Here are three Personal Finance lessons that restaurateur Ashish Kapoor swears by

Indians share a unique and authentic relationship with food. I’m sure most of us, at some point in life, have dreamt of owning a restaurant that served our favorite delicacies. Restaurateur Ashish Kapoor shares a similar passion for food. But unlike most of us, he converted this passion into a mouth watering reality.

Kapoor is the founder of Moods Hospitality, an entity which owns a range of restaurants across India. The Wine Company, Whiskey Samba and Antares are some of his successful ventures. Money9 asked him to give three personal finance lessons that helped him in his journey and can help young entrepreneurs manage their money better.

Put your own money at risk

Kapoor kickstarted his business with Yo! China, a Chinese food brand, in 2003. It received phenomenal response in the initial months but failed to keep up the momentum. Going by his experience of near bankruptcy, Kapoor learnt a few important lessons and one of them was: “Always invest your own money in the business so that your neck is on the line. Put your money where the risk is, it’ll hurt less.”

No harm in slowing down

When the business is down, don’t mess with your finances. Take it slow. Rework on the idea, research better and invest after careful examination of what went wrong. “There is nothing wrong in slowing down during a rough patch. Speed up only when you’re making good profits, otherwise you’ll continue incurring losses,” said Kapoor.

You are always learning

Like most other things, understanding and managing personal finance takes time.

“You have to take care of your family and pursue your professional dreams as well. Learn from your mistakes, have the right intend and you’ll make it through successfully,” Kapoor asserted.