When you think about Mumbai, the first thing that comes to mind is Bollywood or Vadapav. However, if you ask a local about what sets Mumbai apart from other cities, they will probably tell you about their ‘dabbawalas’. Mumbai dabbawalas are considered local superheroes as they are known for their remarkable lunchbox delivery services from employees' homes to their offices. The Mumbai dabbawalas have served employees since the 1890s, helping them have a hot lunch straight from their homes daily. However, apart from their remarkable hard work, there is something else that people, especially investors, can learn from Mumbai’s dabbawalas: money management.

• Mumbai's dabbawalas are a renowned lunch delivery service that efficiently transports home-cooked meals in tiffin boxes from homes to offices.
• They are famous for their remarkable punctuality, efficiency, and accuracy in delivering thousands of home-cooked meals daily across Mumbai.
• By incorporating their skills into the investment process, investors can learn money management and investment lessons from Mumbai’s dabbawalas.

Mumbai's dabbawalas are a unique and highly efficient lunch delivery service that has operated for over a century. They deliver home-cooked meals in tiffin boxes from households to offices across Mumbai, using a complex, colour-coded system for tracking and delivering thousands of lunches daily. Despite limited technology, they maintain remarkable accuracy, and their logistics model has been studied by business schools worldwide for its efficiency.

Here are some money management and investment lessons from Mumbai’s dabbawalas:
 

Management of dabbas (investments)

Mumbai dabbawalas have the utmost management skills as they manage thousands of dabbas effectively every day. They have a simple rule for managing the dabbas: assemble, segregate, and deliver. You can use the same strategy when picking investments to add to your portfolio. As there are thousands of investment instruments, you need to identify them and narrow them down based on your investment goals, risk appetite and time horizon. Once you have picked the investment based on these factors, you can easily manage them without any problems as you know how to approach them if any of these factors change.
 

Journey needs patience

Mumbai is infamous for its traffic, which may force one to wait for hours on the road. Now imagine how Mumbai’s dabbawalas patiently navigate this traffic daily with hundreds of dabbas on their cycles and pull-carts. Similar to their journey filled with patience, your investment journey also needs patience to reach the set destination. As Mumbai’s traffic, the stock market also sees price fluctuations, and it is vital that you stay calm and patient and focus on reaching your set investment goals.
 

Risks are normal

Mumbai is known for its monsoon, where the rains are heavy, creating a humid environment. Although it is risky to be on the road during this season, the dabbawalas do not stop delivering dabbas even during this season. As per them, if you are willing to take calculated risks, it pays off well in the end. Investments are similar, where risk is directly proportional to the return potential. If you are willing to take a slightly high risk, it is possible to earn higher returns. However, the risk must be calculated and not extensive; it must be based on your set goals and risk tolerance.
 

Emotions lead to losses

Mumbai dabbawalas have a rule that they move on from customers who are lazy and hinder their daily schedule. This is because they feel that one customer should not lead to interrupted service to a majority of their other customers. This is a big lesson for investors, as they need to move on from investments that are not yielding good returns. One bad investment can bring down the profits made from other investments and hurt the portfolio negatively.
 

Be calculative

Mumbai’s dabbawalas calculate everything to deliver the dabbas on time and without fail. If it is running, they start their services some hours early to factor in the loss of speed due to the rain. If it is very hot outside, they start with shady areas when the sun is stronger and then go to areas with the highest sunlight. Being calculative is always beneficial while investing as it can allow for identifying investments with the highest return potential. Calculate the current volatility and the return potential through extensive research before investing.

Mumbai’s dabbawalas are considered a national treasure. With effective management, they have been delivering dabbas without fail for over a century. There is a lot to learn about management from Mumbai’s dabbawalas, which can help you make better investments based on your investment goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. If you are ever in Mumbai, reach out to a dabbawala and hold a discussion about management.
 

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