‘Embrace change in different phases of life’

From dealing with that kind of competitive environment to facing the challenge of partitioning the business, Ajit has cut his teeth through rough times. He, along with his brother, took charge of the Chennai auto business (Khivraj) operations, which meant dealership of Bajaj and Hindustan Motors (HM). With his timely understanding of a market where the possibility of survival seemed remote, Ajit chose Maruti dealership to expand his business growth options. “Those were traumatic times for us. We had to go through painful labour settlement. Not only was labour unionised, productivity was at its worst. Imagine having to hear that they would start work only at 9 am instead of 8.30 pm due to rahu kalam!” Ajit, shuddering to recall the painful period, said. 

The workers were eased out not on a VRS or voluntary retirement scheme. “They were taken out through compulsive retirement scheme,” the 52-year-young entrepreneur, whose calm façade reflects his steely and decisive mind-set, sought to point out. During this troubled period, a legal brain, who was guiding him, suggested that he rope in a HR consultant to streamline the business process and operations. Agreeing to this, he engaged the expert willingly. 

“We had a survey conducted, where people mapping was done to identify roles and their functions. The first thing that came out of this exercise was the redundancy of having us, two brothers, handling a single operation,” he said. The expert found that instead of channelling their ‘risk-taking’ entrepreneurial abilities in a more effective way, he and his brother were in charge of a business which could sustain as a one-man show. Ajit, by then, had reached a saturation point and was raring to test new waters. So, he chose to pull out of the auto business and look at other entrepreneurial opportunities.

Thus, the chance to lay the bricks for his real estate business, which goes by the brand name ‘Olympia,’ happened. To reach the stage of a stable realty business, and a reputable one at that, has not been an easy road. “For long, I had no real-estate breaks. Every morning, I would pore over business papers to guide me on which to buy and sell… finally in two years I got two property breaks,” Ajit said. Thereafter, there was no looking back. The ‘Olympia Tech Park’ project was conceived, the execution of which led to it being known as an iconic landmark in Guindy and the city. Apart from its proximity to the airport, the IT Park completed in 2006 has also been granted the status of the ‘Largest LEED Gold rated Green Building in the World.’ Today, it stands tall and recognised in equal measure as the city’s first plug-and-play Tidel Park, housing several big IT players in its huge 8 lakh sq ft facility. The real-estate market boom lasted for a short period of time, Ajit said, adding they were able to complete 3-year-projects in a year. 

“The cash flows were good and then, the 2008 recession happened. Such was the stress and pressure, that I lost almost 8 kgs!” he said. Just when the worry lines owing to collections seemed to disappear thanks to the stimulus package for the sector in August 2009, the second bout of pain came in the form of oversupplies situation. 

“We started declaring losses on our balance sheets. Unlike services business, real estate entities were not making profit. I had to pledge everything including my share and my house to tide over this challenge,” says Ajit, who has now reached a stage where the enormity of taking risks has taught him lessons. “I now prefer stability, protection and perpetuity as I will no longer pledge my house today,” the soft-spoken, well-mannered businessman and a father of three girls, says. Having mentally conditioned himself through meditation over the years and his gym regime to keep physically fit, Ajit is exploring diversification that will allow him the liberty to remain content. His advice to entrepreneurs is to embrace change in different phases of life as need be.