FYBBA Students at ATLAS SkillTech University Find Valuable Lessons in the Stories of Street Vendors!

Blog by: Dr Jaimine Vaishnav

(Dr. Jaimine Vaishnav, the author of this blog, teaches Entrepreneurship, Global Politics and Media Laws at ATLAS SkillTech University. For further communication, you can reach out to Dr. Vaishnav on LinkedIn)

The sun set over the bustling streets of Mumbai, casting long shadows on the pavement. Amongst the sea of people, an unlikely group caught my attention—a collective of street entrepreneurs. Though they engaged in informal trading, they possessed a wealth of knowledge that surpassed any textbook or business school I had ever encountered. Curiosity piqued, and I approached one of them—a weathered gentleman named Sunil, who sold handcrafted jewellery under the dim glow of a lamppost.

His hands were calloused from years of meticulous craftsmanship, and his eyes twinkled with wisdom beyond his years. Impressed by his skill, I asked Sunil if he would share his secrets to success with me. He smiled warmly and beckoned for me to sit beside him on a worn-out wooden crate. With each passing word, Sunil transported me into a world where formal education took a back seat to real-life experiences. He spoke passionately about the art of negotiation, describing how he had honed his skills through countless interactions with customers, haggling for his creations.

A gentle conversation with him, amid street shopping hours, positively triggered in me a thought, an imagination, to facilitate a field visit to the street entrepreneurs with my undergraduate students of business at ATLAS SkillTech University.

In my 12 years of academic and research experience, I have never encountered an institute as remarkable as ATLAS. Their emphasis on hands-on learning and interdisciplinary studies is truly exceptional. We took advantage of the educational opportunities available and decided to explore the local market. With a few students, we immersed ourselves in learning about business management, marketing strategies, selling techniques, and supply chain logistics. Rather than studying from elite businesses, we chose to observe and learn from the street vendors.

As students and I strolled through the bustling streets of the city, the vibrant atmosphere filled me with a sense of curiosity. The street vendors lined the sidewalks, their makeshift stalls displaying an array of colourful merchandise. Near a famous corporate park in Lower Parel, intrigued by their entrepreneurial spirit, these students decided to approach one of them and strike up a conversation. The vendor, a middle-aged woman with a warm smile, welcomed us with open arms. She shared stories of her humble beginnings and the challenges she faced while starting her small business. Her journey was one of resilience and determination—a true testament to the spirit of entrepreneurship.

As we delved deeper into our conversation, we realised that this street vendor had a wealth of knowledge to offer beyond simply selling goods on the sidewalk. Her understanding of customer service, adaptability and resourcefulness fascinated us. It became evident that there were invaluable lessons to be learned from these unsung heroes of the streets.

And, in order to truly understand the dynamics of market demand and effective sales strategies, the bleak winter street of Mumbai was bustling with activity as XYZ, a diligent business student in her first year, observed the hustle and bustle from a nearby cafe. She had always believed that real-life experience was the best teacher, which is why she spent her weekends observing the street vendors in action.

One particular vendor caught her attention. His name was Ajiz Khan, an experienced street vendor who had been selling ‘chicken tikka’ on this very corner for years. Ajiz had an uncanny ability to attract customers effortlessly. XYZ marvelled at his charm as he engaged passers-by with a warm smile and quick wit. It was evident that there was more than just selling ‘chicken tikka’ going on; it was a carefully choreographed dance of persuasion and customer satisfaction. Intrigued, XYZ approached Ajiz one day during a slow evening and asked if she could shadow him for a day. Ajiz, recognising her genuine interest, gladly agreed.

Ajiz’s thriving chicken tikka business had become a staple on the bustling streets of Mohammed Ali Road. From the moment the sun began to set, the mouth-watering aroma of his sizzling tikka filled the air, drawing in customers from all corners of the city. Ajiz had perfected his recipe over the years, and his secret blend of spices was what kept people coming back for more. As the evening unfolded, the steady stream of customers grew larger and larger making him to earn roughly Rs 15,000 – Rs 22,000 per day.

The tantalizing scent wafted through the narrow alleyways, captivating passers-by with its irresistible allure. Ajiz’s loyal customer base had expanded beyond belief, and his name was now synonymous with delicious chicken tikka. Ajiz completed grade 10 and did not pursue formal education further. He says, “bribing is more affordable than the compliance costs of regulations and other legal formalities, to sell chicken tikka, on this famous eatery street.”

From the above and many more lived experiences, as learned in our empirical venture, we developed and proposed the following ideas for initiatives between the business students of ATLAS SkillTech University and the street vendors:

• Helping the street vendors sign up on social media accounts like Instagram, Meta, and YouTube to assist them in boosting their digital, entrepreneurial and vocational outreach
• To have a timely attitude towards the sharing of wisdom, the latest trends and conceptual knowledge
• Divulging the success stories for breaking the cultural ice between the elite public sphere and the street vendors, which is often lacking in educational spaces
• Organising the street vendors to conduct an intellectual exchange with the students in a seminar on the campus of our university

As published in my previous blog these students, in their interactions on the busy streets of Colaba Causeway, Dadar Market, Manish Market and Chor Bazar, learned a few crucial insights from their empirical observation:

• The representation of men in the venture of street entrepreneurship is higher than the profile of women and transgenders.
• The business of food, mobile accessories, clothes, and books marks a huge chunk on the streets, concerning sales and profitability compared to other goods.
• The skills of networking and selling determine the altitude of the sales volume for the street traders.
• The street entrepreneurs, irrespective of their religion, political orientation, and caste, are not communally tensed at each other and, on the contrary, demonstrate social cohesion with each other.
• Most of the street traders belong to the lower strata in the social hierarchy in Mumbai, and they usually and ancestrally do not have a stronger educational and financial background.
• The street vendors are employed for 8 to 10 hours per day, and their wages do not stagnate, except during the recession experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic times. 
• The consumers, hunting for cheaper rates and durable goods, who often visit the street for shopping or purchases belong to the myriad profile and do not necessarily come from the non-elite strata, as assumed.
• The street entrepreneurs are mostly immigrants from regional states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
• The street entrepreneurs possess sound contacts with their supply chain managers, police and other municipal officers for seamlessly enterprising.
• The genre of competition that they largely follow is heterogeneous competition without much oligarchic intervention from one another.

The spirit of street entrepreneurship, as we understand and culminate from the above comprehension, indicates the scope of horizontal cooperation and more importantly, it highlights the exemplary case of decentralisation and youth participation.