SDEI Alumni - Our Newest Batch of Entrepreneurs...
Our Newest Batch of
Entrepreneurs Take the Market by Storm
Guru Jaswant K Khalsa
At 17, a lot of kids are floating around the States in search of their goals and their souls. Here’s a story about how some of the newest members of the SDEI Alumni Association have exhibited incredible entrepreneurial spirit, and then some.
In 1996 and 1997, Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar, India, had a cafe (snack bar), where kids of all ages flocked to chow down on treats. The cafe was run by a succession of school administrators, local shopkeepers, or senior class students, but was plagued by problems - thievery, bad snacks, and melting ice cream.
That changed when Hargobind Singh and 4 other students took over. In the 1997-98 school year, Hargobind Singh of Virginia and Siri Amrit Singh of Florida managed to completely re-vamp the cafeteria. They ran the cafeteria in what little spare time they had, taking over all of the processes from making deals with distributors and a local bakery to bookkeeping and inventory tracking.
Hargobind Singh Khalsa, class of 2000, and a group of four other young adults captured the boarding school snack bar (cafe) market with their business savvy.
In 1997, the original cafe crew hooked themselves up with distributors in town. Actually, at first they went about it an unusual way - they happened to see a cycle rickshaw man making a Coca Cola delivery and asked him how they could start buying it at a reduced price. A favorite bakery called La Pattisserie also became a target for the young businessmen, and daily deliveries were made for some time to the cafe at school, which is at least 20 km from Amritsar proper.
Last year, the cafe had its best year ever. With an able staff of 5 twelfth class students, Simran Singh, Sadh Bakshish Kaur, Harimander Jot Singh, and Hargobind Singh and long time cafe veteran Siri Amrit Singh, the cafe roared with life. By the end of the year they had a pool table, a couch, tables and chairs, and a huge aquarium - it was like a home away from home.
The overall benefits of these students’ entrepreneurial spirit were most commendable - they not only created a wonderful, well-organized and creative space for the kids at Miri Piri Academy, they also benefited many local businesses, thus serving their larger community.
The SDEI Alumni Association is pleased to feature our up-and-coming alumni and alumni families in future issues of Prosperity Paths. SDEI is a non-profit organization that directs Sikh Dharma’s programs for young people. The Alumni Association is dedicated to supporting our young people through scholarships and other programs. If you would like further information about the Alumni Association, please contact us at: 0-1A Ram Das Guru Place, Espanola, NM 87532, via email at [email protected], or per telephone at (505) 753-8604