Dealing A Full Hand Of Businesses

Setting up my own business was not just an idle dream it was in my blood. But the family business of motor financing was not to my taste. So I tried my hand at contracting as soon as I graduated in civil engineering in 1967 from BITS Pilani. Although unhappy, my father gave me Rs 1.5 lakh and helped me land a contract job for Jammu Airport. But instead of making money, I lost Rs 25,000.

At this point, my friends from Pilani were heading for Germany and I decided to join them no visa was required and it was easier to get a job there than in the US or the UK. My father, irked by my refusal to join the family business, refused me further help. Just married, I had to sell my wifes jewellery to buy our tickets. I left India in 1968, determined to prove that I could make it all on my own.

 

My first job in Germany was as a labourer, earning DM5 an hour. I soon landed a job as a consultant but was fired within a week. I then became a draughtsman, earning DM700 a month with MAN, an MNC into construction, diesel engines and ships. Within a year, I picked up the language and was transferred to their sites. At the site, a lot of time was wasted sending the drawings back to the head office for details like the location of the last pin and nail. I started adding these details on site. Impressed, the company posted me to their Argentina plant for a 2-3 year stint. After this, I returned to Germany with savings of DM100,000, and quit.

With my savings, I set up a store for Indian garments and handicrafts in Heidelberg. It was smooth sailing since I had built contacts with Indian exporters and used my weekends to earn extra cash by selling at weekend bazaars. I was now earning DM 6,000-7,000 a day; but realised that it was time to return to India before our kids education posed a problem. Settling abroad was simply out of the question.

So we packed our bags and after a decade in Germany, returned to India with DM200,000 and a Mercedes. My success in the garments trade led me to form an equal partnership with an exporter he used to supply garments to me in Heidelberg. Things started off on a high note as even the banks rolled out the red carpet. But a year later, a consignment of moth-eaten carpets worth Rs 10 lakh escaped our scrutiny. We suffered huge losses and the partnership was dissolved. I sold my car for Rs 12 lakh, investing Rs 10 lakh in 10 acres of Laldora farmland near Mehrauli.

At this point, I met five friends from Pilani and we started a company, Utility Engineers, each putting in a seed capital of Rs 20,000. We operated from a garage, taking on small contracts for electrical installations or air-conditioning in houses.

Then came the turning point with the Asiad in 1982. We got the tender for the electrical and airconditioning installation for the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Talkatora Stadium and Hyatt Regency a project worth Rs 4 crore simply because we were the lowest bidders against competitors like Voltas and Bluestar. Needless to say we had to borrow a lot of money from the market to complete the job. This was the beginning of contracts like the Som Vihar apartments for Rs 8 crore. My friends went overboard with borrowings for their high personal expenditure and started a public issue. Differences arose and I pulled out after selling my five lakh shares for Rs 20 lakh.

I then started setting up a series of companies. Operating from my house in the farm area, I set up Empire Builders who took on contracting jobs for Garden Estate and Tata Energy Research Institution in Haryana, followed by developing the rest of the area I had as Empire Estate. Since then I have been purchasing land, developing it, selling it and then moving on to a new project. Gradually, I also diversified into trading, exports, and most recently in timeshare resorts.

I guess what has helped me is my firm policy of not borrowing money but growing within my own resources. That is why I first create, sell and only then move on to a new project. Of course, when I first started, money was the only goal I had. Now, I enjoy my work but the focus is now on creating and leaving behind some landmarks, if possible.

l (As told to SARIKA DANDONA)