Page 181 - The Power to Change Anything

170 INFLUENCER

As a gentle but unrelenting rain starts to beat its tattoo on
the tin roof over the five Indian women, Tanika continues to
articulate her partially formed idea.
“You’re right; I can’t count on wig making. But I know of
a place that will buy hair and use the oil from the hair follicles
to make health products. I was thinking that if I could find new
ways to gather hair, I could sell it to that company and make
enough money to feed and clothe my family.”
“How do you propose to do that?” asked Payal, the shiest
of the five would-be entrepreneurs.
“I’ll gladly give you the hair from my hair brushes. It does
me no good,” said Damini, offering her support.
“So will I,” Kamara chimed in. “And I bet we could get all
of our neighbors to do the same.”
Tanika had thought about asking her neighbors for the hair
from their brushes and was encouraged to hear that her friends
would support her.
“I was thinking that maybe I could hire people to gather
hair from surrounding neighborhoods,” she explained.
“Yes,” Sankul agreed, “but how would you pay them?”
“Hire children,” Kamara proposed. “You wouldn’t have to
pay them much, and surely children can gather hair.”
“Toys!” Damini shouted. “Buy a batch of small plastic toys
and offer them to any child who brings you hair. That way
you’ll get hair for almost nothing, and the money from your
sales will be nearly all profit.”
And with that final addition to her original idea, Tanika had
all the elements of a business plan. Tanika secured a loan of
$20 and immediately bought a bag full of inexpensive plastic
toys. Then, much like an entrepreneurial Santa Claus, Tanika
trudged with her sack of trinkets from village to village.
“I’ll let you pick any toy you’d like from the bag if you’ll
bring me all the hair in your mother and sisters’ hair-
brushes,” Tanika explained to the first group of waifs she
encountered.