Yay, it’s the summer holidays,” said Aanya, as she threw back the bed covers and went to wake up her parents. She needed a gentle push from her mother to get up early when she had school, and then she would potter around the house grumbling at being woken up early. And now, at the start of her summer hols, she had got up bright and early all by herself.
Aanya went to a summer camp in the mornings, and then spend the evening at Grandma’s from where her parents would pick her up on their way back from work. Grandma would lavish her with love and undivided attention, and also tip her generously when she did a chore for her.
This time, Grandma asked Aanya to massage her aching feet. She had arthritis and her feet were swollen. Aanya massaged Grandma’s feet and noticed that the swelling was worse than usual.
“Nana, are you exerting yourself? Your feet are worse than when I was last here!”
Jammed!
“Oh Aanya, it’s this new business I have started. I sell home-made jams, jellies and cakes, and the constant orders keep me on my toes. But I’ve always wanted to start a business and be an entrepreneur. It’s hard on my old bones, but the work keeps me happy.”
“Grandma, I don’t understand. Why do you want to be an ‘aunty preener’? What is that?” But Grandma was already snoring, tired by the day’s work. The next day, Aanya arrived at Grandma’s to find her busy cutting up luscious guavas for her melt-in-the-mouth jams. Grandma gave her a sketchbook and a glass of pink guava juice. Aanya gulped it down, and then asked, “Grandma, why do you want to be an ‘aunty preener’?”
Grandma was puzzled, “What is ‘aunty preener’?”
“You said so yourself yesterday. You want to be an ‘aunty preener’.”
Grandma had a hearty laugh. Grandma explained, “An entrepreneur is a person who runs his or her own business. She buys or makes something and then sells it at a higher price, with a profit.”
“Wow! Sounds complicated”
“No, it isn’t. You are an entrepreneur — you massage my feet and I pay you for the service!”
“And do I make profit?”
“I would say you are doing extremely well.”
“So do you make 100 per cent profit Grandma?”
“Shhh, a good entrepreneur never reveals her profit. And I don’t make a 100 per cent profit. I need to spend on what goes into making the jams and then I add a slight profit margin to it and sell it to people like Aunty Indira, who lives next door. In fact, more than the profit, it is the look of sheer bliss on the faces of the children when they eat my jam that makes me happy!” “Oooh, nice Grandma! May I be your assistant and help you make jams and cakes for a profit?”
“Good idea! By the way, that would not be profit. It is “salary”, when you are employed by an entrepreneur!”
“Whoa Grandma! And what if we become partners and I share the profit?” said cheeky Aanya with a wink.
“That we will discuss in another 10 years my dear!” said a visibly amused Grandma.
