kishwar in Masterchef.

11. How does your business look different now vs. when you first started? Ans: It was solely operated
online and from home and now I have a restaurant and outlet.

Customer relationship and reach to the targeted market:

1. How did you find your first customers or clients? Who is your ideal customer? Ans: mostly people in
the neighborhood, family friends, my classmates, students and other shopkeepers around here.

2. How long did it take you to get your business up and running? Ans: Took me about 2 years to start.

3. How many customers do you serve in a day? What is the rush hour? Which is the most asked for order?
Ans: the minimum is always a 100 or more depending on occasions. It’s mostly rush hour during
evenings.

4. Why do people buy from you and not your competitors? Ans: It is our hospitality and quality of food.

5. How do you attract and retain customers, and how do you ensure they have a positive experience with
your brand? Ans: The interconnection we develop with customers help us a lot.

6. What do you wish more people knew about your product or service? Ans: That it has a lot of potential.

7. How would you handle a customer who is upset about their food order and wants their meal remade?
How does it impact your production cost? Ans: We accept it and apologize calmly, for us, customer
satisfaction is everything.

Public Relations:

1. Do you think a media coverage can help expand your business further? Ans: Probably, a bit as there are
lots of new start-ups.

2. As you did not the have the first mover advantage in the market, or used other external sources of
entry, how competitive is your business so far? Ans: In my area, there aren’t many food stalls or cafes as
such hence I could say I am dominating in this area.

3. Out of all the other businesses in the same industry as yours, how can you ensure yours stand out with a
special feature that would appeal to the market? Ans: Everyone loves our nachos and it’s a secret recipe
by my mother!
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4. Do you have a license/ permit and was it difficult/easy for you to own? Do you have a trademark or
patent right? How do you protect the intellectual property of your business, for example, a recipe that
only you produce? Ans: We did get a license, and my mother’s recipe is known by her and I only.

5. Did you try sending PR packages to influencers to promote your shop and food items? Ans: Not yet but
we plan to.

Use of technology in your business:

1. What publications, websites, blogs, etc. do you read regularly to stay current in your industry/trends?
Ans: Facebook, reels are a good way of keeping myself updated on latest trends and food shows.

2. Are there any conferences or meetings that are particularly helpful for entrepreneurs in your
industry/company? Ans: Not that I know of.

3. Which form of social media do you use (if so) and how has it helped your business? Ans: We are
working on a website and we are a bit on facebook.

4. In the age of rapid competition and technological advancement, how do you think social media could
be a challenge to your business in terms of growth and exclusivity? Ans: It is easy to duplicate others and
hence we try to keep our aesthetic very true to our essence of the company.

5. Do you have a team of people who run the social media pages like Instagram or facebook?Ans: No, I
oversee it personally.

6. What courses (online or offline) have helped grow your business? Ans: I took 3 cooking courses in
courser and udemy and mostly youtube.

Recruitment of employees:

1. How do you hire and train employees? Was social media or internet websites were job listings are done
helpful to you during looking for workers? Ans: Yes, I hired through Facebook listings and LinkedIn.

2. Do you think potential employees are unsure about joining an origination run by an entrepreneur,
especially a start up? How do you handle that? Ans: My employees understand the passion and dedication
I have and they wholeheartedly work to help me and the business!

3. What are the leading positions in your business and its hierarchal structure and chain of command?
Ans: It is pretty democratic as everyone’s ideas are welcomed.

4. How do you lead and motivate your employees? How do you ensure that your employees are
productive? Ans: We hold weekly meetings and at times enjoy a drink and food at our own place.

5. How do you usually recruit the head chef? Ans: Through word of mouth initially, and then through a
taste test.

Financial Consideration:
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1. Is your restaurant space your own or did you rent it out? Do you prefer this space or wish to grow
bigger? Ans: its on rent, we plan to get bigger.

2. Are you a capital or labor-intensive business? Which do you think is more costly and if yes, is it worth
it? Ans: it’s a mixture of both but we plan on being more capital intensive.

3. Given the recent hikes in prices of every commodity in Bangladesh right now, what is its impact on
your business? Ans: Items on menus are a little expensive.

4. Which sources of finance amongst: bank overdraft, bank loans, debt factoring, and others (if any) did
you prefer? Do you think Banks are flexible enough to provide loans to start ups? Ans: not really. It is
difficult.

5. Do you think Bangladesh has the financial foundation to allow opportunities for startups to be opened
in the economy? Ans: It could be better with scopes.

Social Factors influencing your business:

1. Do you think Bangladeshi society is receptive of the idea of a startup or are they too loyal to bigger and
more established brands?Ans: They are hesitant but the youth is willing to try new things.

2. Given your shop is located in a residential neighborhood, what was the reaction of people living here or
nearby? Was it positive or negative? Ans: It was negative initially, but now they happily accept it.

3. Was there any public health related concern about the maintenance or hygiene of your shop as it runs
within a limited capacity? Ans: No.

4. How would you say your family or closed ones reacted about your start up and were they supportive
both financially and mentally? How did you deal with their opinions? Ans: My father was not very
supportive but my mom was.

5. What measures do you take to ensure quality product and service for the company? Is your business
environmentally sustainable? Ans: We use paper packaging right now instead of polythene or plastic.

6. How would you handle a negative online review about your service that wasn't true? Ans: Invite them
to our restaurant once!

Closing Questions (open-ended)

1. What has been your most significant achievement? What goals are you still working towards
achieving? Ans: Supplying food and drink for seven parties in the area. Those were massive for the
business.

2. What advice would you give to someone just starting a business? Ans: Keep faith and never shy away
from working hard and wanting to go after your dreams!

3. What do you wish you could have done differently if you could restart? Ans: Understood finance better
and the scopes of it.
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4. A memorable story (positive or negative) you had while running the business? Ans: My father enjoying
our service at the shop which he previously was hesitant and unhappy about! I loved it!

5. Anything you would like to add? Ans: No, thank you for having me!