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The entrepreneurial bug had started to bite many a new aspirant even before the IT landscape changed during the heydays of the knowledge sector players. The bubble subsequently busted and many a new start up had to shelve their plans owing to fear psychosis. The metamorphosis to happen after that was not a blip and it quite clear with instances from the day to day life that the world belongs to those who can take that element of risk and tread that path full of hurdles and obstacles, with elan.
A common man's success story
Mohanlal Jagir (MJ) is a mining engineering alumnus from the prestigious National Institute of Technology (erstwhile Regional Engineering College), Suratkal, Karnataka, After graduating in the year 1997, he was selected by the manufacturing giant Sesa Goa as Trainee Mining Engineer. A moderate dreamer would have satisfactorily settled down with that offer as it was from the giants in the sector and more so because there were plenty of challenges and growth curve to be traversed. After working for a few years MJ decided to take and entrepreneurial risk and go for his deep rooted instincts of doing something in the growing yet infancy staged financial sectors. His interest in the area coupled with his marwari background did supplement but one glance at his and his family's academic profile would have but even the best of the working class community to go for a job rather than setting their own set up. After putting a few years stint with Sesa Goa, MJ came back to Nagpur and kicked of MJ Financial Services. From a paltry start ad humble beginnings of his first client in the year June 2000, (Rs. 50,000 policy) from his relative, this young man did not look back and started to gain popularity amongst his prospective list of customers. He initiated the moves through relatives, friends, and referrals, finally graduating into professional networking so as to increase his clientele. He has transformed the way the financial services sector functions and is ready to go the extra mile for his customers. Today MJ boasts of a client base comprising of 1150 families, servicing customers with 2300 are self policies out of which 1200 are self policies of LIC and another 1100 are orphaned policies mainly from LIC and few other private companies.
Entrepreneur can be non MBA's
The biggest misconception on comes across while dissecting the mind of latent startup players is the a successful entrepreneur needs to be armed with an MBA. It might be true that formal management qualifications provides the requisite ammunition to handle the ever changing entrepreneurial landscape, however, one can as well cope sans the degree provided one has the willingness to learn at every point in time MJ has understood the real importance of professional education be earned from NIT Suratkal and therefore he implemented the professional attributes learnt during his engineering days in his real life examples of handling clients, relationship marketing and management, customer interface, training and motivating employees, witch can put even the best of the trained managers cum entrepreneur into a tizzy. His software provides him a glance information about his business processes, customer positions, planning for the future, customer relationship initiatives which he leverages to create that competitive difference in the marketplace. His concern for his client's well being and providing them to quality services makes him even serve for private companies at absolutely no cost when the parent company's (read as private companies) laid back approach is causing problems for the client. He always carries the LIC brand with aplomb although he is servicing clients for even mutual fund companies, as he confesses it is LIC witch is the flagship brand for his portfolio of financial services. Did someone say managers are born and not groomed? He however differs on this aspect by saying that, "One can learn the nuances of managing a business if one is receptive and willing to go that extra mile".
A Techno savvy approach
MJ has a techno savvy approach as he understands that technology is the biggest enabler for all businessmen. One can improve his performance, increase th turnaround time, and optimize the resources by leveraging technologies. The software he has installed in his office for his insurance and investment client marketed by Datacom web technologies (Visual Magic Pro) makes him an up to date executive ever ready with every piece of information for his client. His aggressive customer centric approach coupled with the enabler has served him to build upon the relationships with his client base by sending them wishes on anniversary, birthday, and festivities. His emulation of practices imbibed from his mentor in LIC, Partho Samal, the youngest ever Senior Divisional Manager of LIC enables hi to score over his much fancied private sector compatriots in the marketplace. MJ always tries to offer value added services to his clientele as a result of which the faith entrusted on him by his customers are very high. He is ever ready with all the bits and pieces of information about the financial services sector and his client's business history as his technosavvy approach keeps him head and shoulders above his peers in the sector.
The Success mantra
Success mantra for MJ is plain and simple. He says in order to be successful as a first generation entrepreneur on need to have passion for what he is donig. The changes which have taken place recently with the emergence of new players in the marketplace have put forth additional challenges and along with them they have also brought in lot of apportunities. It is put to the individual entrepreneur whether to actively after being bitten by the entrepreneurial bug (taking an entrepreneurial plunge) or be apassive induvidual of playing it safe and coutinuing as employment seeker rather than employer generator. The choice is yours.
Copyright Manishankar Chakraborty