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Gender – Male
Age – 48 years
I was born in Mumbai and spent most of my childhood there. However, due to
an ill-fated occasion, my family and I had to relocate to Vapi, a primitive city in
Gujarat. As a result, I did secondary schooling from there. After this, we
moved to Chennai for a year and stayed with my mother’s relatives briefly. We
returned to Mumbai and I pursued my graduation here.
What is your family background like and who would you say,
had a remarkable influence on you growing up and how?
After pursuing my BCom from Raheja college, I started working for a sales
organization, “Vaswani Ltd,” to attain hands-on experience as to what it would
be like to start my own company in the future. My objective was to sell fax
machines, attend to customer problems etc. However, I soon realized that this
company won’t survive in the market and my growth will get stagnated as the
fax was a dying product. Consequently, I started working with a chartered
accountant “KP Shah”. My work was basically related to auditing. Next, I
received an offer to work as the manager of a gift shop called “Pineapple” in
Jamaica, West Indies and I decided to try my luck. In order to work in
Jamaica, I needed a work permit which was taken care of by the company.
After a few years, when I was convinced of my potential in this field, I
established my own business in Jamaica itself. However, I had to apply for a
new work permit because I was starting something of my own. I opened a
retail shop by the name of “Giftopia”, where I sold souvenirs and merchandise
to tourists.
The location of your business plays an important role too. Since Montego Bay
is tourist capital of Jamaica; opening a shop/business here is definitely
rewarding. However, buying a shop isn’t feasible since the commercial/real
estate prices are prodigious! Hence, renting is the only option.
The cost of living in Jamaica is pretty high, hence, in the initial years one can
neither save much nor afford to keep one’s family in Jamaica. It takes a little
time for your business to start functioning smoothly.
On a daily basis, I spend about 8–10 hours at the shop. Sometimes, I have to
work more to take care of order, customs, etc.
I work all 7 days, however, on Sunday’s, I just check up on the shop to make
sure everything is alright and attend to any extra or unanticipated, last minute
orders.
In your opinion, what are some benefits that would encourage
an individual to consider retail business as a profession?
This career has provided me with financial security. I don’t need to worry
about my family being deprived of anything, which has always been my
principle priority.
I spend about 4–5 months in Jamaica, working incessantly. After this, I return
to India and spend 2–3 months with my family. During these months, I get to
spend quality time with my family and my sole focus is on them. So, I’m able
to bring work demands and family time to a perfect equilibrium.
Since Jamaica is a tourist island, I also get the opportunity to interact with
people coming from different parts of the world, which is an enthralling
experience.
Also, you should be the kind of person who likes to step out of your comfort
zone, taking up an array of challenges and one who refrains from being shy
since you have to deal with different sorts of foreigners here.
Traveling back and forth if you haven’t settled there might become exhausting
after a certain period of time, too.
However, if your personality type doesn’t fall into the latter, you’d be happy
doing what you do!
On the other hand, you get to spend quality time with your family, thus, you
enjoy a balanced life. Work and family have their own places and neither gets
neglected, really.
A person pursuing this career should harbor patience since this line doesn’t
assure immediate growth and a commendable income.
So, if you’re the kind of person whose personality fits with these points, you’re
good to go.
I knew I had a lot of potentials, however, after my dad passed away, a lot of
responsibilities fell on me and I couldn’t afford to think about my interests. I
had an entire family to take care of.
However, as of now, I’m pretty content with the way things are turning out, so
no complaints from my side!
Do not lose that drive, that passion of yours. If that disappears, you won’t be
able to decipher the meaning of the course you’ve chosen. If you’ve chosen to
pursue this path, stick to it. Yes, there will be hurdles on the way, but if you’re
committed to your ambition, you cannot go wrong anywhere.
Always remember, the real world is extremely different from what you imagine
it to be. Sometimes, it’s not the path, but the destination that matters.
Liked this article? Check out our conversation with Sanjeev Gulati who runs a
retail sports shop in Mumbai.
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