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Doing own business is a luxury that only a few can afford. It is not easy to let go a fixed income giving opportunity (say a job) and dive into something that takes years of efforts and a lot of money before delivering good income and that too there's no guarantee.
But what if you can do both? It is surely a tough proposition but not entirely impossible. One of the top individual distributors in India Nikhil Vasudev Thakkar started his distribution business in 2004 alongside with his job as a branch head of a life insurance firm and continued juggling between the two roles till he established a good revenue source from mutual funds.
"I was enjoying my job but I also wanted to do something of my own. I worked for 14-15 hours for almost 9 years (2004 to 2013) to perform well on both the fronts," he said.
However, the Anand-based MFD says distributors should not go for the 'job plus business' model unless necessary. "It is never a good idea to sail in two boats. I left my job at a time when it was paying Rs.20 lakh annually and my distribution income was only a fraction of it. However, I am happy that I took the call. From Rs. 44 crore in 2013, my AUM has multiplied to Rs. 517 crore now. All thanks to the dedicated effort I could put in post leaving the job," he said.
'Focus on senior citizens'
For salaried people planning to start distribution on the side, Thakkar suggested a 'senior citizen' focused approach to build a sizeable corpus in less time.
The MFD said senior citizen take more time to understand things but ‘once you win their trust they can be a strong source of business’.
"Senior citizens can give you a sizeable corpus early. They have saved money whole life and hence have a large corpus. By serving them, you also save yourself from the hassle of constant queries. They are not tech savvy so they won't be looking up on the internet and coming to you with questions like why I do not have this fund and why my fund is not the best in the category," he explained.
IAPs with ‘soon to retire’ employees of companies are the best way to find the right prospects, believes Nikhil. “You can also approach them in parks and other public places where they spend their mornings,” he said.
“Once they agree to listen to you, explain the concepts patiently keeping their needs and interest at the front,” Thakkar added.
The advantage of on boarding farmers
More than 20% of Thakkar's clients are farmers and they never miss their SIP contribution. "Farmers are another segment which has been neglected. MFDs should focus on them. My experience with them tells me that they can be very serious when it comes to investments. I see my salaried clients skipping SIPs and withdrawing prematurely but not the farmers," the MFD said.
Explaining his approach towards farmers, Thakkar says he first tries to win over mukhiyas of villages and gets them to organise meeting with farmers. “Once a trustworthy person introduces you to them, the rest of the job becomes quite easy,” he said.
