At 9:15 am everyday, 6 days a week, I recieve a call from Mrs RK, our factory production supervisor at Krya. I can set my clock by the timing of her call. On the odd day when she calls me at 09:21 am, I know there’s usually an extenuating circumstance. And yes I am talking of a delay of just 6 minutes. Well ahead of her official reporting time of 09:30 am.
Last week, I received a call at 09:10 am instead. And she began the call by asking me to wish her. It was not her birthday or wedding day. As I ran through her personal anniversaries, she gently interjected in tamizh : ” Innikku yennakku neengalum kryavum kadacha naal, maam”, which losely translates to – Today is the day I got Krya and you.
I remembered then of a day in February, when our factory was under construction. A young girl spoke to me about having married early. Having kids early. The marriage not being everything she hoped for. The college degree she could not complete. She also spoke about feeling inadequate, cash strapped, and like she would never achieve her big dreams. I then remembered the formal interview. I remember feeling like this girl was a bit over qualified for working as a simple production associate. I remember advising her to look for a higher grade job which we didn’t have at that moment, as we were starting with just 2 production associates. I lastly remember her walking away with tears in her eyes, and feeling a strange sense of regret.
Then a month later, when one of our associates quit, I asked Mrs RK if she would still be interested. She was and she came back to start work with us. I recollect explaining then, apologetically that this was a manual job and this was all we had at the moment. She gladly started.
Our operations grew. We hired more people. We then added a small supervisory layer and she became one of the 2 supervisors. She then committed, on her own, to come in earlier than everyone else to pitch into every task. She haltingly learned English. Answered customer calls. Switched on a computer and started answering emails. She built networks with our suppliers and began placing purchase orders. She attended udemy courses on managing people and even learned to write and track goals .
She was then promoted as a senior supervisor of the entire factory team. She decided to do her Bachelors in Commerce via correspondence and has completed the first 2 years. She has put 2 kids through school. Moved to her own house. Bought a bike with her earnings and holds her own in her marriage and family circle because she is employed steadily over 7 years, doing well and has a team under her.
I could go on. There is no limit to where a combination of patience, perseverance, hard work and loyalty can reach. All our limits are self made. There are many reasons to avoid being an entrepreneur. There are even more reasons to rejoice about being an Entrepreneur.
This one is at the top of my list. For the privilege of having a ring side view of a life being transformed by a person putting in extraordinary thought and effort into it. And that gives me inspiration everyday.
