“As we had little cash to start a new business, we decided to begin on a small scale, selling gift items on retail basis shortly before Diwali,” says Sharma. But when he tried to get the suppliers in Jammu and Delhi to provide gift items, they expressed their unwillingness because of the previous uncleared bills.

“I assured them prompt payments at the end of each day and asked them to supply goods to us against a challan. They agreed, and in the next ten days we sold gift items worth Rs 8 lakh. Of this, 10 per cent was our profit,” Sharma points out.

“As we made payments to the parties, we gained their confidence. The word spread and other people who had snapped ties with us also agreed to do business with us,” he recalls.

Encouraged by the sale of gift items, Sharma organised a sale of winter garments. “We offered discounts and registered a sale of Rs 25 lakh over the next two months. Of this, our profit was Rs five lakh,” he points out, adding that the daily turnover had reached over Rs 1 lakh by end of March this year.

To achieve all this was not easy. Initially, the employees were hesitant to take on new roles, so Sharma took the initiative and left his cabin to become a salesman or positioned himself on the road, inviting people to visit Super Bazar. Soon, the entire staff started to toe the line. And things began changing for the better.

... contd.