Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice organised a special zoom event on "Celebrating Entrepreneurship” on 29 July 2023. Founder Chair of the Asian Business Association, Chairman of the London Chamber of Commerce, Committee Member of the Bank of England Small Business Panel, OFWAT, and Commissioner to the Department of International Development of the UK government, Subhash V Thakrar, was a keynote speaker at the event. He shared useful information and tips about entrepreneurship, as well as discussed the challenges and limitations and how to overcome them.
At the beginning of the programme, Editor/Publisher of ABPL Group CB Patel said, "Agriculture was a stand-alone industry in India when it was an agrarian nation. Farmers used to cultivate grains, fruits, and flowers according to their suitability. Animal husbandry developed over time, along with a number of other innovations. Almost a million people who live in Britain today are self-employed or manage a small business. Gujaratis are always present in retail-wholesale, real estate, and many other sectors where doing business is profitable. With a few notable exceptions, many of us have a tendency to forget our cultures as we rise in our careers or businesses. In addition to Subhashbhai Thakrar, many more individuals rose to top positions in their chosen fields while maintaining their morals. I've been to Subhashbhai's house quite often; and his family gets together to recite the Gita.”
Gujarati’s are leading the economy in India: Thakrar
Thakrar said, "I want to thank CB Patel and the whole of the ABPL team for inviting me to speak on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebrations. Today, Gujaratis are leading the economy in India, and dominating businesses in East Africa. They are part of a very successful business community in the UK too.
“Business runs in the veins of Gujaratis’. Entrepreneurship can often take many other forms, including social activities, charitable endeavours, athletics and other similar pursuits. In business, when someone spots a certain opportunity in the market or in their surrounding circumstances, they might take advantage of those chances to generate money”, he added.
He said, “New opportunities and difficulties are constantly hovering above us. It's up to us to choose whatever opportunities we think we can take advantage of for a better result. These changes come about because of technological advancements, shifts in consumer preferences, laws and regulations, etc. So, entrepreneurs use their skills of perception and vision to develop a business idea from these changes. Steve Jobs founded the iPhone and iPad which many people use. People are getting addicted to their phone’s day by day. He saw that gap and utlised the opportunity. Another instance is Uber, a company that developed a way to connect drivers who want to use their vehicles as taxis with customers who want to hire them. Therefore, Uber itself does not own a single taxi. However, it is the world's largest taxi group. The use of technology and moving forward to create a very successful and lucrative firm is entrepreneurial.”
“I want to mention Rishi Patel and his company, Interpolitan Money, which has grown by 100% in the last 5 years. Being a member of the company's board, I am aware of this. He was able to identify a significant market gap brought about by legislative changes, which made conventional clearing banks less interested in offering banking services to clients from other countries. Interpolitan fills this gap for international businesses and individuals to open a bank account in the UK and avail banking service for them. Paresh Raja, who established the highly successful organisation MFS, discovered that there is frequently a significant gap between the moment when someone wishes to purchase a prime property in London and its execution. But by the time they arrange finances, many people miss out on the opportunity to own the property. He identifies this lacuna and fills this gap by offering bridging loans, which enable borrowers to acquire the necessary property within a week of receiving their funds”, he added.
He also shared, “Shamil Thakrar and his cousin Kavi Thakrar who hail from a family who are well known for their steel business, but they have created a new business opportunity in the hospitality industry and started a chain of an Indian restaurant named “Dishoom” across many locations in the UK. Due to its distinctive cuisine, it is loved by youngsters and international tourists.”
“In the UK, shops normally remain closed on Sundays. When Ugandans arrived, the scenario changed. Even though they were breaking the local council's rules, they opened their stores and even began operating on Sundays. However, people soon understood the advantages of Sunday sales, and the council's efforts to stop them did not succeed,” he said.
He stated, “I believe in my expertise, experience, and the fact that I have operated my own enterprises in addition to being a professional in my line of work, so I have the best of both worlds. So I’ll just go through some of the ideas that I want to share with you. Number one is identifying an opportunity”.
