StayWithUs, a boutique style B&B ( Bed & Breakfast) in Bangalore by Smita Agrawal

Entrepreneurial Story of Smita who founded StayWithUs located in bangalore

About:

  • SMITA AGRAWAL : FOUNDER: An Engineer by academics and an MBA drop out; a certification in Psychology from Harvard and about 12+ yrs. of professional slogging in the corporate world of IT & Investment Banking, Smita currently does something even remotely unrelated to any of these credentials. Embarking on the hospitality journey about 3 yrs. back, she is the founder of StayWithUs, a boutique style B&B ( Bed & Breakfast) in Bangalore. In her free time, Smita likes to dabble with colors on a canvas or sing and dance to let her fears roll away and well, also shed some extra cals!

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When Started: 02/11/2012
Location: Bangalore

What motivated you to start your Business?

Well, 2 reasons mainly. One, I travelled around the world and discovered that we in India heavily lacked a basic hygienic stay option at affordable rates for travellers. And two, my heart always went out to do something in this space. When I was 18, I went to write an exam for Hotel Management . I did clear it but my father revolted and wanted me to do something more ‘respectable’ which I think , in those days, meant being an Engineer or Doctor!

Tell us about your Business

StayWithUs is a mid to upper segment Bed & Breakfast ( you can also call it a guest house or Serviced Apartment, those terms being more popular here than B&B) which caters to all segments of travellers be it leisure or business, short or long or family travels. It’s also unique as our places provides very homely feel with equally professional service and there are no such B&B in Bangalore.

Tell us what an average day in your life looks like.

Hard to say as everyday can be different. I could be spending a whole day just meeting my guests, looking after the places, working with my staff or I could be sitting in one place and doing a lot of paper work , data analysis etc. Other days could be like a brain storming with myself or someone with similar interest or profession thinking about creative stuff that we could do to make our places more exciting and comfortable for travelers and our guests , some of who become our extended family and repeat guests.

One particular skill you got right and gave you best results.

I would think it is the ability of being on the other side and having experienced that for a very long time. Since I travelled a lot for work and pleasure when I was a part of corporate world, I understand the requirements and pain points of travellers well. Plus my background brings me an advantage of being tech savvy and apply that to achieve better results.

What have been your biggest challenges in running your Business so far? How did you overcome these challenges?

Training staff to international standards in this business. The levels of cleanliness, service etc. are so different and differently defined here that one has to make people unlearn and learn again and it is not easy!

I don’t think I have overcome it yet but I am doing things like creating manuals to list out every little thing and also getting hands on to show people how things need to be done. When your staff sees you doing trivial things like mobbing the floor, they feel an urge to get better and make sure they get it right.

What have you found the most effective way to get new clients?

We believe in doing our best and giving the best service and I think that’s the best way. Every now and then, we take the normal route of social media, online portals etc.

What advice do you give to other business owners?

Focus on being the best and making people happy even if that means losing a buck or two every now and then. Do something different and unique than the market.

How did you keep motivated through difficult times?

I suppose my passion for the work kept me going. Also my insane attitude of succeeding and the fear of failing as an entrepreneur may have contributed to it ! 🙂

What are your Marketing, Funding, and Team Building Strategy?

I guess we have discussed them above. We are self funded so far but will look for funding options soon. We just give our staff a lot of freedom and tell them that our guests are their guests. We preach them the ‘atithi devobhava’ principle of Indian hospitality.

Your Achievements?

I guess just having lived 3 happy years of Entrepreneurship ! And yes, a Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor

What’s your favorite quote?

do unto others what u want them to do unto you . Its stayed with me since childhood ( it used to be on a Steffi Graf’s poster in my room) and has always inspired me ( not sure if I live upto it though!)

Who inspires you?

My Dad for the fact that he was an achiever and pioneer but then he had bad times and lost it all. I want to be an achiever like him and learn from his mistakes to not make them myself.

Share your Business Philosophy?

Do it with your heart, atleast 80% of the time. If you do, 80% of the times you will succeed!

 Contact links

LinkedIn | Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Website

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