It is ironic that exactly one year ago this day, my father suddenly died and left a huge void in my life. We never realize how vital and what a huge part of your life someone is until they are gone. But this is
not about my sadness or of my loss.
My father like most working people did a job...got paid and took the best care of us his family. He was a plastics engineer.
Then he decided one day to do his own thing.
So he opened a business, in Nigeria, he lost a lot of capital as he did not have the right plan or the work force and he had to shut down operations. Most people would quit but he didn't. He moved us to India where he invested with an old family friend ( one tip for to be entrepreneurs, either do not work with friends and family or have everything in written, in triplicates preferably). The old family friend set up operations and put most of the business in his own name. My father was the muscle and brains but the so-called friend was the face and name of the business. As we all can see where that would have gone, soon he duped my father and booted him out.
That was the end of another heart breaking episode, the thing about papa was, he never quit.
Lesson 1. Never Quit. Try Try and Try again.
As things progressed my father tried different things, one thing he did not do was sit home and wait for
the right job to come along.
It was then that he thought of starting his own dried snacks (Namkeen) business. It sounds great but he was 1 man. No one to help or support him. My brother and I were too young and in school. Only person to help him was Mom, who stood by him like a rock.
This is what he did, every once a week,he would get up at 3 am. I would drive him to the bus station in C.P, New Delhi at 5 am where he too the bus to Jaipur, Rajasthan, a 6 hour bus ride. He would buy the snacks in sacks (sounds like a nice rhyme) then he would catch the bus back and get back home around mid night and some times later. The next day we would all, my family and sometimes our school friends, create an assembly line. Papa would scoop and put the snacks in baggies and then one of us would weigh them, then the next would seal them and the last would put it in cartons and pack them.
In an ideal world it was a great home based business, unfortunately there was no social media marketing. My father would pack the samples and supplies in the car and take them from store to store trying to break the monopoly of the existing businesses and just get his foot in the door. Gradually he got tired and had to quit. No marketing, no human resource and barely any capital, he still took his shot.
Lesson 2. If you want to do something, go for it, sometimes take the leap of faith is what matters.
Lesson 3. You may not always be successful but at least you could tell yourself that you tried!
After this experience he got in touch with a God sent man who offered my father a consulting position with a government organization and my father never looked back. The hard days were gone and then there were happy days where he could once again breath easy and not worry about how will he send my brother to Engineering school or get me married.
He retired a happy man, but that was not the end of his endeavours. He was always interested in a good business venture and always encouraged people who wanted to do their own thing. Till the last day of his life, he was involved in various ventures and wanted to keep doing things. He didn't have to, he had a house, his wife had passed on, his kids were married and settled...but it was like he just could not sit still or idle for long.
Lesson4. Never let go of your appetite for life!
My father lived big, forgave all and loved all.
Today, him as my inspiration, I venture out on my own, starting my own catering business. I hope he looks down upon me with a smile or frown ( as he may think I am doing something wrong and he wants to advice me). I hope I make him proud and am able to be a success.
Thank you Papa....you will always be my inspiration.
