Chapter 1 — Year Four Begins
Ravi starts the year with real confidence.
It is the beginning of Year 4. Ravi is optimistic. His cafe has become part of the neighbourhood — regulars greet him by name, tables are full every single day, and he has not seen an empty seat in over two years. He begins to reflect on the decision that started it all.
Choosing the right location was not luck — it was analysis. The proximity to offices, colleges and the metro had given him a structural advantage that competitors could not easily copy. Location had become his competitive moat.
Chapter 2 — Back to His Analyst Days
Ravi decides to use a framework he knows well.
Ravi remembers a model he used regularly as a financial analyst — Porter's Five Forces. He had used it to analyse businesses from the outside. Now he decides to use it on his own cafe, to understand exactly where his competitive position is strong and where it is vulnerable.
Porter's Five Forces examines five pressures on any business: the power of suppliers, the power of customers, the intensity of competition, the threat of new entrants, and the threat of substitute products.
Chapter 3 — Analysing the Forces
Ravi works through each force one by one.
Suppliers pose no threat — he has multiple vendors and no single dependency. His customers are loyal daily regulars with high switching costs. Competition is limited — one rival 300 metres away with inferior food and lower footfall. New entrants are the real risk, since the barrier to opening a cafe is low. Substitutes are manageable — homemade food or other nearby options.
The analysis gives Ravi a clear picture. His position is strong, but not invincible. The low entry barrier means a well-funded competitor could open nearby at any time. His best defence is to deepen customer loyalty before that happens.
Chapter 4 — His Customer Base
Three groups, three different needs, one business.
Ravi maps his three customer segments. Office workers — 60% of revenue — come every weekday morning and spend Rs.180-220 per visit. Students fill the afternoons and evenings with smaller but frequent orders. The weekend crowd brings families and couples with the highest average ticket size.
Understanding your customer segments tells you when to staff up, what to put on the menu, and where to focus your energy. Ravi now knows exactly who his business depends on.
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