Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The Transformation - From Employee to Employer...

I graduated from ISB with one short-term goal in mind. I planned to stay with OW for a year and then start my own company, a publishing house [Will talk about my long-term goal when time is right for it]. But entrepreneurship is all about grabbing opportunities at the right time and I saw one in October 2009 and clung to it. It did not take me long to put in my papers and go ahead with what I wanted to do in life.

I was inundated with criticisms from almost everyone – from my closest of friends to my closest of relatives. Feelings of some showed concern while those of others smacked of anxiety (for some spicy gossip).

“Why are you leaving such a high – paying job? Carry on with it and run your new company side-by-side,” my parents said when I apprised them of my decision.

“I have done so many things because somebody else wanted me to. Now, I want to listen to my heart and do what I want to. No salary, however high it may be, can now keep me from it. To answer you second question, if I start a company, I would want it to be the best in not just India but the entire world. Achieving this will be difficult if I worked part-time. I am getting into it full-time,” I said.

“Well, then why the hell do you want to start a publishing company? You are so qualified,” my parents said.

“Do you think Nestle is a good company?” I asked.

“Yes, it is. Do something like it.”

“What does Nestle do?” bang came my second question.

“It analyzes the market to understand market needs, decides the product attributes, manufactures the products and sells it through distributors and retailers.”

“Bang on! And this is almost what my company is going to do. The only difference is that Nestle’s products are chocolates, etc and my company’s products would be books, etc.”

I don’t know where that reply came from but it sure did its job.

After quitting my job in Dubai, I had been to my would-be in-laws’ home to meet my fiancé. My in-laws first lectured my fiancé about convincing me to join a job and forget about business. Once that failed, I was called into the hall by my parents-in-law and one of my elder sis-in-laws.

“Why are you quitting? Do not run away from problems. Face them. Further, the people of our community can never be good businessmen. Don’t be rigid. Join your job back. There is no “business line” in your palm,” my in-laws argued.

“Well, well…I am not running away from problems, I am running towards them. Entrepreneurship is one of the toughest things to take up. Jobs are easy. When I am dying, I do not want to have a feeling that I wanted to do something but ended up doing something else. I wouldn’t be able to reverse the time then and make it roll again. I want to die content and rich. I do not want a nice apartment in a posh locality; I want a bungalow there. I do not want a Honda City in my garage, I want BMW, Audi, Porsche and Ferrari in it. Regarding the community thing, I do not really believe in communities that much but if you all do believe in them, there’s always a first time. Let me set the trend for others in the community. As for the “business line” on my palm, I have heard old lines change and new lines appear; my “business line” will appear soon.” I replied.

I knew what was bothering my in-laws and my guess transformed into a fact that day itself.

When none of their arguments worked, my mother-in-law said,

“Son, nobody would like to marry her/his daughter to a guy who is jobless.”

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard this. My mom-in-law is the sweetest human-being I have ever met in my life and I knew she loved me even more than she loved her daughters. And this is probably why her comment hurt so much. Whether that comment was just a trick to persuade me to join my job back or it was their serious concern, I still do not know.

I replied, “Marry your daughter to me only when you are convinced that I can take care of her financial needs. I know you think you will not feel proud of me the way you have been feeling for the past one year because in your views, I will be a jobless guy as you are not used to the idea of entrepreneurship. I know you are feeling embarrassed because you have already advertised about my current salary to your family and friends, and are thinking what you would tell them now. But should I change my decision just because of this? It is only me who is responsible for my future. I am pretty sure you would not want to take the blame for ruining my life if anything goes wrong in the future. I will listen to everyone…imbibe only that which is positive for I can’t afford negativity…and do what I think is right. I have already taken a decision and I will not change it.”

It was difficult for my parents and parents-in-law to adjust to my idea of entrepreneurship. My sis-in-law even forwarded my CV to a software company she worked in, in Pune. The HR head had called me up and interviewed me. I did enjoy the interview experience but after the interview he asked me,

“So, what are your salary expectations?”

“30 lakhs p.a,” I replied.

That guy lost words for a minute and said he would get back to me later. Man, I laughed my heart out. I told my fiancé about it and she told her sister. Her sister was mad at me like anything. She purportedly responded,

“What does Abhishek think of himself? Who the hell is he? I am trying to help him and he is acting smart?”

I never cared to reply because I was not answerable to her. I was answerable to my soul. I told my fiancé that I did not need anyone’s help. I know what I have to do and I will do it.

That night when all this happened, I took my fiancé Isha for a drive to marine lines.

“Isha, do I have your support?” I asked.

“Yes Abhi! I am there with you in whatever you do and I will never leave you alone. We will face this phase together,” she replied.

I never grilled her deep on this issue and she never expressed exactly what she felt about my plan. It was only later when I came to know what I couldn’t tacitly understand.

All this while, I always had two wonderful people supporting me unconditionally in my decision. One was of course, Isha and the other was my elder brother Anurag. When I had told him of my decision, his reply was, “When you have already taken a decision, there is no looking back. Go ahead bro! I am there with you.”

Eduwiser Publishing Group was then born with its Head Office at New Delhi and branch office at Patna. Name sounds good, doesn’t it??? We brainstormed a lot and came up with a lot of names. But this one was suggested by Anurag who is one of the most creative guys I have ever worked with.

What is Eduwiser about??? Well, we publish books, educational software, novels etc. Our job involves product conceptualization and design, production, manufacturing (printing), marketing and sales through different channels (distributors, retailers, online etc).

I knew I was just facing the strong, gusty winds of questions at the shore of an ocean of problems waiting to gulp me.

Aal is well, aal is well is what I said and set off into that ocean!!!

If you have any questions/comments, you can interact with me on www.facebook.com/abbyshekchandra