Dreams have wings. But to fly, we need courage and a little bit of madness. It is possible to do what seems impossible. But for that, you need to visualise success.
Look at what Sarath Baabu has achieved just by dreaming big. He grew up in a Chennai slum, had difficulty paying his tenth standard fees but did not give up. He cracked the IIM entrance, and was in Ahmedabad studying business strategies. But he never lost sight of where he ahd come from, and how his mother struggled while selling idlis, working as a cook and as an adult education teacher in the night to help him reach where he was.
she never complained as she did multiple jobs seven days a week to make ends meet, the meager earnings from cooking was just Rs. 30 a month at a government centre and Sarathbabu as a child knew what the struggle meant. The only way he could acknowledge his mother’s effort was to study. He did it with all his heart. It paid off as he was a topper all through school. Education was free but from 10th standard onwards, the fees were over Rs. 2000. So, he started working as a binder. As his work was good, he got more work. He soon employed 20 others to meet the demand. For the first time, he knew what it meant to be an entrepreneur. A dream was born.
Sarathbabu had never heard of institutions like BITS, Pilani. But a classmate suggested that since he got good marks, he had great chance of getting admission. He tried and got it. But the fees to be paid worked out to over Rs. 40,000. One of his sisters pawned her jewellery to pay for the first semester.
His mother found that he could get a scholarship. It not only helped him pay for other semisters but also to pay back his sister. But he still had to borrow for his food and other small needs and the debts were piling. He also found it difficult to adjust to his affluent classmates. But he kept working hard, and his popularity grew. As he got into leadership positions in his calss he learnt how to handle people. Classmates were appreciative and suggested that he must do his MBA due to the managerial skills he had. But he wanted to help his mother out and so he took up a job at Polaris. But he appeared for the entrance exams for IIM’s and cracked it.
He had once read that 30 percent of people go hungry in India and wondered what could be done. He admired entrepreneurs like Narayan Murthy who employed huge number of people as they in turn could support their families. He wanted to do the same as an entrepreneur. At IIM, Ahemedabad, he took up leadership roles to hone himeself. By the time he finished, there were lucrative offers, but Sarathbabu wanted to be on his own and said no to jobs that offered salaries of eight lak rupees a year. If his mother could have been an entrepreneur, he could also follow suit, he told himself.
Like his mother, he wanted to start a food business. He got capital of Rs 1 lakh. He got a bank loan and set up an office in Ahmedabad. Soon he had 40 employees and numerous good clients. the monthly tournover touched Rs. 2.5 laks. After that, It kept rising. His focus was not profits, but how more could be employed to emerge as a wealth creator for small families.
Often, great thoughts come from simple minds. He continues to live a simple life as that is where he has learnt the greatest lessons of life.