As The Companys Ceo, The Vision And Motivation Starts With Me

Snehdeep Aggarwal, 40, is CEO of Bhartiya International Ltd, a 100 per cent leather garments manufacturing company that has seen an average growth in its turnover by 50 per cent. His company won the Council for Leather Exports 1995-96 award for achieving exports worth $6.97 million. Aggarwal now plans to expand into shoes a related line for which his company is now busy scouting around for a foreign partner.

AT THE OUTSET

Aggarwal: It is tough to make money; easy perhaps to start a business. But making profits is not easy. And I went through the mill. I was born and raised in Amritsar, Punjab. My family was into the traditional business of dealing with spices and dry fruits. So from an early age I had a fair exposure to business.

 

But I yearned to create something on my own. Entering into carpet export was a logical choice then as Amritsar was one of the biggest carpet-making centres. In 1980, aged 23 and armed with a Masters in economics, I set out to put my plans into action.

INITIAL SETUP

My father lent me Rs 5,000 and the family garage which I converted into office. As I had no experience and no contacts, I faced bristling problems initially clients were hard to come by and official clearances took a long time. My first employee was a part-time typist whom I hired to do the letters for export registration, RBI permits, raising loans, and generally building up a customer base.

I had to do a great deal of travelling too for the last count, which took me to Germany, Italy and other parts of Europe on a stringshoe budget. I fixed meetings with as many as three customers a day to convince them that I can deliver the goods. I also used to make frequent trips to Mirzapur, Badoi and other carpet centres to see how they were made.

Getting large limits from banks at that time was not as easy as today. That took time arranging as well, and I used to spend a good deal of time in my fathers office to see how the bank system operated. After getting through the whole rigmarole of bureaucratic work, I was elated when all that leg work bore fruit in the form of a Rs 6,000 order from Germany. Within the next three years, my companys turnover touched Rs 6 crore.

BRANCHING OUT

Good business sometimes does not last. In the late 80s, terrorist activities reached heights and foreigners were debarred from entering the state. This hurt our operations. So in 1987 we decided to move to Delhi and formed Bhartiya Galecha Industries. In three years, our company achieved a turnover of Rs 6 crore. But by then we reached a saturation level and decided to diversify into leather garments, which is our mainstay today.

Carpets constitute only five per cent of our entire operations. We started out to achieve a 100 per cent growth and since have managed a 50 per cent annual turnover growth. We source our raw materials from Madras and have contracted four tanneries who work exclusively for us. In Delhi, skilled tailors are aplenty, so all you need is a good supervisor who can oversee the work.

TROUBLESHOOTING

In the exports line, foreign customers are tough when it comes to price negotiations, quality of goods and orders. When they fix July 10 as the date for shipment arrival, they mean July 10. If there is a delay of even a single day they threaten to cancel the order or ask for concessions. Thus, it is imperative to develop a work culture in the hearts of the employees and motivate them to work towards that goal. And quality, of course matters. Providing quality stuff is the only way to generate profits.

RULES TO PLAY BY

I did not have any formal training in business management. Maybe that would have honed me with tools to make my company grow bigger or quicker, I dont know. But I compensated for that by avidly reading business magazines and inculcating some of the practical tips I found in these articles.

I have always believed in playing by fair rules. Being straight and fair is important. If you do that, the sky is the limit. If you dont, you get into a mesh of controversy and you will not be able to grow. Added to that if you can motivate people to work, you can do wonders. Meeting deadlines, apart from emphasis in quality goods, is the sureshot key to success in the exports line. It requires a mix of hard work, intelligence and exposure.

(As told to Maitreyee Handique)