Shekhar.
We go way back November 1996. I had been recently transferred to Bangalore and was desperately in search of a hairdresser apart from a zillion other things all de-established corporate employees go through when uprooted from familiar grounds.
His was a ‘shack’ for a salon in the outskirts of the city where I decided to settle down on the home front. The salon had nothing much to offer. A couple of typical hairdresser chairs facing a mirror where you hopefully got to see a reflection of a gradual transition from a seemingly wild unkempt to a civilized quintessence.
That was then. This is now. 26 years of a traverse together. From a mere shack to a plush stylish salon coupled with a successful institute training young hopefuls along the way. And it suddenly struck me, as I sat for the umptieth time, that I had been an experiential witness to progress of a magnitude most would have never believed could ever possibly be achieved by a virtually unknown barber.
So, what were his tucked away secrets of entrepreneurial transformation from the foothills to the near summit?
6 incredible business doctrines that developed his enterprise from naught to major – major, in his very own words:
- Exploring Passion:You don’t just need passion to be successful. You may have multiple passions within. Explore the one that connects with you the most and let it explode within you.
- Discover The Element Of ART In Whatever You Passionately Pursue: Art is in everything. The person who discovers it crafts a journey different from the rest of the world. Because art is exclusive. An exclusive expression of your passionate capabilities.
- Work Boldly With Confidence And Conviction: When I shape a hairstyle for my client, I don’t necessarily go by what they desire. When they look into the mirror, they see a preferred hairstyle they’ve seen on someone else. When I look into the same mirror, I see the face the hairstyle must enhance. I then go ahead and create the ‘bust’ much to my client’s eventual satisfaction.
- A Customer’s Smile Filled With Happiness Is Divinity Personified For Me: I treat each of my customers as a sacred gift from the Almighty to be served with the highest level of integrity imaginable. My work is my worship. The only reward I seek is a smile filled with happiness on the faces of my customers once I’m done.
- Work Isn’t A Task But A Flow From One Moment Of Creativity To Another: For me work is a calming flow. One that begins with a passionate capability and then flows into a natural process of highly experiential and innovative dimensions. This eventually gives me the abilities to perform well resulting in awesomely ‘WOW’ customer satisfaction levels.
- Wealth Is Not What I Have In The Bank But The Amount Of Value-Add I Can Conjure Up For My Customers Incrementally: My entire success story till now is my deep commitment to constantly value-add to every moment my customer spends with me. My present financial wealth has just been a mere byproduct of this. For me, every time my customers come back happily for a new hairstyle, in return for what I do for them, is the kind of wealth no amount of money can ever buy!
Sure explains the reason why over these 26 years, he’s been my exclusive ‘go to’ for a haircut, and no other!!
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Anand
Celebrate Life…Celebrate being YOU!
