The Way I Work: G.S. Bhalla, Horizon Group

When he was a little boy, his granny joked that G.S. Bhalla should be married off to a confectioner’s daughter—such was his sweet tooth. His first-ever entrepreneurial venture at the age of seven also had a sugar coating to it. His limited allowance prompted him to lend his comic books to neighbourhood kids and buy ice cream lollies in exchange. The taste for sweet things stuck on and Bhalla figured the only way to satisfy his cravings would be to set up his own brand of confectionery. Identifying a rising class of young and health-conscious eaters, who are not too keen on licking off the calories from a tempting ice-cream swirl, Bhalla decided to offer a healthy alternative. And what better as a treat than an innocent cup of frozen yoghurt, liberally topped with berries, and other wholesome goodies like seasonal fruits and crumbled cookies. It’s definitely got Cocoberry, his frozen yoghurt chain humming, with Bhalla looking to even take the brand abroad. His next big dream—a Cocoberry vending machine at home to satisfy his nightly sweet cravings.

In an ideal world, I would be awake at sunrise, or 6am sharp. But that rarely happens because I don’t have a fixed bedtime. Usually, I don’t sink into my bed till about one in the night. It might stretch beyond that, depending on how many e-mails are stacked up in my inbox and whether there are late-night meetings with overseas clients and associates. I really wish I were one of those guys who can make do with just three or four hours of sleep. Unfortunately, I am not. My laziness is a weakness. By 6.30am, I finally manage to drag myself out of bed. I am not a fitness freak, but I do try to squeeze in a visit to the gym or a round of squash in the morning if I wake up early enough. I like to have a light breakfast, usually cereals or eggs, and then help get my children ready for school by 8am.

My BlackBerry remains silent till 6am. It’s a great tool and my mini-office. But it’s also important to prevent it from ruling my life. Though I read my mails in the morning, I like to answer back only when I am on my way to the office. The commute is short, but on most days the traffic is so messy that I get quite a bit done.

I am at work before 11am every day. Once there, I kind of sink in instantly. I am not much of a meticulous planner but there is usually a clear to-do list to go by. Business by nature is a serious matter. You can have fun only if you enjoy what you do. There is also another thing—I do believe in my product strongly. My daughter and I are its biggest fans. If I could install a vending machine at home I would. One day when I have a big enough house, I will have a Cocoberry machine installed. I really love having frozen treats at night.  

Cocoberry grew from two concepts—cocoa and berry. But, so far, the cocoa’s been “berried” (no pun intended here). When I conceptualised the brand, it was supposed to cover organic beverages, such as tea, coffee and cocoa drinks. The berry bit was about the creamy yoghurt. That took off really well. Sales were great from day one. So, we decided to focus on that. We still offer a range of beverages. In fact, one day, we hope to justify the cocoa bit better by introducing a wider range. Personally, I love the original, plain yoghurt with fruity toppings. Our toppings are pretty good, if I may say so myself. What’s really great about the plain yoghurt is that one can mix-and-match any topping with it.

As an entrepreneur, I get to don several hats at office but as the “chief” of my ship, strategising is my biggest role. I am also largely involved in the business from an innovation standpoint. I think if one remains busy, one plans better and, therefore, has time to do more.

I am a non-believer of breaks. Office means a series of back-to-back meetings. Or, it means a fair amount of travelling."

I travel a lot on work, roughly 100 days in a year. Most of this is to expand our chain, which is my biggest concern right now. A lot of time goes in scouting for new locations and meeting up with potential franchisees. If I am in a city which already has Cocoberry outlets, I make sure I visit those. I rely heavily on my gut feeling when it comes to choosing new locations for Cocoberry. And that has not failed me till now. On very rare occasions, travel happens over weekends but I try and avoid that. Ideally, Sundays are sacrosanct family time.

As businesses grow, they become more organised and the processes get streamlined. I hope the same will happen to us. Eventually, my travel days will get shorter. Right now, I need to network, meet new clients and take Cocoberry to more Indian cities. By the end of this year, we will cross the 100 mark as far as the number of outlets are concerned. By 2012, the plan is to take Cocoberry to 10 more cities. In the next three years, we also want to find a foothold in the Middle East and Southeast Asian markets. So, there is a lot to pack into a working day.

I think it’s fascinating to watch a business grow.  It’s also wonderful to have your family around. They help you focus and get there. My brother, Inder, is our sales and marketing director. He joined us right after completing his MBA in the UK. My wife handles the company’s HR. My mum is also a part of Cocoberry. In fact, she’s my mentor. I always bounce ideas off her. She has been an entrepreneur herself, and worked with my grandfather. She’s helped him out in his business. I have learnt everything I know about handling money and managing finance from her. Having said that I also believe that I am a terrific salesperson. On days that my mum’s in office we try and do a family lunch. On other days, lunch is a five-minute affair, which happens sometime between 1.30 and 2pm, or whenever I get hungry. I am not fussy about food. I was a vegetarian for a few years in between. But, it made international travel difficult. I have gotten back to non-vegetarian food for that reason.

My wife and I work together. But, at office, I am definitely the boss. She might be practically next door in office, but we like to leave personal concerns at home. I am not saying we have perfected the office-home equation yet but we are getting there. I am a disciplined worker, and I expect the same from all my employees. Having said that I am a no-fuss boss, you don’t need to knock or make an appointment to have a word with me.

As a growing company, one of my biggest concerns is customer feedback. Facebook gives me a lot of that. The Cocoberry page has 120,000 “fans” and it’s growing very rapidly. The beauty of Facebook is that the feedback, negative or positive, is straight from the horse’s mouth. That really helps me sort out an issue, identify where things may have gone wrong, contact the concerned department and troubleshoot on a first–hand basis. I correspond with our customers via e-mail as well. I check our Facebook page easily a dozen times a day, definitely. But that said, I am not fanatical about it.

I take seven to eight holidays in a year. During those days, my time is completely reserved for my children.There is nothing more fun than packing up the kids and heading off to a place where we have never been before. Those are total guilt-free trips."

If I get my work done, what I do in my spare time is my business. I love travelling. My favourite holiday destinations are Goa and London; the latter because it is steeped in culture and the former because it has both the sun and fun. Recently, we inaugurated an outlet in Goa. If I could work there for all 12 months, I would be really happy. Maybe that will be my retirement plan. 

Office ends by 7.30pm and I am home soon after. For the next hour, I am with my children. I don’t let things interfere with that. They go to bed pretty early after which it’s “me time”. I wish I could say I am a voracious reader but books pretty much put me to sleep immediately. I might pick up an autobiography of a famous politician, entrepreneur, or leader once in a while. But, that’s about it. I am a big Jeffrey Archer fan though. I missed meeting him when he was in the city recently. But, I’ll pick up his latest book when it releases.

I am basically an “outdoors” guy. I like to take my Trek for a ride. Lance Armstrong also owns one, and I get a kick out of telling people that. I love driving as well especially around the Chanakyapuri diplomatic area, but the traffic situation is such that it only happens over the weekend and that too very early in the morning. If I drove to office everyday, I would probably go a little insane. I also enjoy shooting. I am a member of the National Rifle Association of India. Whenever I am abroad, I try and check out some shooting ranges. 

Late nights are also a time when I catch my favourite sitcom, Friends. That half-an-hour dose of Friends, though they are re-runs, helps me relax. I invariably end up checking Cocoberry’s Facebook page before I switch off or glance through my inbox. I turn my Blackberry into silent mode by 11pm, and in another hour or so, I am off to sleep.