A successful industrialist spills his secrets!

“There are no secrets to success!”

This is no rags-to-riches story, but the story of the man who is the largest manufacturer of telephone receivers in the country is still riveting, instructive and inspirational. It is about the power of dreaming, thinking big, and not letting go. “Nothing worthwhile can be achieved in life without making compromises or sacrifices along the way,” said Rajamane, the industrialist who is a living legend for the small industry in Karnataka.  Excerpts from an interview by Latika Chuganey:

To start from the beginning, when, why and how did you think of becoming an entrepreneur? Was it a conscious decision or did it just happen like that?
No, it wasn’t a conscious decision. Making money per se was never a motive for me for I was born in a rich family with a royal lineage. But my village background inspired me to explore the world, and sowed in me the ambition to be the best in the world, in whatever I decided to do. After I did my engineering in ’65, I worked as a design engineer in ITI where I was paid Rs 250/- per month. I specialized in R&D. All of a sudden, circumstances conspired to compel me to leave my job, and thus did my life as an entrepreneur take off, when I started to manufacture equipments on my own.

Who or what inspired to you become an industrialist? Were you motivated by a sense of making big money, or by a sense of achieving something big?
Well, big money? To an extent yes. After all, despite my aristocratic background, I hadn’t seen a lot of it! But basically, I was consumed by this ambition to be the No. 1 in the world. Today at 67 years of age, I am running a Rs 20-cr business with more than 200 employees.

How would you describe yourself – a self-made man, or one whose aspirations and future was shaped by “destiny”? The question is, are you the type who used to make things happen or the other way round?
I would say I am a self-made man. I designed import equipments at a very low cost. At the time I started, the market price of the equipments was around Rs 35 lakh, whereas I could manufacture them at a cost of Rs 4 lakh. I had succeeded in reducing the investment required by around 90%!

Did you create opportunities along the way or make the best of the opportunities that came your way?
Business is a dynamic process and never static. We have to create our own opportunities. When things don’t go your way, we must take the initiative to turn things our way.

Before starting my own manufacturing unit, I made 5 visits to Europe, to study the market and look for clients. The first four trips, I gained a lot of knowledge, but failed to strike any business deals. But I didn’t give up. On my fifth trip I booked two orders, and was on my way. The point is, you should never lose sight of your goal, when things don’t work to plan.

Nowadays, we hear a lot about customer relation management, customer delight, and so on. What has been your experience in this regard? 
In my company, we do not treat the customer as an outsider but as our partner and always aim at giving total solution in terms of quality, price and delivery. Since 1991 we have not lost a single customer and our relationships have only got better.

It is often said that success is its own reward, but have you had any other recognition come your way?
I have won several awards like the Republic Day National Award for Import substitution in 1974, State award for Best export performance in 1980, National productivity council award in 1984 for the best utilization of assets and human resources, and FIE foundation award in 2001 for sustained market leadership against stiff global competition.

A large majority of the youth today prefer to work in software companies, call centres, IT companies, etc where little of manufacturing is involved. Is this why less and less people are opting to start out on their own, as an entrepreneur?
This could be one reason, but the main reason is you need at least 7-8 years experience to succeed as an entrepreneur. A thorough research of the field, funding, and a positive attitude to take on challenges, are critical qualities to succeed as an industrialist. The Gen-Y should realize that there is no quick fix solution in business, though, things are not so tough as before. For instance, finding the means of finance is not such a major problem nowadays, with so many private banks in the field.

What according to you should be the single greatest motivation for one to become an entrepreneur? And what is the single biggest problem, the stumbling block, that demotivates one from the idea of becoming an entrepreneur?
People who are not in business may not comprehend this, but the fact is, to be an entrepreneur means to be creative. Creativity motivates me, and pushes me to greater and greater achievements. On the flip side, the single biggest constraint for the first generation entrepreneur, the youth, is finding the funds to get their project up and running. But to succeed as an entrepreneur, you got to have a thick skin, a stout heart, and a fighting spirit. You also need tons of patience. For instance, it takes 20-25 years to establish a company, whereas it takes only 2-3 years to drown!

You must have seen a lot of crises and challenges during your long career as entrepreneur.
Oh, there are many. Once, my banker who had backed me for many years when I was exporting color TV sets to Germany, suddenly reduced my credit limit. It happened because the bank manager I knew had got transferred! I was in a piquant situation where I could not maintain my production despite having good export orders on hand, and despite having won the highest exporter national award to European countries. Luckily, my clients in Germany understood my predicament and bailed me out of an explosive crisis, by making advance payments to me.

To cite another example, the attitude of government officials can test the nerves of the toughest people! Initially, I used to feel frustrated, and then I decided that rather than play “complex” games with them, it is better to abide by the rules.

What is the biggest achievement of yours that you are proud about, that gives you the maximum satisfaction?
Creating a new product, developing a new idea that gives positive results gives me maximum satisfaction.

Success can be attributed to various qualities – competence, skill, endurance, staying power, ability to invest large sums of money, risk taking ability, work ethic, etc. To what particular quality of yours do you attribute your success?
The secret to succeed in business is to produce a scarce item at highest efficiency, of the highest quality and at the lowest price. Give the customer the best quality at the lowest price. Don’t worry if the profit margin is less, the customers will support you for a long period. Satisfy the customer, and you will be more than satisfied!

Tell us something about your line of activity, your product. And how it has impacted your clients, industry.
Rajamane Telectric Pvt. Ltd., is a Bangalore-based family owned company founded in 1972 and we manufacture different types of telephone receivers and transformers for the telecom and the television industry. Presently we are the largest manufacturers of Telephone receivers in India. We have diversified into the manufacturing of various accessories for mobile phones namely Battery packs, Travel Chargers, Car Chargers etc.

You have been a former President of KASSIA. Tell us about your achievements and the high points of your tenure.
During my tenure as President of KASSIA, I helped to bring down the governmental control over the small industry.

What are the main problems of the small industry in Karnataka?
Lack of modernization. In the nineties, people benefited from doles given out by government, but today all business swears by quality. That’s the bottom line.

What do you think the Government should do to resolve these grievances of the small industry?
First and foremost the government must stop interfering and allow SSIs a free rein in all aspects. Leave us alone, and let the market decide whether we are going to perform or perish!

Today, there is a lot of talk about SEZs (Special Economic Zones). Are SEZs a boon or a curse for the SSI?
I wouldn’t say it’s a curse. Most of the large scale and export oriented industries are technologically strong, and they have deep linkages with the SSIs in terms of supply of raw materials and byproducts. So the benefit will also percolate down to the small industry.

The Government is frequently reducing the number of items listed for reservation for SSI? Is it good for the small industry or bad? And what should be the small industry’s response to such governmental interventions?
Well, if the objective is lowest price and highest quality, then reserving items for SSIs can help create a fair deal of competition among themselves. For example, in 1991 I used to supply a telephone choir for Rs 22, but now the rate has come down to Rs 4.50, and yet with such a low cost I still churn out profits!