Education surely forms an important foundation for each one of us but merely acquiring degrees does not guarantee one’s success. Today we bring you the story of a man who couldn’t get good education neither he his family or parents passed him on anything substantial. He grew up struggling for his identity in a small home with 23 family members but went on carve out success and a name for himself.
Born into an extremely poor household, the main occupation of Govindbhai Dholakia’s family was farming. The situation was so pathetic that many-a-times the family had to wait for days to get one meal. No comfort entered their home that had a roof made of twigs and mud tiles (khaprail). Seasons came and went by but their situation did not improve even a bit. This had taken a toll of Govindbhai’s education too until one day he decided to move out of his village in search of some work.
He went to Surat where he got to learn the art of diamond cutting and finishing. There was no money in the initial training period. The only offer in front of him was that he would get a place to sleep and two square meals a day. He managed to survive in this harsh conditions and learnt the art for the next six months. After his training period he got a job against a monthly salary of Rs 103 which was nothing more than peanuts. He used the money very sparingly and started saving from day one. He also sent some money every month to his siblings back home. For several years he worked at other people’s shop and eventually decided to open his own diamond shop.
On March 12, 1970 he opened his small store with all his saving that amounted to only Rs 5,000. For the next seven years he did everything to ensure that his work went on smoothly. He tells that after seven years he met Shantibhai and Navnibhai Mehta of D Navchandra Company which proved to be the turning point of his life. They helped him operate without any middlemen. This resulted in him earning a profit of Rs 9 lakh over the next four months.
Govindbhai never looked back after that day and is continuing to reach new heights in business. Today, his company Shriram Exports is clocking an annual turnover of Rs 3,500 crores.
Share this story of a man who neither had education of family wealth backing him. His story is a remarkable example of perseverance and achievement. Leave your comments below.
