The Early Bird Offer May Not Be Risk Free
We laud and applaud pioneers in any field.
We get to see early bird offers these days, particularly for booking an apartment or when a new product is launched.
An appreciation of your adventurous spirit.
This shloka makes you take a second look.
The shloka says:
If you are in a group, don't be at the front if the whole group is going to be benefited in the same way.
Say an apartment complex with 100 flats. After it is fully occupied, you are getting the same amenities as everyone else.
If you are the first one to book or even among the first few to book, your risk is more because certain issues come up only after the project is launched, like somebody puts a stay, or a certain legal requirement is not met, or something is wrong with the permissions.
When this happens, then it becomes known to the public that, okay, that project has some problem—it is stuck in some problem. Don't get into it.
The early bird offer is meant to lure people to be the first—maybe a 10% discount or free furnishing for the first few. But our wise elders say it is not worth it. Sometimes, your whole investment gets stuck. You may even take a loan and have to continue paying the EMI in spite of the project being uncertain. It is your liability, right?
To be ahead in the group, you don't have any particular advantage except maybe for the early bird benefit. But if the untoward happens, you are the one to be struck. Others run away looking at you. Is it worth it?
Same everywhere, even in most businesses.
Which was the first social media? Six Degrees. Have you even heard about it? Am I Hot or Not? Friendster? Pioneers, all gone. The industry that they created is now ruled over by Facebook, Twitter. Their investments are gone.
Take a taxi driver. He starts parking his car in a new location, hoping to find customers. The first few days, nothing happens. Nobody would even think about looking for a taxi at that location. They would go to the regular taxi stand. Then they see him every day, parked there. Slowly, the business develops.
Then, seeing the opportunity, a second fellow comes, a third fellow comes. In some time, it becomes a regular taxi stand. But no customer is going to say that he was the first, so he should be the first choice.
The risk that he took, the revenue loss—nobody is going to compensate him. Once the taxi stand is set up, he doesn't get any advantage.
The advantage of the latecomers is that they get to see the mistakes made by the pioneers and then take care that they don't do the same thing.
English
Practical Wisdom
Click on any topic to open
7
30
Astrology
Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavatam
Bharat Matha
Devi
Devi Mahatmyam
Ganapathy
Garuda Puranam
Glory of Venkatesha
Hanuman
Kathopanishad
Mahabharatam
Mantra Shastra
Mystique
Practical Wisdom
Purana Stories
Radhe Radhe
Ramayana
Rare Topics
Rigveda Explained
Rituals
Sages and Saints
Shiva
Spiritual books
Sri Suktam
Story of Sri Yantra
Temples
Vedas
Vishnu Sahasranama
Yoga Vasishta
26
17
10
0
