PIVOT in my business life – (Part II)

As discussed in the last blog, every business has a certain life span. After that there is a pivot in every business, which demands a business to upgrade, change and adopt. Those who do so scale up and make further progress. Those who don’t upgrade eventually have to shut their businesses.

As promised in the last blog, here is the story of PIVOT IN MY BUSINESS LIFE –

When I completed my education from Australia and came back to India in 2004, my father had already bought a place where I would be running the tiles and sanitary business in name of Jain Ceramics (JC). It would be an extention to our family business of marble and stone – Jain Marble Industries.

We started JC in 2005 with blessings of family and loved ones. Over the years, we created that niche in our segment with exclusive collections for architects, interior designers and those who were doing their personal homes/ offices. Yes, there were people who were older (in terms of years in business) and did more business than us, but we did fairly well too.

I managed to pay off the bank loan, gifted a Mercedes Benz sedan to my dad on his birthday, and partly funded a flat at Udaipur, and other relatively smaller expenses. Things looked good and set for the future. I thought that this was what I was going to do all my life.

But in about 2017-18, we started to see a steep decline in sales at JC. This was the time when Make in India was being promoted and Indian Ceramic industry in Morbi emerged from shackles. The younger generation at Morbi took over and bought better technology and spent extensively on R&D. As a result our Indian tiles were easily available, reasonably priced and were better quality products than ever before. At JC, our margins were more on imported tiles from China and Europe. Hence apart from decline in sales, margins too shrunk.

I saw no future in this industry. I felt sales will always be there, but margins might be even murkier in near future. Also, it became more redundant and boring for me to come to office and do trading of goods. By that time I had also realised that I like to do more creative things, than same repetitive things. My interest in JC diminished.

I discussed the issues at JC with my dad. After a few conversations and discussions, in Feb 2019, we decided to shut JC and handover the space for a long-term lease. It was an emotional decision, as I had invested about 15 years of my life there. Also, it was the only source of income for me. I really had little clue on where the money was going to come from once I have moved from here. Yes, family was always there to support; yet you always want to have your things sorted.

On winding up JC, I joined my dad at Jain Marble Industries. While I would come and go everyday, that thought of having something of my own, which was creative, kept coming to me over and over again. After some thinking and planning, I decided to work on this product called – Microtopping Concrete, which was a small part of our offering at JC.

It is a coating of concrete over an existing surface, without breaking anything. Microtopping was new and going to involve application too – something, which I had never done before. I was going to need a totally fresh skill set. It would need material understanding, technical expertise, marketing, and the toughest thing – find good applicators for coating and finishing. While there were many apprehensions, yet I had to take a step forward.

For me, 2017-18 was the year of PIVOTING TIME in the business of JC. The indications were loud and clear. When I connect to Ganeshprasad’s video, here is what made that shift to The Concrete Works possible inspite of doubts –

• This was the time where recession was prevalent – the best time to start with something new
• This paradigm shift was due to economical reform of demonetization
• I thought my supply chain (my customer base) was perfect, but the product needed to change to something, which was niche and yet need of the hour (microtopping concrete in this case)

We named our company – THE CONCRETE WORKS (TCW). The idea was to become an expert in the field of Microtopping Concrete with right knowledge, right product, and genuine execution of it. There were a few players in this field too. But they were missing either – right knowledge, right product to suit Indian conditions or were cutting corners to make extra profit.

Today after two years, I feel very happy for the step I took. The anxious moments seem to be over. Concrete Works has earned a good name for itself. We get calls from the best architects and interior designers in the country. At times, their designs depend on what we tell them is possible or not. Work is no more restricted just to Pune, but across the length and breadth of the country. We have a lot of repeat clients, which just tells us that they are happy with what we did for them in their earlier projects.

I feel we have just begun and it’s a long road ahead. There is much more to do and achieve. But there is more excitement of the possibilities and less pressure to achieve.

When I look around, I find a lot of businesses that are being carried forward generations after generations. With the modern times changing so fast, those traditional businesses will no longer sustain. Either they are already burning out or they eventually will. As a business owner, we must appreciate and accept the paradigms shifts that are happening.

It is time we clean the slate! We need to start thinking afresh. I am not saying that you change your existing business (though that can also be an option if you see no future in the business you are in). What you were doing even five years ago needs an upheaval for sure. This is what Ganesh calls as ‘pivoting time for a business!’

Since we are still in lockdown, this is a good time to talk to yourself. Be naked! Ask yourself tough questions regarding your business/ profession –

• Do you think what you are doing has a life of atleast three more years from today?
• Do you enjoy doing what you are doing?
• Are you in sync with the paradigm shift in your field?

Take a decision depending on the answers you come up with! I know it is tough to make a choice when future is uncertain. But then we only have one life to live and one lifetime to show results in business! Let it be the BEST OF YOU!

#Pivot #Business #family business #architects #interior designers #homes #offices #Indian #Ceramic #Morbi #China #Europe #future #creative #Microtopping #concrete #paradigm shift