Mrs. Subashini, Founder, Premier Services, Bangalore
Raised
in a conservative, middle class Indian family, Subashini says she felt
overprotected and fearful throughout her young age. After a degree in
psychology and a post graduate degree in Sociology, Subashini had
decided to work for Getit Yellow Pages. “As I had always underestimated
my potential and was scared of everything, I shunned away even from
role-plays during my sales training sessions at Getit. It was only when
I was forced to perform for the exam, I focused and was appreciated as
the best” reminisces Subashini. “That gave me the confidence to believe
in myself,” she confesses.
Marriage and child –birth gave a break to
her career. Soon after her daughter started pre-school, her husband
impelled her to get independent. She was looking for opportunities with
flexi timing. At that time, her husband’s friend who was running
housekeeping services for guest houses encouraged Subashini to run a
similar service for offices. Although Subashini was not too keen on
taking up a career at that time, she casually had called all her
friends to check if they are in need of housekeeping services. One of
her old classmate who was working for an office was interested to try
Subashini’s offer as the company was planning to change their
housekeeping services.
“I didn’t know to make a quote then. My husband
did it for me for the first contract” says this established
entrepreneur. Within two days, the order was confirmed and Premier
Services was born.
“I needed to quickly find two people to begin my
housekeeping contract and could not get anyone until two days before my
work schedule. Luckily an experienced young boy agreed and I filled the
other place with my own maid, hired an auto and took them to the work
spot”, she grins.
When asked about how she handles attrition, she
narrates, “My first hire quit in 10 days as he found that selling illegal
movie tickets was more lucrative. I saw the best of myself in crisis
situations. Even today, I am always on the lookout for new hires. I
have learnt the trick of the trade and started having few extra
employees to manage when some quit. Although my competitors offer
better salary and perks, I have an edge at the way I treat and train my
employees”. This people friendly entrepreneur who started with two
employees a decade ago, now manages 200 of them.
From a single
client, how did Subashini grow to 40 clients? “ My friends who were
working in companies like RCI, Oracle and Apple introduced my service
in their offices and since then word of mouth is the only way I get my
clients”, she says.
In a service industry like hers, Subashini feels dealing
with different temperamental people is the biggest challenge. She
has learnt to deal with her ego and tackle people by pampering their
individual egos . Subbashini recalls her start-up days when
she rode her two-wheeler to different client sites to supervise her
employees. Today she confidently manages her boys through her
supervisors and moves around in a chauffeur driven vehicle for her
monthly visits to the client sites which includes residential sites and
office buildings.
When asked how she de-stresses her hectic work
day, Subashini instantly replies “ when I solve a problem, I get
de-stressed automatically”. In addition she pampers herself with
massages, friends and movies. She enjoys spending time with her teenage
daughter with whom she shops and dines whenever she gets a chance.
Speaking
about managing motherhood and career, Subashini confesses that she has
never been ambitious and always made sure that she got back home by the
time her daughter came back from school. “I always fix my client
meetings during the time when my daughter is in school”, says this
committed mother.
To the aspiring entrepreneurs, Subashini says, “ I
was not raised in a business background, I had never dreamt of doing
business, I did not have enough money, did not borrow funds, yet
managed the business to pay for itself. If I can do it, anyone can
create and manage a business. Just believe in yourself and keep trying.
Every time you get up after facing a hurdle, you will only get stronger."
"Women
who want to start something on their own need to introspect on their
core talents and come out of their imaginary fears to live up to their
full potential”.
Mrs. Vijayalakshmi, WIPP Engineering, Baroda
Like many traditional Indian wives of the earlier generation, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi started her married life as a home maker. She raised her two children, attended to the needs of her two young sisters-in-law who were under her care and moved from place to place with her husband, an engineer who lived in different factory sites each year.
When her children grew up, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi, a chemistry graduate wanted to create an intellectually stimulating environment for herself. She decided to settle down in Baroda and utilized the time when her children were away in school.
With her husband’s support and encouragement, she started Western India Power Processing – an agency that sold Thermax India’s fireside chemicals, water treatment and resins.
In 1985 when the concept of water treatment was very new in India, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi faced many objections from the industries she contacted. With preparation and persistence, she educated the prospects on the importance of using a water treatment for their plants. Slowly she convinced the technical heads of the prospective organizations.
“You need to have a thick skin if you opt for selling, especially selling new concepts”, she admits. She also paid attention to provide good after-sales service to clients in order to win their trust.
After the initial three years of great effort, WIPP Engineering was established with clients like Indian Oil Corporation. With the growth came the challenge of retaining the trained employees.
Asked how she managed the labor turnover, this entrepreneur says, “When I employed my sales representatives and after-sales service men, I imposed only one rule. I asked them to give me a month’s notice before they quit. Most of my employees have left for career advancement. Since I wholeheartedly supported their decisions, they very often fetched me a new recruit before they left.”
Having lived the life of an employer’s daughter and an employee’s wife, this down to earth senior entrepreneur says “Unlike an employee’s life, an entrepreneur’s life is uncertain. A person in business should learn to build wealth by investing wisely during the boom time in his business.”
After working in the forefront of her venture for a decade, this successful entrepreneur has now handed over the business to her son and is currently focusing on her personal investments.
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