One to One with Keith Vaz : Kish Bhudia

Thursday 13th December 2018 01:35 EST
 

Kish Bhudia was born, raised, educated and worked in Wembley for most of his life. Having left school with only 4 GCSE’s he went straight into working life and eventually backed by Brent Council as a trainee Surveyor graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying after studying part-time at SouthBank University. Having gained years of experience with Building Contractors, Local Authority, Housing Associations and Private Practice, he set up KDB Building Designs Ltd (www.kdbdesigns.co.uk) a Chartered Architectural Technologists Practice specialising in home renovations, extensions, loft conversions and new build homes. KDB is the thread that binds together the home owner, council planners, inspectors, contractors, Surveyors, interior designers, and the neighbours, as Party Wall Agreements are now becoming more of a concern than ever before. As a multi-disciplinary practice KDB provides the complete service for anyone looking to create their dream home, and can guide you from concept to completion.

1 Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?

I’ve lived and worked most of my life in and around Wembley, so would be safe to say Wembley is my home. Most of my family and friends still live in the area, and our new office where I spend most of my time is in Perivale behind the Hoover-Tesco building on the A40, just a stones throw from Ealing Road. But I love to walk around Central London when I have free time, as there is so much to see and do.

2 What are your proudest achievements?

Completing a London to Paris cycle ride in 2014 to raise money for disadvantaged children in Kutch Gujarat has been my most notable achievement to date, but I’ve also been a Vegan for over 4 years and believe this has been beneficial to my mental and physical well-being.

3 What inspires you?

Lately I have found reading and listening to Sadhguru, founder of the Isha movement to be very refreshing and logical in his approach to life, death and everything in between.

4 What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Only having 24 hours in the day, and not being able to clone my knowledge and experience onto my team. Copy and Paste Myself..!!

5 Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

When I first decided to set up the practice, my father gave me some advice, which I still remember daily. Money will come and go, but your reputation and family name is more important than money, and has taken generations to build – so be careful what you say and do.

6 What is the best aspect about your current role?

Having been in business for over 15 years, we have established a reputation locally with the community and local builders, and it’s great to have people call the office and say they been recommended by several of their family and friends. Word of Mouth at its best.

7 And the worst?

It is human nature to want to save money, but in doing so, many home owners engage the cheapest people to work with, and then pay for this mistake later on. Typically, Pennywise and Pound Foolish. It is then very difficult to salvage such situations without getting emotionally involved.

8 What are your long term goals?

I very much enjoy Cycling and Yoga, and would love to be able to see other countries whilst cycling through them, and to take up the Yogic lifestyle seriously enough to teach others and use this as a means to raise money for charity.

9 If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

I can’t say I’m fond of Politics, but believe that Health & Education are the fundamental foundations for a strong economy and also for personal development. Being a father to 2 teenagers, I feel there is too much emphasis on exam results, and that this doesn’t really prepare you for the real world. I was a failure at school, but found alternative means to reach my goals.

10 If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?

‘Be the Change you want to see in the World’ is the moto that greets visitors when they first walk into our offices. It is one of the hundreds of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings, and I feel everyone can learn something from his life.


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