“An entrepreneur who has the ability to recognise an opportunity before others do. You can start a business at any time, including during a recession. As I mentioned before, Rishi Patel established his company during the Covid time and achieved 100% growth. Statistically, 20% of startups fail during the initial year, however, after 3 years, 60% of startups fail. That implies, an entrepreneur should be aware of the possibility of failure at all times. As a result, constantly consider the possibility of failure while adding possible ideas to your business. The financial viability of a business initiative must have been carefully considered by any successful business owner. Accountants are crucial to the success of any organisation. Every business owner has a positive view of how to grow their company, but an accountant will add some caution and moderation to keep the company in balance”, he emphasised.
He added, “Another point is market size. If you have a great idea but if the market is small then you cannot be successful. You should research more about the market size and what sort of characteristics can help the business flourish in that market. If you think your product is good, there are chances that five or six other people have similar ideas. In that case, your product should have a unique selling point (USP) that makes it different from your competitors. Along with that team building is one of the most crucial aspects of entrepreneurship. Everyone, including business entrepreneurs, has a limited range of skills. He can lack additional abilities, including those related to finances, technology, sales, and marketing. In that situation, he must organise the entire team around that idea. Similarly when starting a business, you need to hire skilled people that will be required. Another crucial factor is that an entrepreneur must be passionate about their business. They invest all of their time and energy into the business and almost live it. I often advise entrepreneurs that if they want to be successful, they're going to live and breathe the business,” he said.
Participants asked various questions during the Q&A session and Thakrar gave insightful comments about entrepreneurship.
I can fly with small wings, says CB Patel
At the end of the event, CB gave his insight about entrepreneurship. He said, “business is an empire that knows no bounds. I have made a few observations during the programme. Zydus is a big name in the Indian pharmaceutical and medical industries. I know Ramanbhai Patel and his son, Pankajbhai. Ramanbhai wrote beautiful poems and in one of the poems, he wrote about the basic principles of business - we can do small things, we can do big things, and the sky's the limit, but we don't.”
“Over the past 50 years, I have worked in the media and have visited countless houses. I can still recall between 500 and 700 names and phone numbers. Some of the familiar names include ,Tilda founder Naraharibhai and his wife Heeraben who considers me as her brother. Their elder son Rashmibhai passed away at a young age. Vipulbhai and other brothers are doing great work.
Speaking about the Dhamecha Group, he said, “The Dhamecha Family includes my lifelong friends Shantibhai, Khodidasbhai, and Jayantibhai. Currently, the Dhamecha Group is being managed by Pradeepbhai and his brother Manishbhai. In Kisumu, they had a retail store; they expanded their business, and despite having 8 to 10 warehouses now, the Dhamecha family continues to support noble causes.
“Another such family from the Waymade Group is Bhikhubhai, Vijaybhai Patel, and their mother, Shantaba. I recall Shantaba's struggle in Kenya's Eldoret. These brothers accomplished tremendous progress gradually. Progress is evolutionary and gradual. Vijaybhai became a chemist, while Bhikhubhai became an architect. They opened several stores and pharmacy properties in the UK and other countries.”
CB added, “Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice are no longer just a company; it now functions as a service hub for the community with help of Jyotsna Shah, Kishor Parmar, Kokila Patel, Mahesh Liloriya, Ann Hoose, Rupanjana Dutta and many more. Recently, Mahesh Liloriya honoured nearly a dozen Indian dignitaries in the House of Lords on February 6, March 6, and July 12. Among them were Govindbhai Dholakia, founder of Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd, Dr. Anju Kothari (MD) and Dr. Yogendra Kothari (Founder & Chairman) of Anuyog Hospitals and Research Centre Pvt Ltd, Manishbhai Maru (National President, Akhil Bharatiya Jain Divakar Navyuvak Sangathan Samiti ), Kamlesh D. Patel (Heartfulness Movement) the fourth spiritual Guide in the Sahaj Marg system of Raj Yoga meditation and many more.
At the end, CB, expressed his gratitude to each participant for joining the Zoom event and thanked Subhash Thakrar for his useful participation as the guest speaker.
